Jordan Chiles might be known for sticking the landing, but there’s a lot more to her than what we see on the mat. Since stepping in for Simone Biles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and helping Team USA secure silver, the gymnast has gone on to win gold, walk red carpets, design her own Nike sneakers and rack up perfect 10s. Along the way, she’s become one of gymnastics’ most magnetic figures — and she has plenty of other skills hidden up her sleeve.
Between competing at the Olympics and walking the runway at Miami Swim Week, Chiles is definitely living her best life. As it turns out, the Oregon-born athlete has been working toward her dreams since childhood. Though floor routines might be her main event, there’s plenty more to know about the UCLA alumna. Here are 13 facts about Chiles that show just how much she’s capable of.
1. She started gymnastics very early on
Like many of the world’s best gymnasts, Chiles got an early start. When she was just 6 years old, her parents decided the sport might tire her out. One day, they blindfolded her for a “surprise,” which eventually turned out to be gymnastics lessons. In her memoir “I'm That Girl: Living the Power of My Dreams,” Chiles wrote that she cried because it wasn’t the surprise she was expecting: “I thought you bought me a puppy!”
2. She plays the saxophone
You probably know her floor routines or have seen her on the balance beam. However, what you may not realize is that Chiles is also a jazz girl at heart. Besides playing the clarinet, she also plays the saxophone.
“I did play the saxophone,” she told KSL 5 TV. “I love jazz music, so I’ve always wanted to be in jazz, but since my sport, I couldn’t play jazz or anything like that. So, I picked it up myself.”
3. She’s an Aries
The Olympian was born on April 15, 2001, placing her just about at the tail end of Aries season. Her zodiac sign’s confidence, loyalty and competitive streak all check out. She carries that fire sign energy in and out of the arena.
4. She attended UCLA
Go, Bruins! After helping Team USA take silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Chiles headed straight to UCLA to focus on life as a student-athlete. Though she had to take time off to train for the Paris Olympics, the star gymnast returned for her junior year in 2025 and unsurprisingly racked up more than one perfect 10.
5. She’s a “very big” sneakerhead
When Chiles says she loves sneakers, she means it. During a 2021 interview with FloGymnastics, she revealed her very expansive collection, which included Off-White Jordan 4s and Dior Converse, among other holy grails. “[These] all-black Jordan 1s [are] my favorite — kind of my favorite color. I can wear black with anything,” she said.
6. Her nickname was inspired by a Disney character
Chiles’ nickname, Chick, goes all the way back to her childhood, thanks to Disney’s Chicken Little. When she used to play T-ball, the oversized helmet made her look just like the cartoon character. Funnily enough, it's not too far off from her previous nickname: Chicken Noodle.
“I used to sing [Webstar’s ‘Chicken Noodle Soup’], and so they started calling me Chicken Noodle,” she explained. “Then they broke it up, so one of my aunts on my dad’s side used to call me Noodle, and then my parents just took that part off and started calling me Chick.”
7. Her comfort meal is gnocchi soup
You might assume the gymnast’s ideal dinner would be something super clean or packed with protein, but her favorite comfort meal is actually hot gnocchi soup, especially from Olive Garden. If it’s homemade by her mom, the recipe usually includes a cream base, carrots, celery, chicken, and of course, gnocchi, as she revealed to SELF. “Sometimes she would put peas in it, sometimes she wouldn’t,” the Washington state-raised athlete shared with the publication.
8. She’s an Olympic medalist
By 2024, Chiles had secured a silver and gold medal. She earned silver at the 2020 Tokyo games after stepping in mid-final when Simone Biles withdrew from the competition. Then, she helped Team USA take the gold in the 2024 Paris Olympics. That same year, the star nearly clinched the bronze in the individual floor final. She was briefly awarded the medal following a scoring inquiry, however, that result was overturned days later due to a timing technicality. Though she was flooded with support from several of her peers and celebrities, Chiles has since shared how “devastating” and unresolved the experience felt.
9. She’s signed with Nike
It’s checks over stripes over here. In 2023, Chiles officially joined the Nike family, teaming up with the brand for a holiday collaboration that December. Fast forward to 2025, and she partnered with the sportswear giant again for a custom pair of Nike V2K Runs. Released as part of the Nike By You program, which lets fans shop for shoes designed by their favorite athletes, the sneakers arrived in a purple, blue, gray and white colorway.
10. She’s walked the runway at Miami Swim Week
During Miami Swim Week in 2025, Chiles walked in two different looks for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s show. One of them was a white bikini with a cowboy hat, and because she’s an Olympic medalist, she did a front flip in the middle of the runway.
11. She wants to pursue real estate after her gymnastics career
After years of flipping in the gym, the NCAA championship winner revealed she might try her hand at flipping houses once her gymnastics career wraps up. At the 2024 Teen Vogue Summit, she spoke about her plans to get into real estate after she hangs up her leotard. "I love building. I love being creative. I love seeing things just be designed in different ways. That's one thing," the Oregon native said, per People. “Selling Sunset,” holler at our girl!
12. She appeared on Disney Channel’s “Bunk’d”
Disney Channel’s “Bunk’d” went big for its seventh and final season, casting Chiles as herself in the episode “Coop D’etat.” She and fellow UCLA gymnast Katelyn Ohashi made a short but sweet cameo, treating viewers to a few flips. And for those wanting more of Chiles in action, she also appeared in Nickelodeon’s “The Tiny Chef Show.”
13. She has over 30 tattoos
Chiles wears her story — literally — on her skin, with more than 30 tattoos symbolizing key moments in her life. Among them are the Olympic rings, a rose, angel number “444,” and “23” as a nod to her namesake, Michael Jordan. She also has a snake, butterflies, and perhaps most meaningfully, a quote from her late grandfather: “Where you are, I have been. Where I am, you will be.”