The Most Famous

SKIERS from United States

This page contains a list of the greatest American Skiers. The pantheon dataset contains 817 Skiers, 31 of which were born in United States. This makes United States the birth place of the 11th most number of Skiers behind Italy, and Slovenia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary American Skiers of all time. This list of famous American Skiers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of American Skiers.

1. Andrea Mead Lawrence (1932 - 2009)

With an HPI of 53.30, Andrea Mead Lawrence is the most famous American Skier. Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages on wikipedia.

Andrea Mead Lawrence (April 19, 1932 – March 30, 2009) was an American alpine ski racer and environmentalist. She competed in three Winter Olympics and one additional World Championship (Olympic competitions also counted as the Worlds during that period), and was the first American alpine skier to win two Olympic gold medals.

2. Lindsey Vonn (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 48.58, Lindsey Vonn is the 2nd most famous American Skier. Her biography has been translated into 56 different languages.

Lindsey Caroline Vonn (née Kildow ; born October 18, 1984) is an American World Cup alpine ski racer. She won four World Cup overall championships – third amongst female skiers to Annemarie Moser-Pröll and Mikaela Shiffrin – with three consecutive titles in 2008, 2009, and 2010, plus another in 2012. Vonn won the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the first one for an American woman. She also won a record eight World Cup season titles in the downhill discipline (2008–2013, 2015, 2016), five titles in super-G (2009–2012, 2015), and three consecutive titles in the combined (2010–2012). In 2016, she won her 20th World Cup crystal globe title, the overall record for men or women, surpassing Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, who won 19 globes from 1975 to 1984. She has the third highest super ranking of all skiers, men or women. Vonn is one of six women to have won World Cup races in all five disciplines of alpine skiing – downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and super combined – and won 82 World Cup races in her career. Her total of 82 World Cup victories was a women's record until January 2023, when it was surpassed by Shiffrin. Only Shiffrin and Stenmark, with 86 World Cup victories, have more victories than Vonn. With her Olympic gold and bronze medals, two World Championship gold medals in 2009 (plus three silver medals in 2007 and 2011), and four overall World Cup titles, Vonn is one of the most successful American ski racers, and is considered one of the greatest of all skiers. In 2011, Vonn received the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year award, and was the United States Olympic Committee's sportswoman of the year. Injuries caused Vonn to miss parts of several seasons, including almost all of the 2014 season and most of the 2013 season. While recovering from injury, she worked as a correspondent for NBC News, covering the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. In 2019, she announced her retirement, citing her injuries. Vonn announced she was returning to competitive skiing in November 2024.

3. Mikaela Shiffrin (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 47.38, Mikaela Shiffrin is the 3rd most famous American Skier. Her biography has been translated into 43 different languages.

Mikaela Pauline Shiffrin (born March 13, 1995) is an American World Cup alpine skier who has the most World Cup wins of any alpine skier in history (men or women). She is considered one of the greatest alpine skiers of all time. She is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, a five-time Overall World Cup champion, a four-time world champion in slalom, and an eight-time winner of the World Cup discipline title in that event. Shiffrin, at 18 years and 345 days, is the youngest slalom gold medalist in Olympic history. Shiffrin won her seventh career Alpine world championships gold medal on February 16, 2023, taking her overall tally to 14 medals from 16 career world championship races, and making Shiffrin the most successful skier in the modern era. She was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.

4. Phil Mahre (b. 1957)

With an HPI of 46.28, Phil Mahre is the 4th most famous American Skier. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Phillip Ferdinand Mahre (born May 10, 1957) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer, widely regarded as one of the greatest American skiers of all time. Mahre competed on the World Cup circuit from 1976 to 1984. Starting with the 1978 season, Mahre finished in the top three in the World Cup overall standings for six consecutive seasons, winning the title in the final three (1981, 1982, and 1983). His total of 27 World Cup race wins is fourth among Americans, only behind Mikaela Shiffrin, Lindsey Vonn, and Bode Miller.

5. Bode Miller (b. 1977)

With an HPI of 41.45, Bode Miller is the 5th most famous American Skier. His biography has been translated into 38 different languages.

Samuel Bode Miller ( BOH-dee; born October 12, 1977) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer. He is an Olympic and World Championship gold medalist, a two-time overall World Cup champion in 2005 and 2008, and the most successful male American alpine ski racer of all time. He is also considered one of the greatest World Cup racers of all time with 33 race victories and being one of five men (and last to date) to win World Cup events in all five disciplines. He is the only skier with five or more victories in each discipline. In 2008, Miller and Lindsey Vonn won the overall World Cup titles for the first U.S. sweep in 25 years. Miller won six medals in the Winter Olympics, the most of any U.S. skier − two silvers (giant slalom and combined) in Salt Lake City 2002, a gold (super combined), a silver (super-G) and a bronze (downhill) in Vancouver 2010 and a bronze (super-G) in Sochi 2014. Miller is one of 5 skiers who have won Olympic medals in 4 different disciplines, matching the feats of Kjetil André Aamodt and female racers Anja Pärson, Janica Kostelić and Katja Seizinger. Miller ended his career with six discipline World Cup titles and also won four World Championships titles in four different disciplines (giant slalom, combined, super-G and downhill) and one silver medal in super-G. While his skiing career was coming to an end, Miller had switched his attention and investment to horse racing. He officially retired from ski racing in October 2017. During and after his ski career, Miller has been involved in multiple businesses as a founder, strategic advisor and investor. During his career, Miller was the initial investor in lifestyle and nutrition brand Onnit in 2010, a company founded by his close friend Aubrey Marcus. In 2020, Miller co-founded SKEO, a wearable ski tracking app company. In January 2021, Miller joined the Board of Directors of Opex Technologies, an IT Technology company focused on advising, implementing, and supporting technology transformation projects. Most recently, in December 2021, Miller joined Alpine-X, developers of year-round indoor snowsports resorts, as an investor and Chief Innovation Officer, alongside his business partner Andrew Wirth who joined as a Strategic Advisor.

