Jackie Silva

Jacqueline "Jackie" Louise Cruz Silva, (born 13 February 1962, in Rio de Janeiro) is a retired female volleyball player from Brazil.

She was part of the team that took Brazil to its first Olympics in Moscow in 1980, and then helped the team compete in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

She was known for her aggressive temperament and concern for gender equality, which led the Confederação Brasileira de Voleibol to cut her from the national team in 1985.

In 1988, Silva went to the United States to become a beach volleyball player, with Linda Chisholm as her first partner.

In 1993, she partnered with fellow Brazilian Sandra Pires, and together they won two world championships and the Olympic gold.

In 1994, Silva was the AVP Most Valuable Player.

In her beach volleyball career, she won 60 tournaments and $644,000 in prizes.

Silva joined the Florida International University coaching staff as a volunteer assistant with the women's beach volleyball team under head coach Rita Crockett.

Silva won the gold medal in the inaugural women's beach volleyball tournament at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, partnering with Sandra Pires.

Silva was first drafted by the Brazilian women's national volleyball team at the age of 14.

In 2006, Silva was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame.

In 2009, Silva was designated UNESCO Champion of Sport.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Silva was inducted into the Olympians for Life project for her work with the poor.

Silva is openly lesbian and has a relationship with the ballerina Amália Lima.