Tonya Harding

Tonya Maxene Price (née Harding; born November 12, 1970) is an American former figure skater, retired boxer, and reality television personality.

Born in Portland, Oregon, Harding was raised by her mother, who enrolled her in ice skating lessons at 3 years old.

Harding spent much of her early life training, eventually dropping out of high school to devote her time to the sport.

Tonya Maxene Harding was born November 12, 1970, in Portland, Oregon, to LaVona Golden (b. 1940) and Albert Harding (1933–2009).

During Harding's youth, her father held various odd jobs (managed apartments, drove a truck, and worked at a bait & tackle store), yet was often underemployed due to poor health.

She was raised in East Portland and began skating at age three, training with coach Diane Rawlinson.

Harding also hunted, drag raced, and learned auto mechanics from her father.

LaVona struggled to support the family while working as a waitress and hand-sewed her daughter's skating costumes to save money.

In the mid-1980s, she began working her way up the competitive skating ladder.

After climbing the ranks in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships between 1986 and 1989, Harding won the 1989 Skate America competition.

In 1986, Harding called the police after Davison had been sexually harassing and terrorizing her.

He was arrested and spent a short time in prison.

Harding said her parents were in denial about Davison's behavior and told her not to press criminal charges against him.

She placed sixth at the 1986 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, fifth in 1987 and 1988, and third in 1989.

Harding's parents divorced after 19 years of marriage in 1987, when she was 16.

She dropped out of Milwaukie High School during her sophomore year to focus on skating; she earned a General Educational Development (GED) Certificate in 1988.

Harding claimed she was frequently abused by her mother.

She stated that by the time she was seven years old, physical and psychological abuse had become a regular part of her life.

LaVona admitted to one instance of hitting Harding at an ice rink.

Davison was killed in an unsolved vehicular hit-and-run accident in 1988.

After competing in the February 1989 Nationals Championship, Harding began training with Dody Teachman.

She then won the October 1989 Skate America competition, and was considered a strong contender at the February 1990 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

However, she was experiencing the flu and asthma and had a poor free skate.

After the original program, she dropped from second place and finished seventh.

She was the 1991 and 1994 U.S. champion, and 1991 World silver medalist.

In 1991, she became the first American woman and the second woman in history (after Midori Ito) to successfully land a triple Axel in an international competition.

Harding is a two-time Olympian and a two-time Skate America Champion.

In January 1994, Harding became embroiled in controversy when her ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, orchestrated an attack on her fellow U.S. skating rival Nancy Kerrigan.

On March 16, 1994, Harding accepted a plea bargain in which she pled guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution.

As a result of her involvement in the aftermath of the assault, the United States Figure Skating Association banned her for life on June 30, 1994; she was stripped of her 1994 title.

On May 3, 1994, during an interview with Rolonda Watts, Harding said that Davison was the only person in her life unworthy of forgiveness and "the only person I've ever hated."

Harding trained as a figure skater throughout her youth with coach Diane Rawlinson.

From 2003 to 2004, Harding competed as a professional boxer.

Her life has been the subject of many books, films, documentaries, and academic studies.

In Harding's 2008 authorized biography, The Tonya Tapes (written by Lynda D. Prouse from recorded interviews with Harding), she said she was the victim of acquaintance rape in 1991 and that her half-brother, Chris Davison, molested her on several occasions when she was a child.

In 2014, two television documentaries were made about Harding's life and skating career (Nancy & Tonya and The Price of Gold), inspiring Steven Rogers to write the film I, Tonya in 2017, in which Harding was portrayed by Australian actress Margot Robbie.

In 2018, she was a contestant on season 26 of Dancing with the Stars, finishing in third place.

In January 2018, Harding's childhood friend and filmmaker, Sandra Luckow, spoke in defense of Harding's mother because she felt that the 2017 film I, Tonya stretched some truths about LaVona's character.

Luckow said that although Harding's mother could be "egregious" towards her daughter, LaVona funded and appreciated Harding's skating lessons and had "a huge amount of humanity".

In 2019, she won season 16 of Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition.