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The Most Famous

SKIERS from United States

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This page contains a list of the greatest American Skiers. The pantheon dataset contains 541 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.

Photo of Lindsey Vonn

1. Lindsey Vonn (1984 - )

With an HPI of 44.58, Lindsey Vonn is the most famous American Skier.  Her biography has been translated into 52 different languages on wikipedia.

Lindsey Caroline Vonn (née Kildow ; born October 18, 1984) is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. 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 Mikaela Shiffrin. Only Shiffrin and Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, 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 2010, Vonn received the Laureus 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.

Photo of Phil Mahre

2. Phil Mahre (1957 - )

With an HPI of 43.22, Phil Mahre is the 2nd most famous American Skier.  His biography has been translated into 20 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.

Photo of Bode Miller

3. Bode Miller (1977 - )

With an HPI of 41.97, Bode Miller is the 3rd most famous American Skier.  His biography has been translated into 36 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.

Photo of Mikaela Shiffrin

4. Mikaela Shiffrin (1995 - )

With an HPI of 40.21, Mikaela Shiffrin is the 4th most famous American Skier.  Her biography has been translated into 38 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.

Photo of Gretchen Fraser

5. Gretchen Fraser (1919 - 1994)

With an HPI of 37.67, Gretchen Fraser is the 5th 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 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.

Photo of Andrea Mead Lawrence

6. Andrea Mead Lawrence (1932 - 2009)

With an HPI of 36.13, Andrea Mead Lawrence is the 6th most famous American Skier.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

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.

Photo of Barbara Cochran

7. Barbara Cochran (1951 - )

With an HPI of 36.06, Barbara Cochran is the 7th most famous American Skier.  Her biography has been translated into 19 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.

Photo of Julia Mancuso

8. Julia Mancuso (1984 - )

With an HPI of 35.97, Julia Mancuso is the 8th most famous American Skier.  Her biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Julia Marie Mancuso (born March 9, 1984) is a retired American World Cup alpine ski racer, Olympic gold medalist and podcast host. She won the giant slalom at the 2006 Winter Olympics, and was the silver medalist in both downhill and combined in 2010, and the bronze medalist in the combined in 2014. She has also won five medals (two silver and three bronze) at the World Championships and seven races in regular World Cup competition. Her four Olympic medals are the most ever for a female American alpine skier.

Photo of Vic Wild

9. Vic Wild (1986 - )

With an HPI of 35.07, Vic Wild is the 9th most famous American Skier.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Victor Ivan "Vic" Wild (Russian: Виктор Айван Уайлд; born August 23, 1986) is an American-born Russian snowboarder.

Photo of Bill Johnson

10. Bill Johnson (1960 - 2016)

With an HPI of 34.86, Bill Johnson is the 10th most famous American Skier.  His biography has been translated into 17 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.

Pantheon has 31 people classified as skiers born between 1919 and 1995. Of these 31, 28 (90.32%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living skiers include Lindsey Vonn, Phil Mahre, and Bode Miller. The most famous deceased skiers include Gretchen Fraser, Andrea Mead Lawrence, and Bill Johnson. As of April 2022, 4 new skiers have been added to Pantheon including Hilary Lindh, Christin Cooper, and Travis Ganong.

Living Skiers

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Deceased Skiers

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Newly Added Skiers (2022)

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Which Skiers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 3 most globally memorable Skiers since 1700.