The 25-year-old told NBC News she would “love to leave a legacy like Beyoncé or Whitney Houston” after graduating from UCLA next month.
Jordan Chiles at 25 years old has singularly accomplished more professionally to date than some entire family bloodlines.
Chiles, a two-time Olympian and 2024 Paris Games gold medal-winning gymnast, is a four-time NCAA gymnastics champion, a New York Times best-selling author, founder of a girl’s mentorship program and former Time Woman of the Year. Yet even as she navigates a daily schedule that often ping-pongs between a steady stream of media interviews, grueling training sessions and various brand appearances, she is also finishing up her last few weeks of college.
The UCLA senior is set to graduate with a degree in African American studies in June.
What may sound like a dizzying lifestyle to some to Chiles is par for the course in achieving her loftiest goals across sports and beyond. The frenetic pace coupled with consistent outsized expectations from those around her is something, Chiles says, she was born to do.
“When I was little, I never had imaginary friends — I always had imaginary dreams,” Chiles told NBC News. “I am named after Michael Jordan. So I took his namesake very, very to heart and wanted to be like, ‘If he’s Michael Jordan, why can’t I be Jordan Chiles?’”
While many professional athletes competing at the highest levels of their sports wait to build their brand identities after retiring, Chiles has been intent on making all of her dreams come true, seemingly at once.
Chiles, a native of Oregon, said wants to act in television shows and blockbuster movies. She wants to own businesses that have an impact. She also wants to be known as a philanthropist who inspires the next generation.