Meryl Davis

Personal life

Meryl Davis was born in Royal Oak, Michigan, and raised in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, the daughter of Cheryl and Paul D. Davis. She has one younger brother, Clayton. She is of English, Irish, Scottish and German descent. Her paternal grandmother was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. Davis has difficulty seeing out of her right eye and lacks depth perception. She was diagnosed with dyslexia in the third grade and she struggled with reading until the 11th grade. In June 2005, Davis graduated from Wylie E. Groves High School.

Davis previously lived in Birmingham, Michigan. She attended the University of Michigan, where she majored in cultural anthropology and also studied Italian. She was an active member of the sorority Delta Delta Delta and plays the flute. Davis joined UNICEF Kid Power as a brand ambassador in March 2016. Davis graduated from Harvard Extension School, Harvard University with a Masters of Liberal Arts in literature and creative writing in 2025.

On July 13, 2017, Davis became engaged to former figure skater Fedor Andreev, whom she had been dating for over six years. They married in Provence, France, in June 2019.

Career

Early career

Davis began skating at age five on a local lake in the winter. Due to her vision problems, Davis often hugged the boards when she first started skating. She started out as a single skater, but began doing ice dance at age eight. She got as high as Midwestern sectionals in novice ladies before quitting singles to focus on ice dancing.

She was teamed up with Charlie White by her coach, Seth Chafetz, in 1997, when they were both nine years old. In 2009, Davis said: "Charlie and I grew up 10 minutes apart from each other. Our parents are best friends. We've grown together and know each other so well."

In their first season together, Davis and White won the silver medal at the Junior Olympics in the Juvenile division. In 1999–00, they won gold at the Junior Olympics on the intermediate level. In the 2000–01 season, they qualified for the 2001 U.S. Championships, placing 6th as Novices. In 2001–02, they won the silver medal as novices and then moved up to the junior level. In the 2002–03 season, they did not win a medal at either of their two Junior Grand Prix assignments and placed 7th at the 2003 U.S. Championships in their junior debut.

Junior career

In the 2003–2004 season, Davis/White won their sectional championship and then won the junior silver medal at Nationals. This earned them a trip to the 2004 Junior Worlds, where they placed 13th.

In the 2004–2005 season, Davis/White won two bronze medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series. However, White broke his ankle before Sectionals and so Davis/White were unable to qualify for the 2005 U.S. Championships. Their season ended there.

In the 2005–2006 season, Davis/White medaled at both their Junior Grand Prix events and placed second at the Junior Grand Prix Final. They won the junior national title at the 2006 U.S. Championships and then won the bronze medal at the 2006 Junior Worlds. Following that season, Davis aged out of Juniors. They lost some training time after White broke his ankle at a hockey tournament in 2006.

Senior career

Post-competitive career

Davis and White continue to perform together in ice shows. On February 23, 2017, they confirmed that they would not return to competition.

Programs

Competitive highlights

Detailed results

''Dancing with the Stars''

On March 4, 2014, Davis was announced as one of the contestants on the 18th season of Dancing with the Stars. She was paired with professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy. She competed against Charlie White, who was also cast to take part on the 18th season of the show. On May 20, 2014, Davis and Chmerkovskiy were declared the season's champions.

References

References

1. (January 1, 2019). "UPI Almanac for Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019". [[United Press International]].
2. "www.meryldavisandcharliewhite.com".
3. "Meryl Davis".
4. "Instagram".
5. (June 22, 2019). "Olympic Medalist & DWTS Champion Meryl Davis Marries Fedor Andreev in 'Intimate' Farmhouse Wedding in the South of France". [[People (magazine).
6. Hines, James R.. (2011). "Historical Dictionary of Figure Skating". Scarecrow Press.
7. "Intermediate Dance".
8. Hines, p. 70
9. (4 March 2014). "Dancing With the Stars Cast Revealed! Cody Simpson, Nene Leakes and James Maslow Are Among the Names—See the Full List!". E! Online.
10. "Competition Results: Meryl Davis / Charlie White". International Skating Union.
11. "USA–Meryl Davis/Charlie White".
12. Glasier, David S.. (January 25, 2009). "U.S. Figure Skating Championships: A fall, but not from top". The News-Herald.
13. Ratkowiak, Courtney. (February 22, 2010). "Davis, White are dance favorites".
14. Zanca, Sal. (January 9, 2007). "NHK milestone gives confidence to Davis and White". [[U.S. Figure Skating]].
15. Mittan, Barry. (February 4, 2010). "Davis and White Win Second U. S. Ice Dancing Crown". Skate Today.
16. Armour, Nancy. (January 5, 2010). "Davis-White's Bollywood-style OD a hit in India". [[The Seattle Times]].
17. Mittan, Barry. (July 15, 2004). "Davis and White in Long Term Partnership". GoldenSkate.com.
18. Conlin, Jennifer. (March 9, 2012). "Oh, to Bring 'Gold' Home, and Perhaps the Bacon". [[The New York Times]].
19. Wiggins, Andrea. "Classroom Champions".
20. Whiteside, Kelly. (March 14, 2013). "Meryl Davis, Charlie White are USA's best shot at gold". USA Today.
21. Rosewater, Amy. (March 11, 2013). "Meryl Davis' Canadian Connection". TeamUSA.org.
22. Isaacson, Melissa. (October 18, 2013). "U.S. ice dancers' moms a winning pair". ESPN.
23. Longman, Jere. (January 4, 2014). "Ice Dancing, Adored and Mocked, Could Give Americans a Lone Gold". The New York Times.
24. Davis, Meryl. (March 29, 2016). "Incredibly honored to be a @unicefusa #unicefkidpower Champion! Read more …".
25. "Kid Power Champion".
26. (November 20, 2016). "Meryl Davis: UNICEF Kid Power Champion".
27. Rutherford, Lynn. (February 23, 2017). "Davis, White close competitive door to open others". [[IceNetwork.com]].
28. Kratofil, Colleen. (July 17, 2017). "Meryl Davis Is Engaged to Former Figure Skater Fedor Andreev: See Her Gorgeous Canary Yellow Diamond Ring". [[People (magazine).
29. Brannen, Sarah S.. (July 20, 2017). "Love on the beach: Davis announces engagement". [[IceNetwork.com]].