Most people who watch Nancy Kerrigan skate think she looks like a fairy princess because she moves with such style and grace. What people do not know about her, however, is that she is a tough competitor willing to work hard to achieve her goals. In 1994 a vicious attack on Kerrigan almost knocked her out of the Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. Showing great determination, she delivered her best performance ever at the Olympics, proving once and for all that she was as tough an athlete as she was beautiful to watch.

Growing up

Family affair

Nancy Kerrigan was born October 13, 1969. Her father, Dan, is a welder, and her mother's name is Brenda. Kerrigan grew up in a two-story house in Stoneham, Massachusetts. The family, including Kerrigan's brothers, Michael and Mark, was very close.

Kerrigan was always especially close to her mother, who is legally blind. Brenda...