| Body Measurement | – |
| Body type | Athletic |
| Height | 4 Feet 10 inches |
| Weight | 42 Kg |
| Hair Color | Brown |
| Eye Color | Dark Brown |
| Shoe Size | 8 (UK) |
| Full Name | Mary Lou Retton |
| Nickname | America’s Sweetheart |
| Gender | Male |
| Date of Birth | January 24, 1968 |
| Age | 58 Years |
| Profession | Businessman |
| Mary Lou Retton Net Worth | $8 Million |
| Education | Fairmont Senior High School |
| Nationality | American |
| Birthplace | Fairmont, West Virginia |
| Hometown | Fairmont, West Virginia |
| Religion | Christian |
| Zodiac Sign | Aquarius |
| Father | Ronnie Retton |
| Mother | Lois Retton |
| Spouse | Ex-Husband Shannon Kelley |
| Children | Shayla, McKenna, Skyla, Emma |
| Siblings | Four |
| Wikipedia | wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Lou_Retton |
Childhood & Early Life
On January 24, 1968, Mary Lou Retton was born in Fairmont, West Virginia. Ronnie, her father, founded a company that sold equipment for the coal industry’s transportation. She didn’t graduate from Fairmont Senior High School, despite attending. In her sophomore year of high school, she participated in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
Retton had hip dysplasia from birth, which her years of competitive gymnastics exacerbated. In her mid-thirties, she had hip replacement surgery on her left hip due to increasing pain from the ailment.
Up until 2009, Retton resided in Houston, Texas, until her family moved back to West Virginia. In 2012, she relocated back to Houston. She wed Shannon Kelley in 1990.
As of 2012, Kelley was employed by the Houston Baptist University athletic department. Kelley was a former University of Texas quarterback and real estate developer in Houston.
Shayla (born 1995), McKenna (born 1997), Skyla (born 2000), and Emma (born 2002) are their four daughters together. Emma competes in gymnastics for the University of Arkansas, while McKenna was a member of the NCAA at Louisiana State University.
In February 2018, Retton and Kelley went through a divorce.
McKenna, Retton’s daughter, revealed on October 10, 2023 that her mother was suffering from pneumonia and was in severe condition. Retton apparently lacked health insurance and used crowdsourcing to get money to pay for his medical bills.
In October 2023, Retton released a statement saying, “I’m with family continuing to slowly recover and staying very positive as I know this recovery is a long and slow process.”
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Career
When Retton was eight years old, she watched Nadia Comăneci, the reigning Olympic two-event winner, on television during the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, which encouraged her to take up gymnastics in her hometown of Fairmont, West Virginia.
She had Gary Rafaloski as her coach. She then made the decision to relocate to Houston, Texas, where she would receive training from Béla and Márta Károlyi, two Romanians who had mentored Nadia Comăneci before to their defection to the United States.
Retton quickly gained notoriety in the United States while training under the Károlyis; she won the American Cup in 1983 and finished second at the US Nationals behind Dianne Durham, another Károlyi student.
Despite suffering a wrist injury that prevented her from competing in the 1983 World Gymnastics Championships, Retton won the Chunichi Cup in Japan in 1983 as well as the American Classic in 1983 and 1984.
Retton took home four more medals from that same Olympics: bronze in uneven bars and floor exercise, silver in team competition and horse vault. She was selected “Sportswoman of the Year” by Sports Illustrated Magazine for her performance. She made her debut as the cereal’s first official spokesperson when she showed up on a Wheaties box.
Retton took home the third and last American Cup all-around title in 1985. In 1986, she announced her retirement.
Retton was a vocal supporter of the Reagan administration who could be seen in several of his television commercials. Less than a month after the Olympics, she also showed up at a rally in her home state of West Virginia for his reelection campaign.
On the second night of the 2004 Republican National Convention, Retton and fellow former gymnast and 1996 Olympic gold medalist Kerri Strug offered the Pledge of Allegiance.
Fairmont, West Virginia, Retton’s hometown, has a park and a road dedicated in her honor. She won an unprecedented third American Cup title in 1985, as previously mentioned, and retired from gymnastics. Later, she made cameos as herself in the films Scrooged and Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult.
General Chuck Yeager, a member of the Awards Council, gave her the American Academy of Achievement’s Golden Plate Award in 1985.
