Michelle Kwan was born as the Kwan's third child on July 7, 1980 in Torrance, California. In the early 1970's, Michelle's parents, Danny and Estella emigrated to the States from Hong Kong. They opened a restaurant, the Golden Pheasant.

After watching her brother play hockey, 5-year old Michelle started to skate. She won her first competition by the time she was 7 years old.

When Michelle was 8, she watched the 1988 Winter Olympics on TV. She saw Brian Boitano win the gold with a brilliant skate. Ever since then, her goal was to win a Olympic gold medal.

When Michelle was 12, she took the senior level test without her coach, Frank Carroll's permission, and passed easily. Around that time, Michelle got a tutor who came weekly.

In the 1993 Olympic Festival, Michelle won in front of 25, 691 people, the largest crowd ever to go to a figure skating event. That fall, she signed up with a agent, Shep Goldberg.

At the 1995 World Championships, Michelle failed to win a medal even when she skated a great program. Frank thought judges marked her lower because of her pack of maturity. After that, Michelle put on more makeup for an elegant face, had dresses with more bolder colors, and put her hair up in a bun instead of a ponytail.

Frank's instincts were right. In 1996, Michelle became the youngest National Champion ever, and then, she won the 1996 World Championships,being the third youngest World Champion.

In the summer of 1996, Michelle passed her driver's test on the second try.

Michelle had a hard time during the 1996-1997 season. At the Nationals, she fell hard, twice and ended up in second place. At the Worlds, Michelle stumbled on her triple lutz, but otherwise skated a clean program with the maturity and emotion that won her the 1996 World Championships. The next day, Michelle skated a near-perfect free-skate that nearly gave her a come-from-behind win.

Michelle started the 1997-1998 season very strongly, winning Skate Canada and Skate America over her main rival, Tara Lipinski. But then, diaster struck. Michelle got a stress toe facture and had to wear a cast, and had to withdraw from two competitions, including the Champion Series Final. Before the 1998 US Nationals, Michelle was still in pain, but she decided to try skating there. Michelle was in great pain when she was skating, but she never gave up, and received one of the most sixes at the Nationals in her score, winning for the second time. At the Olympics in Nagano, Michelle was still recovering, and in her long program, she stumbled on her triple flip, and lost the gold in a extremly close competition.

In the 1998 World Championships, Lipinski had to withdraw because of an injury, and Michelle won for the second time, but during her free-skate, she nearly fell on her double axel, and she doubled her triple salchow.

Michelle Kwan started her 1998-1999 season with a bang, winning a couple of pro-am competitions, including the Grand Slam. She unveiled her new short program in the US Pros, and unveiled her long program in the World Pros. She requested to go to Skate America, and the ISU refused to grant her request. She carried on to the US Nationals, and won for the third time. Before the World Championships, she had won 10 competitions in a row. In the 1999 World Championships, she had a shaky landing on her triple lutz, and fell on her double axel, but being a good sport, she smiled through her tears. She placed in fourth after the short program. She fought throught the long program the next day, and proudly accepted her silver medal, believing that she tried her best, and was happy with the way she skated.