In addition to being an actor, Dorothy Stuart Hamill is an American figure skater who captured the gold medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Austria. She is well-known for both her skating skills and her distinctive bob hairdo. She claimed the World Championship title in Sweden and earned the nickname “America’s Sweetheart” for both her good looks and her willpower. She is renowned for creating new moves in addition to mastering numerous figure skating maneuvers. The “Hamill Camel,” a mix of a “Camel” and a “Sit Spin,” is one such motion. She toured with the performance “Ice Capades” after her professional career from 1977 until 1984. She additionally received a Daytime Emmy for her work in “Romeo and Juliet on Ice” (1983). Hamill revealed that she had breast cancer in January 2008 and relocated to Nantucket, Massachusetts, for treatment. She is currently employed by the Nantucket Skating Club and also volunteers for the American Cancer Society, the International Special Olympics, and the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. The Dorothy Hamill Skating Rink in her hometown of Greenwich is named in her honor. She is also recognized by the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame and the United States.
Early Childhood & Life
Chalmers and Carol Hamill gave birth to Dorothy on July 26, 1956, in Chicago, Illinois. Her father was a mechanical engineer who had a reputation for being an excessive alcoholic. Her family relocated to Greenwich, Connecticut’s Riverside neighborhood shortly after she was born, where she was raised. She had an older brother and sister and was a shy young girl.
On the pond at her grandparents’ house, she and her siblings started skating when they were young. When she was eight years old, her parents saw potential in her and gave her permission to take lessons to hone her skills, which included skating backward. Despite not being close to her mother and having tense connections with her parents, she managed to achieve this.
She took her sport seriously and started practicing at 4:30 AM every morning in an effort to succeed in her preliminary skating tests and first figure skating exam. Her training cost her father a great deal of money.
First, Otto Gold and Gustave Lussi trained her. She eventually trained at the Sky Rink in New York City because there wasn’t much ice time available in her hometown. She had additional training in Toronto and Lake Placid, both in New York.
She went to Riverside public school until the spring of 1970, at which point she transferred to a tiny school with flexible hours to fit her skating schedule. Finally, she received her high school diploma from Colorado Academy.
Career of Dorothy Hamill
When Hamill, then 12 years old, won the beginner’s ladies’ title at the US Championship in 1969, it marked her first major achievement on the national stage. Later that spring, she received an invitation to perform with the exhibition tour that would later become known as “Champions on Ice” at Madison Square Garden.
She finished second in the youth division of the 1970 US Championship, and in 1971 she made her senior debut. She held the US title from 1974 until 1976. When she started competing internationally, the US Figure Skating Association recognized her skill and arranged for Carlo Fassi to be her instructor.
When Dorothy won the silver medal at the 1974 World Championship in Munich, Germany, she achieved her major breakthrough. At the 1975 World Championship in Colorado Springs, she took home another silver medal.
She won the gold medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, at the age of 19. Soon after, she won the World Championship title in Gothenburg, Sweden, and transitioned to the professional ranks. She was the final single Olympian skater to triumph without a triple leap.
She performed with the performance “Ice Capades” on lengthy tour from 1977 until 1984. She also created and performed in her own touring productions, such as “The Nutcracker” and “Cinderella.”
She and her husband, Kenneth Forsythe, acquired the ‘Ice Capades’ company in 1993 because it was suffering financial issues. However, they were later declared bankrupt and sold to Pat Robertson’s company, International Family Entertainment. She kept performing in performances, such as “Broadway on Ice,” where she is a regular skater.
At the Salt Lake City Olympic Games in 2002, she was chosen to carry the torch into the stadium.
In addition to her 2007 appearance as a special guest at the Brian Boitano-Barry Manilow skating extravaganza at AT&T Park in San Francisco, she made her television judging debut in 2006 on the program “Skating with Celebrities.”
She also participated in the infomercial for Cindy Crawford’s “Meaningful Beauty” anti-aging skincare line, which was hosted by Karyn Bryant (2007).
She competed in 2013’s season of the well-known ABC dancing program “Dancing with the Stars,” which also featured Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman, comedian DL Hughley, and country singer Wynonna Judd. Due to a spinal injury, she had to leave the competition after just two dances.
Bigger Works of Dorothy Hamill
In 1983, she published her book, “On and Off the Ice.”
A Skating Life: My Story, Dorothy Hamill’s autobiography, was released in 2007.
A tribute to George and Ira Gershwin: A Memory of All That, Dorothy Hamill Presents Winners, and The Dorothy Hamill Special were among the films she appeared in (1998)
Recognition & Achievements
She finished first in the junior division of the U.S. Championship in 1969-70 after finishing first in the novice division in 1968-69. From 1974 through 1976, she went on to win three consecutive US National Championships.
The Nebelhorn Trophy and St. Gervais for the year 1971-1972, where she placed first, were Dorothy’s first international victories. In addition, she earned the Richmond Trophy for 1972–1973 and took first place.
She won the gold medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Austria and was also named the women’s singles world champion that year in Sweden.
She is credited with creating the “Hamill Camel,” one of her own movements.
She was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1991 and then the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2000. In her hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut, she has a skating rink named after her.
The Boys Scouts of America’s National Young American Award from 1976, the Daytime Emmy Award from 1983, and the Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award from 1996 stand out among numerous other honors.
Personal Legacy & Life
Dorothy Hamill had two marriages and two divorces. She was married to singer/actor Dean Paul Martin from 1982 to 1984, and to Kenneth Forsythe, her second husband, from 1987 until 1995. In 2009, she married John MacColl for a third time. From her second marriage, she has a daughter named Alexandra, with whom she briefly resided in Baltimore, Maryland.
She was receiving medical therapy for depression for a significant portion of her adult life. In 2008, she also required breast cancer treatment. It is well known that her daughter also struggles with depression.
Trivia
When the crowd heckled the previous performer’s marks while she was already on the rink and about to skate, she let out her frustration at the 1974 Munich World Championship by leaving the ice and sobbing. She did, however, come back later and eventually took home the silver medal.
A month before the 1975 US Championship, she needed treatment for a pulled hamstring that was thought to be a torn ligament while working out in Denver. She participated in the championship despite the injuries and claimed that she was OK.
She admitted that Linda Fratianne surpassed her at the 1976 US Championship, and she was upset with her result, which she blamed on her insufficient preparation. A few weeks before the Olympics, Hamill was left without a coach when Carlo Fassi resigned right after the competition to go with his other favorite athlete, John Carry. He only briefly visited again to train her in Germany prior to the games.
Her large glasses and bobbed haircut were recognizable features. Because each of these things set off a fashion trend on its own, the media dubbed her “America’s Sweetheart.”
She and fellow Olympian Mary Lou Retton were statistically equal for first place as the most popular athletes in America in 1993, according to the Associated Press’s national sports study, placing them considerably above athletes like Michael Jordan, Tory Aikman, and Joe Montana.
She served as a mentor to Rachael Flatt, a 2010 Olympic gold medalist and three-time silver medalist at the US Championships who also trained in Colorado Springs.
Dorothy Hamill’s Net Worth
American figure skater Dorothy Hamill has a 5 million dollar fortune. After winning the gold medal in the women’s singles figure skating event at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Dorothy Hamill gained notoriety. She won gold in the women’s singles event at the World Figure Skating Championships in Göteborg a month later. Hamill later performed on skates in several touring productions, including Broadway on Ice and the Ice Capades.