1992 saw the induction of Retton into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.
Retton served as a spokesman for the American drugstore chain Revco in the 1990s, making appearances in advertising.
Retton has endorsed shampoo and bowling in numerous commercials. She was the first athlete who was a woman to be featured on the front of a box of Wheaties, and General Mills claimed that her presence increased sales of the cereal.
Retton started serving as a spokeswoman for Australian Dream, a pain cream, in 2019. She also temporarily served as a Colonial Penn Life Insurance spokesman in 2023.
Retton used a maneuver known as “The Retton Flip” as part of his performance on the uneven bars. The gymnast performed a front flip to move from the low to the high bar, perching or “sitting” on top of the latter.
Because traditional “belly beat” routines were no longer utilized in bars competitions, this maneuver and numerous more of a similar nature were taken out of the Code of Points for artistic gymnastics.
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Major Work/Filmography
| Year | Filmography |
|---|---|
| 1985 | ABC Funfit |
| 1988 | Scrooged |
| 1992 | Knots Landing |
| 1993 | Baywatch |
| 1994 | An Evening at the Improv, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult |
| 2002 | Mary Lou’s Flip Flop Shop |
| 2010 | Glee |
| 2014 | RadioShack Super Bowl XLVIII |
| 2018 | 27th season of Dancing with the Stars |
Awards & Achievements
As the first American woman to win a gold medal in gymnastics history, Mary Lou Retton shot to stardom when she won the All-Around Gold Medal in women’s gymnastics at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
In addition, she took home bronze in floor exercises and uneven bars, and silver in team and vault. At the 1984 Olympics, she earned the most medals of any athlete with five.
The only American to win Japan’s coveted Chunichi Cup (1983), two U.S. Gymnastics Federation American Classics (1983–84), the All-Around championship at both the 1984 National Championships and Olympic Trials, and being the only woman to win three American Cups (1983–85) are among her other accomplishments. In 1986, Mary Lou gave up gymnastics competition
Mary Lou Retton Net Worth
She used her gymnastic skills to finish the sixth week. Still, in the sixth week, she was demoted to the ninth spot and eliminated. Mary’s multiple accomplishments have contributed to her $8 million net worth.
Controversy
Retton suffered from a rare kind of pneumonia, and several liberals were outraged to learn that she had no insurance.
When the gymnast’s family revealed that they had received cash donations to help with medical expenses, liberals, such as USA Today columnist Christine Brennan, took offense.
Brennan became irate when Retton’s daughters refused to provide her the specific information she requested and demanded an accounting of the $459,324 in funds that had been raised.
Brennan also asked why Retton didn’t have health insurance, recommending that an agent look into possible options for her.
“Asked in several text messages and a voicemail on Monday about her lack of health insurance until recently, her financial situation and why she refuses to divulge where she was hospitalized or the name of her doctor(s) more than two months after she left the hospital, Retton, 55, declined to reply,” wrote Brennan.
Brennan accused the gymnast’s daughters of being opaque when they stated that the remaining cash will be given to charity without providing any specifics, which heightened criticism.
10 things you didn’t know about Mary Lou Retton!
FAQs
– What was Mary Lou Retton’s signature move?
Mary Lou Retton was known for her dynamic and powerful performances, particularly her vaulting ability. She popularized the “Retton Flip,” which was a spectacular maneuver on the vault.
– What impact did Mary Lou Retton have on the sport of gymnastics?
Mary Lou Retton’s success at the 1984 Olympics helped to popularize gymnastics in the United States and inspired a generation of young athletes. She became a cultural icon and played a significant role in increasing the visibility and popularity of women’s gymnastics.
– Has Mary Lou Retton been involved in any other activities or ventures outside of gymnastics?
Mary Lou Retton has been involved in various endeavors post-retirement. She has appeared in television programs, commercials, and has worked as a motivational speaker. She also appeared on the reality television show “Dancing with the Stars” in 2018.
– Is Mary Lou Retton still involved in gymnastics or sports-related activities today?
While Mary Lou Retton is no longer actively competing in gymnastics, she remains involved in sports-related activities and often participates in events related to gymnastics, the Olympics, and sports in general. She continues to be a respected figure in the world of athletics.
