For my new series, Thank You Notes, I teamed up with Olay to challenge a group of women to surprise their role models — the women who inspired them to face anything — with a thank you note.
In this episode: Michelle Kwan may be one of the best figure skaters of all time, but it’s her incredible resolve that made her such an inspiration to fellow skater Gracie Gold. In this video, Gracie tells Michelle: “You once estimated that you’ve fallen 131,000 times in your skating career. To some, that might seem like an insane amount of times to mess up, but it’s the way you always got up that inspired me.”
In 2017, Gracie checked into a treatment facility to address her depression and eating disorder. While she was there, one of the many voices that reached out to offer her support was Michelle Kwan. “When you reached out to me,” Gracie tells Michelle, “It meant more than you willl ever know.” Watch the whole emotional exchange above.
