When she flipped and tumbled her way to two gold medals at the London Olympic Games, 16-year-old Gabby Douglas checked off a number of firsts: she became the first U.S. gymnast to win both the all-around and team golds in a single Games and the first African-American gymnast to win the Olympic all-around title. But another accomplishment meant just as much to her as standing on top of the podium: she was able to become an Olympic champion who captivated her home country despite, she says, being the victim of bullying early in her career.
People Who Mattered in 2012
Gabby Douglas
Full List
People Who Mattered
- Bashar Assad
- Ben Bernanke
- Jeff Bezos
- John Boehner
- Chris Christie
- Hillary Clinton
- Bill Clinton
- Stephen Colbert
- Claire Danes
- Gabby Douglas
- Mario Draghi
- Lena Dunham
- Sandra Fluke
- Roger Goodell
- Klaus Jacob
- E.L. James
- Jay-Z
- Xi Jinping
- Paul Kagame
- Imran Khan
- Christine Lagarde
- Erik Martin and Violentacrez
- Trayvon Martin
- Marissa Mayer
- Angela Merkel
- Khaled Meshal
- Kate Middleton
- Enrique Peña Nieto
- Benjamin Netanyahu
- Frank Ocean
- Michelle Obama
- Larry Page
- Jonah Peretti
- David Petraeus
- Michael Phelps
- Psy
- Pussy Riot
- Susan Rice
- John Roberts
- Mitt Romney
- Paul Ryan
- Thein Sein
- Nate Silver
- Anne-Marie Slaughter
- Jon Stewart
- Aung San Suu Kyi
- Undocumented Immigrants
- Kim Jong Un
- Kate Upton
- Elizabeth Warren