US figure skater Alysa Liu is the first woman to win individual gold at the Olympics since Sarah Hughes in Salt Lake City in 2002. Liu grew up in Richmond, California, with a single father, Arthur Liu, and had an unusual childhood. Arthur Liu used a surrogate and an anonymous egg donor to have all five of his kids.Arthur Liu grew up in a small mountain village in Sichuan, China, and immigrated to the United States as a political refugee following his participation in the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in 1989. Arthur had earlier claimed that he "organized protests and hunger strikes" for democracy in China.Arthur went on to marry Yan "Mary" Qingxin. Alysa, along with her siblings, Selena, triplets, Josh, Justin, and Julia, were all conceived through a surrogate mothers via anonymous egg donors. Arthur told Alysa about her parentage in 2013, when she asked,"Why do I look different? Why don't I look Chinese?"According to NBC Sports, in a 2018 article, Arthur admitted that Alysa had met her surrogate mother.More about Alysa Liu's father, Arthur Liu's Chinese rootsIn October 2025, while discussing her father at a Team USA media event in New York, Alysa reacted to an incident when the U.S Justice Department charged her father with acting on behalf of the Chinese government."In a weird way, I was like, 'Am I in some prank show? Is this world real?"In 2022, the U.S Justice Department charged five men, along with Arthur Liu, with acting on behalf of the Chinese government and targeting Chinese dissidents in the U.S According to PBS, prosecutors mentioned that Matthew Ziburis, one of the five men arrested, was hired to perform surveillance on the Liu family. When talking about the spy fiasco, Alysa in October 2025 said,"I mean, it made sense to me from everything my dad did."More about Alyssa Liu and her siblingsAlysa Liu began training for figure skating when she was 5 years old. By 13, she made history as the youngest-ever U.S figure skating champion and the first U.S woman in history to land three triple axels. Alysa and her siblings grew up in Richmond, California, and as per NBC Sports, even shared one single room at one point.Alysa Liu's younger sister, Selina, plays varsity volleyball and soccer in high school, as per her Instagram profile. Alysa mentioned that the 2026 Winter Olympics were the first time her siblings watched their sister skate live.