Simone Biles dedicated 21 years of hard work to achieve this much success, earning 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals. A significant part of her journey comes from her adoptive parents, Ronald and Nellie Biles, who adopted her at age six. Biles often credits her early experiences, including being in foster care, for guiding her onto a better path. But her real life in gymnastics began during a daycare field trip at the age of 6 to Bannon’s Gymnastix, where coach Aimee Boorman recognized her talent. Throughout it all, her parents, aka grandparents, have been her strongest supporters. But on the path to becoming a legend, she faced bumps too.

After Biles’ outstanding performance at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where she won four gold medals, Simone Biles entered the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as a favorite to repeat that success and possibly even win a record five golds. However, things didn’t go as planned during the team competition. While attempting her Amanar vault, she completed only 1.5 twists instead of the usual 2.5, nearly falling upon landing. It was clear something was off. Following this, she made the tough decision to withdraw from the team finals.

Then, Simone Biles made an incredible return to the Olympic stage at the Paris Games, winning four medals, including three golds. Her husband, Jonathan Owens, her sister Adria, and her parents, Nellie and Ron, were all there to cheer her on. Recently, Netflix released a teaser for their documentary Simone Biles Rising: Part 2, which is set to premiere on October 25. In the teaser, Biles’ mom, Nellie, reflects on how much her daughter has grown since the Tokyo Olympics, saying, “I see a different person, and I’m happy with the person I see now.”

Even Ronald and Nellie Biles have always been there for Simone, and in 2014, they took their support even further by opening the World Champions Centre in Spring, Texas. This became Simone’s main training base with her coach Aimee Boorman, making things so much easier for her compared to before, when she had to travel from gym to gym depending on where Boorman was employed. Having her own stable training facility helped Simone focus and grow into the champion she is today.

Their support has never wavered, even during Simone’s toughest moments. In 2020, she shared that not having her parents there, due to COVID-19 restrictions, made it even harder. As soon as she got back from Tokyo, she reunited with them. But now the question comes: Where is her biological mother?

How adoption shaped Simone Biles and her family connections

Simone Biles’ childhood story is quite well-known and filled with challenges. She was taken in by her grandparents at the age of three because her mother, Shanon Biles, struggled with alcoholism. For Simone, Nellie and Ronald have always been her parents. In a 2016 interview with the Daily Mail, Shanon opened up about the aftermath of the adoption. After the papers were signed, her father cut off all communication, leaving Shanon feeling isolated from her children for six long years. She understood it was important for her kids to adjust to their new life, but it was incredibly hard for her to let them go.

Shanon shared that giving up her kids was heartbreaking, especially since she wasn’t in a good place to care for them at that time. She was battling her own issues and realized that her father wanted to protect them from her unstable presence. Although she felt desperate to see her children, she later recognized that her father’s intentions were rooted in love.

Unfortunately, Shanon feels that Simone judges her for her past, making it difficult for them to connect. She hopes that one day they can find a way to forgive and rebuild their relationship. Interestingly, she mentioned that Simone’s younger sister, Adria, keeps in touch with her more than Simone does, which adds another layer to their family dynamics.