Alysa Liu’s Family History Revealed After Her Dad Confessed He Used Anonymous Egg Donors for His Children
Alysa Liu is the world’s most talked-about figure skater in the world after her historic win at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. The 20-year-old athlete scored two gold medals for Team USA for the team event as well as the women’s singles, the latter being the first time for a women’s athlete from the US to win in 24 years.
Alysa pursued figure skating in Oakland, Calif. after her father was an avid fan of Michelle Kwan. “I skated every day when I was 13 and 14, so it was a very abnormal childhood,” she revealed in an interview for 60 Minutes. “Especially as a kid, you don’t really know what you want. Skating feels more like a responsibility or a burden, even.”
Related: What’s on Alysa Liu’s Teeth? How Her DIY Piercing ‘Hobby’ Led to Her Alternative Style
Due to excessive burnout, she shockingly announced her decision to retire after the 2022 Winter Olympics. However, she made her comeback in 2024 on her own terms. Now, she’s garnering lots of attention for her alt looks and being in the “Wasian Hall of Fame” with several viral celebrities like Hudson Williams and fellow Olympic gold medalist Eileen Gu.
What is Alysa Liu’s ethnicity?
Alysa Liu is half-Chinese and half-white, colloquially known as Wasian (the word comes from a portmanteau of white and Asian). Her dad, Arthur Liu, is a lawyer and a political refugee from China after he participated in the 1988 Tiananmen Square protests. Arthur welcomed Alysa and the rest of her four siblings through anonymous surrogate mothers.
The reason why he intentionally chose Caucasian egg donors for his children was that he “felt his children would benefit from a diverse gene pool,” according to an interview with Sports Illustrated.
Alysa Liu has been heavily involved in the Chinese American community in the Bay Area and speaks Mandarin.
Arthur and Alysa were targeted at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in a spying operation that the US Justice Department alleges was ordered by the Chinese government.
“They are probably just trying to intimidate us, to … in a way threaten us not to say anything, to cause trouble to them and say anything political or related to human rights violations in China,” Arthur Liu said. “I had concerns about her safety. The U.S. government did a good job protecting her.”
“I’ve kind of accepted my life to be like this because of what I chose to do in 1989, to speak up against the government. And I know the Chinese government will extend their long hands into any corner in the world,” Arthur Liu said. “I’m going to continue to enjoy life and live life as I want to live. I’m not going to let this push me down, and I’m not going to let them succeed.”
