Misty Copeland

Misty Danielle Copeland was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1982 and raised in San Pedro, California, where she grew up in financial hardship. She didn't begin ballet until age 13 — a late, almost disqualifying start for a serious classical career — taking her first class at her local Boys & Girls Club. Within months she was en pointe; within a year she'd won a national contest.

She joined American Ballet Theatre's Studio Company in 2000 and the corps de ballet in 2001 — the only African American woman among roughly 80 dancers. In 2007 she became ABT's first African American female soloist in two decades. Then, on June 30, 2015, she made history as the first African American woman promoted to principal dancer in American Ballet Theatre's history — dancing landmark roles including The Firebird, Swan Lake's Odette/Odile, Romeo and Juliet, and The Nutcracker.

Her story reached far beyond the stage. In 2014, she became the first non-traditional athlete signed by Under Armour, starring in the viral "I Will What I Want" campaign — a spot built around a real rejection letter ("You have the wrong body for ballet") that drew millions of views and billions of media impressions. She was named to the Time 100 in 2015 and appeared on the magazine's cover, the first dancer to do so in over two decades.

A New York Times bestselling author, she wrote the acclaimed memoir Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina (2014) along with the children's books Firebird and Bunheads, Black Ballerinas, and The Wind at My Back. In 2021 she founded the Misty Copeland Foundation, whose BE BOLD program brings free, accessible ballet — plus mentoring, tutoring, and wellness — to children of color in under-resourced communities.

In October 2025, Misty retired from American Ballet Theatre in a star-studded farewell gala at Lincoln Center, closing a roughly 25-year career and opening a new chapter as an author, producer, foundation leader, and one of the most sought-after voices on perseverance and possibility.