Jordan Chiles is an Olympian, author and star of ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ She’s nowhere close to done.

OlympicsJordan Chiles is an Olympian, author and star of ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ She’s nowhere close to done.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. Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Jordan Chiles at Stanford Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif.Karen Hickey / ISI Photos via Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 9, 2026, 6:55 AM EDTBy Marquise FrancisJordan Chiles at 25 years old has singularly accomplished more professionally to date than some entire family bloodlines.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.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 Childs?’”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 nativ...