6. Barbara Cochran (b. 1951)

With an HPI of 39.90, Barbara Cochran is the 6th most famous American Skier. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Barbara Ann Cochran (born January 4, 1951) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist from the United States. Born in Claremont, New Hampshire, Cochran was the second of four siblings of the famous "Skiing Cochrans" family of Richmond, Vermont, which has operated a small ski area in their backyard since 1961. Her father, Gordon "Mickey" Cochran, was a longtime coach, coaching youngsters of the Smuggler's Notch Ski Club, the University of Vermont Ski Team, and the U.S. Ski Team. The family has placed several generations of athletes on the U.S. Ski Team: three-time national champion sister Marilyn, Barbara Ann, nine-time national champion brother Bob, and two-time national champion sister Lindy. The family's next generation includes niece Jessica Kelley, nephews Jimmy Cochran, Roger Brown, Tim Kelley, Robby Kelley, and son, Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who won the silver medal in Men's Super-G in the 2022 Olympics. After retiring from competitions, Cochran graduated from college in Vermont, married Ron Williams, and published her book Skiing for Women. She eventually became a writer for The Washington Post. Cochran now lives in her home in Starksboro, working hard on her own business, Golden Opportunities in Sports, Business, and Life, which teaches people how to handle the pressures of competition, work, academics, and any other obstacles that life throws at you. She is also working on a book that should soon be published. She also works at Cochran's Ski Area in Richmond, which is situated in the "back yard" of her childhood home. Cochran was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1976, later joined by siblings Marilyn (1978) and Bob (2010). In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Cochran's name and picture. Cochran was also inducted into the then-recently established Vermont Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

7. Bill Johnson (1960 - 2016)

With an HPI of 39.41, Bill Johnson is the 7th most famous American Skier. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

William Dean Johnson (March 30, 1960 – January 21, 2016) was an American World Cup alpine ski racer. By winning the downhill at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, Johnson became the first American male to win an Olympic gold medal in alpine skiing and the first racer not from an Alpine country to win an Olympic downhill race.

8. Ted Ligety (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 39.22, Ted Ligety is the 8th most famous American Skier. His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Theodore Sharp Ligety (born August 31, 1984) is a retired American alpine ski racer, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and an entrepreneur, having cofounded Shred Optics. Ligety won the combined event at the 2006 Olympics in Turin and the giant slalom race at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. He is also a five-time World Cup champion in giant slalom (2008, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014). Ligety won the gold medal in the giant slalom at the 2011 World Championships. He successfully defended his world title in giant slalom in 2013 in Schladming, Austria, where he also won an unexpected gold medal in the super-G and a third gold medal in the super combined. Ligety planned to participate in the 2021 World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo but withdrew due to an injury, which prompted his retirement from ski racing in early February, 2021. He finished his career with 25 victories (24 in giant slalom and 1 super combined) and 52 podiums in World Cup competition. His Olympic giant slalom gold medal, 24 GS World Cup wins, 3 GS world championship gold medals and 5 World Cup titles put him among the three greatest giant slalom skiers of all time, according to Ski-DB.

9. Gretchen Fraser (1919 - 1994)

With an HPI of 39.20, Gretchen Fraser is the 9th most famous American Skier. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Gretchen Kunigk Fraser (February 11, 1919 – February 17, 1994) was an American alpine ski racer and nurse. She was the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in skiing, as well as the first American to win an Olympic silver medal in skiing. She was also the first American to be awarded the Pery Medal by the ski club of Great Britain, and National Ski Association's Beck International Trophy. She was also the skiing stand-in for ice skater Sonja Henie in the movies Thin Ice (1937) and Sun Valley Serenade (1941). Fraser was revered in her time for her contributions to American athletics, receiving ticker-tape parades and brand sponsorships upon her return to the United States following her Olympic win.

10. Tamara McKinney (b. 1962)

With an HPI of 37.88, Tamara McKinney is the 10th most famous American Skier. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Tamara McKinney (born October 16, 1962) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States. She won four World Cup season titles, most notably the 1983 overall, the first American woman title holder for a quarter century. McKinney's other three season titles were in giant slalom (1981, 1983) and slalom (1984). She was a world champion in the combined event in 1989, her final year of competition. Her half-brother Steve McKinney was a world-record holding speed skier, setting seven world records and breaking his own record twice.

People

Pantheon has 32 people classified as American skiers born between 1919 and 1997. Of these 32, 29 (90.63%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living American skiers include Lindsey Vonn, Mikaela Shiffrin, and Phil Mahre. The most famous deceased American skiers include Andrea Mead Lawrence, Bill Johnson, and Gretchen Fraser. As of April 2024, 1 new American skiers have been added to Pantheon including Julia Kern.