Figure skater Amber Glenn looks to snag her second gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics during the women’s individual competition.
Glenn made her Olympic debut in the women’s free skate in the team figure skating competition, placing third with a score of 138.62. Now, she’s looking to become the first American woman to win the individual gold medal since Sarah Hughes in 2002.
Cheering on the 26-year-old from Plano, Texas, at the Milano Ice Skating Arena are her parents, Richard and Cathlene Glenn, and younger sister, Brooke Glenn.
“We’d like to say we were good parents. We raised her well. If she wanted to quit 15 years ago, we’d been like, ‘What’s next?’” her parents told Kens 5 News.
GettyU.S. figure skater Amber Glenn competes at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Whether she medals in the individual competition or not, her parents are proud. “For the rest of her life, she can say she’s an Olympian,” they said. “I want her, when she’s done, to be happy.”
Here’s what you need to know about Glenn’s parents and family:
1. Amber Glenn’s Parents Were Taken Aback By Her Early Interest in Figure Skating
Ice skating started as a fun, family activity. “My aunt and my mom would go into the mall while the dads watched us skate,” Glenn told People in 2024. “That was a very easy, convenient thing that they’re like, ‘It’s an activity that the kids will enjoy.'”
After taking some beginner’s lessons at age seven, Glenn’s “natural talent” immediately stood out to her ice skating instructors. “They went to my parents who were like, ‘Hey, she should do private lessons and really take this seriously?’ [They were told], ‘She could have a career in this,'” Glenn explained, noting that her parents were taken aback by the prospect.
“‘Wow, okay. I guess we’re doing this,'” she recalls. A year later, she was competing on a national level. “It happened very quickly.” While Glenn tried soccer, skating “was something I really loved,” she said.
2 Amber Glenn’s Father, A Police Sergeant, and Mother, A Fitness Instructor, Made Sacrifices to Pay for Her Training
After winning the 2024 Grand Prix Final in Grenoble, France, the first American woman to do so since 2010, Glenn spoke about her parents’ sacrifices.
“My mom was a huge contributing factor to my success at a young age,” she told People. “Then, of course, my dad worked so, so hard to financially pay for it. I mean, getting into figure skating, I had no idea it was such a.. It’s not a cheap sport. He worked so, so hard to be able to get the best opportunities for me.”
To help with the financial demands of the sport, they’d buy used blades or “dresses off of eBay,” Glenn said. “It’s an easy thing to put money into, but for us, we didn’t really have that.
“There were a lot of sacrifices made growing up from my parents, even from my sister,” Glenn continued. “I would say my family have been absolutely essential for me, and their sacrifices, I will never be able to repay, but they’re so supportive and so proud of me.”
When she was young, Glenn told Time magazine that her dad worked extra shifts to help pay for her lessons while her mother spent time at the rink “helping young skaters, babysitting, and teaching off-ice classes.”
3. Amber Glenn’s Mother Normally Watches Her Daughter Compete From Outside the Arena
GettyU.S. figure skater Amber Glenn’s mother, Cathlene Glenn, is the most nervous to watch her compete.
Cathlene finds competition days particularly stressful and typically avoids going inside the arena when her daughter is skating. “I enjoy going,” she told Kens 5 News,”[her father] doesn’t have an option.
“I promised them if Amber made the Olympics, I would go in and watch. I will allow them to videotape and put a mic on me, but they will not be putting a heart rate on me.”
4. Amber Glenn’s Parents Support Her Being Outspoken About Politics, Mental Health
GettyTeam USA’ gold medalist Amber Glenn at the 2026 Winter Olympics following the team event.
Glenn, the first openly queer female figure skater to compete at the Olympics, is not afraid to speak out against the current administration. She also speaks publicly about her struggle with depression, ADHD, an eating disorder, and spending time in a mental health facility in 2015.
“The more fight back she gets from haters, the more she realizes we need to be more outspoken until it’s normalized,” Cathlene Glenn told Kens 5 News.
Glenn sought help for depression and anxiety after a friend expressed concern to her parents. “It did come as a shock to my parents,” Glenn said. “They thought it was just me stressing out over skating, when it was a lot more than that.”
“Growing up in Texas, there wasn’t mental health. It just wasn’t a thing. It was ‘Stop crying, get up, and do your job.’ It couldn’t be more different now. But in 2015, it wasn’t really thought of much.”
5. Amber Glenn’s Little Sister Is Her Best Friend, Biggest Supporter
Glenn and her sister, Brooke, are incredibly close. Brooke is the first person she came out to. “She was very accepting and even was my wing woman,” Glenn recalled to Time.
Brooke, who graduated from Texas State University in May 2024, shared strong support for her sister during her Olympic run.
Amber Glenn’s Parents & Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know