Since bringing home the gold and silver medals from the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Laurie has won the coveted Mirror ball trophy on Dancing with the Stars Season 23 and published her first New York Times bestselling book titled I Got This: To Gold and Beyond. In 2018, she released a NYT bestseller children’s picture book She’s Got This, and Mattel created a Laurie Hernandez Shero Barbie to honor her and her Latina heritage.

She has served as the KPMG Literacy Champion to promote readership as a path to leadership by encouraging youth through literacy-building efforts; and to help advance equity and access to opportunity for all children across the nation.

Laurie is a second generation American, as her grandparents are from Puerto Rico, making her the first U.S. born Latina to make the U.S. team since 1984. She has been a gymnastics analyst for NBC since the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and will continue through Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Her live commentary at the 2024 Olympics in Paris garnered her rapturous praise from the entertainment community and viewers.

Laurie has completed her college degree, studying drama at NYU Tisch School of the Arts in NYC, as acting and screenwriting are her future career ambitions. In March 2026, she will have her Broadway debut in & Juliet. Throughout the year, she travels nationwide speaking on college campuses about following one’s passion in life; and is a fierce advocate for prioritizing Mental Health by learning to expand understanding and finding ways to support ourselves, family and friends. In addition, Laurie has become an outspoken champion for children’s rights and was named a UNICEF USA Ambassador in 2023.