Misty Copeland Biography

Fast Facts

• Began studying ballet at the age of 13 at the Boys & Girls Club
• Awarded full scholarships to study ballet at both San Francisco Ballet School and American Ballet Theatre's Summer Intensive program
• Joined American Ballet Theatre's studio company in 2000 and was promoted to soloist seven years later
• Collaborated with Prince and danced with him on his Welcome 2 America tour
• Inducted into the Boys & Girls Club Hall of Fame in 2012 and named their National Youth of the Year Ambassador in 2013
• Became the first black woman to play Odette/Odile in an American Ballet Theatre production of Swan Lake in 2014
• Appointed by Barack Obama to the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition
• Starred in an Under Armour commercial titled "I Will What I Want" that went viral with more than 10 million views
• Published her New York Times bestselling memoir, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, in 2014
• Made history as the first black woman to become a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre in 2015
• Named in Time magazine's 2015 list of the 100 Most Influential People and appeared on the cover of the issue
• In 2015, made her Broadway debut as Ivy Smith in Leonard Bernstein's On the Town at the Lyric Theater
• Had a Barbie doll created in her likeness for the brand's Sheroes collection in 2016