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Who Are Simone Biles' Parents? All About Her Adopted Mom and Dad Nellie and Ron
Ron and Nellie Biles adopted the 6-year-old child without ever knowing she'd grow to be the most decorated Olympic gymnast in history.
Gold medalist Simone Biles continues to make history, and much of her success is thanks to her doting parents’ love and support.
Spectators couldn’t miss seeing the Olympian's parents, Nellie and Ronald “Ron” Biles, as they cheered and watched anxiously from the sidelines at the 2024 Paris Olympics. It's a nerve-wracking occasion but Biles, who at 27 is the oldest female American gymnast to compete in the Games since the 1950s, went into the team finals with a sense of calm and composure, proving that she has come a long way since she withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Biles said “being in a good mental spot” helped her earn a spot on Team USA — but she has also long cited her parents throughout her outstandingly successful career.
“They’ve supported everything that I have ever wanted to do,” Biles once said in an NBC Olympics video in which Team USA gymnasts described their respective parents' sacrifices for their daughters.
Meet the parents who never cease in supporting the most decorated gymnast in history.
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Who are Simone Biles’ parents?
Ron and Nellie Biles met in 1977 in San Antonio, Texas, about 200 miles west of Simone Biles’ hometown of Spring. At the time, Ronald, then serving in the U.S. Air Force, was a single father to Shanon Biles, while Nellie was still a college student, according to Andscape, a Black-led media company dedicated to telling Black stories.
Nellie became a nurse and went on to co-own multiple nursing homes in Texas, as Ron became an air traffic controller.
They have been married ever since, as highlighted in a flashback photo Simone Biles posted on Instagram for their 40th wedding anniversary.
“Couple goals!” the daughter captioned.
Together, the pair have two sons.
Ron and Nellie Biles are not Simone’s biological parents
Ron’s daughter, Shanon, who lived in Cleveland, Ohio, with her mother, is the biological mother of Simone Biles and her three siblings. However, due to drug and alcohol abuse struggles, the birth mother was unable to care for the children. Subsequently, the kids were placed in foster care when Simone was 3 years old.
In the 2021 Facebook Watch series Simone vs. Herself, Biles recalled times when she and her siblings were without food when with their biological mother, and believed at some point they’d reunite with the parent.
“We were very fortunate that we actually got to stay with our siblings because of a lot of the time, you either get re-grouped from home to home to home, or you and your siblings,” said the Olympian.
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While on Dancing with the Stars in 2017, Biles fondly remembered getting “excited” by visits from her maternal grandfather, Ron, according to TODAY.
“That was the person I always wanted to see walk into the foster home,” said Biles.
Ron and Nellie adopted Simone and her younger sister, Adria, and brought them back to Texas when Biles was 6. Biles’ two older siblings, Ashley and Tevin, were adopted by their great aunt and raised in Cleveland, according to People.
In Simone vs. Herself, Nellie said she prayed for “bonding” after bringing the girls into her home.
“You wake up one day, and you realize that you would do anything for these children and that you would die for these children,” said Nellie. “And when that feeling comes, that’s when you know you are truly a mother.”
Ron and Nellie Biles encourage Simone Biles in sports
Ron and Nellie raised Biles and Adria as their own and enrolled the 6-year-old in gymnastics upon her request, according to People. Biles reportedly went for a daycare trip to a gymnasium, and coaches there spotted her talent and sent her home with a note encouraging the parents to get her lessons.
In a 2016 interview with the outlet, Nellie said the child “never missed a practice,” even when she was sick and advised to skip a day.
RELATED: Simone Biles Talks “Trauma Response” & Epic Olympic Comeback in New Documentary
Biles’ brother, Adam Biles, worked as the general manager at the World Champions Centre training facility in Spring, Texas, before Ron and Nellie Biles purchased the center in 2014, according to People. As stated on the facility’s website, the parents place great value on respect, trust, teamwork, and growth.
It is also the home gym for Jordan Chiles, who effortlessly competed alongside Biles at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Biles has continued to praise her parents for their love and support throughout her career, telling TODAY's Hoda Kotb in Paris, "If not for my parents and adoption, I wouldn't be here today."
Where are Simone Biles’ parents now?
The parents haven’t missed a single one of Biles’ competitions — with the exception of Tokyo 2020 due to mandated COVID-19 restrictions — and continued to support their daughter after she pulled out of the Tokyo games to focus on her mental health following a case of the twisties.
“Thanks for making sacrifices since Day 1 so I can live out my dream,” Biles shared in a 2021 appreciation post on Instagram. “But most importantly, thanks for always being there for me through the highs and lows. You guys are the absolute best. I love y’all.”
Ron and Nellie haven’t wavered in showing support for their daughter’s Road to Paris.
In the Facebook Watch series, Biles said being adopted by her grandparents was a “turning point” in her life: “I would still be Simone Biles, probably not Simone Biles that everybody else knows, the world knows. But I believe that everything happens for a reason, and I’m forever grateful for that because I definitely got a second shot at life.”
Originally published Jul 1, 2024.
