Who is Eileen Gu, the ‘Snow Princess’ earning over $23M last year as a skier?

Gu ranks fourth on Forbes’s 2025 list of the world’s highest-earning female athletes with $23.1 million, trailing only tennis stars Coco Gauff ($33 million), Aryna Sabalenka ($30 million) and Iga Swiatek ($25.1 million).

The top three athletes compete in a sport offering massive prize pools and equal pay at Grand Slam tournaments, whereas Gu dominates freestyle skiing, a winter sport with a much more modest commercial scale. Among the top 20 highest-earning female athletes, the only other winter sports athlete is Lindsey Vonn with $8 million.

Over the past year, Gu only earned around $100,000 from competition winnings. The remaining $23 million came from lucrative sponsorships and advertising deals. While this ratio is not entirely unusual in women’s sports, where base salaries often lag behind men’s, the 231-fold gap between her sporting and commercial earnings is still exceptional.

Gu secured two gold medals and one silver at the 2022 Beijing Olympics in big air, halfpipe and slopestyle, becoming freestyle skiing’s youngest Olympic champion at just 18. Since then, she has consistently ranked among the world’s top five highest-earning female athletes. While her athletic achievements are undeniable, her appeal outside of the sport is the foundation of her commercial success.

Signed as a model with IMG, Gu has walked runways for Victoria’s Secret and Louis Vuitton. Her portfolio includes long-term contracts with Western brands like Porsche, Red Bull and IWC Schaffhausen, alongside partnerships with major Chinese brands such as Anta Sports, Bosideng, Mengniu and TCL. Her endorsements span high fashion, luxury cars, Swiss watches, sportswear, food and electronics, The Athletic reported.

Josh Hershman, global chief operating officer of a London-based sports marketing firm, describes Gu as “the perfect storm”. She possesses a rare combination of Olympic success, model-like appearance, an elite education at Stanford and Oxford, and a compelling multicultural Chinese-American narrative. As brands increasingly favor influential individuals over team or league associations, athletes with a profile like Gu become highly coveted.

Gu’s biggest commercial advantage is her access to the world’s two largest and most lucrative consumer markets.

Born in San Francisco, she made a switch to represent her mother’s homeland, China, in 2019. Gu boasts over seven million followers on Weibo, far exceeding her Instagram reach. This dual presence allows her to maintain a strong image on both sides of the Pacific, even though freestyle skiing remains a niche sport in both nations.

Leading up to the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Gu’s image dominated billboards across the capital of China. After the Games, she refined her sponsorship portfolio to focus on core partners, a selective approach designed to protect her premium brand value rather than overexposing her image.

However, her allegiance to China has sparked controversy. In the U.S., TV commentators have criticized her as “ungrateful” and having “betrayed America”, according to The Athletic.

Meanwhile, some Chinese netizens have questioned her loyalty, labeling her “two-faced” and “unpatriotic,” the South China Morning Post reported.

Gu admitted that she was frustrated by the one-sided criticism.

“In the past five years, I’ve represented China in 41 international competitions and have won 39 medals for China,” the 22-year-old said on her Douyin (Chinese version of TikTok) account, which has over 20 million followers. “I have introduced three chief coaches and donated freestyle skis to the national team, and continually advocated for China and women on the global stage. What have you done for the country?”

Her citizenship status also fuels ongoing curiosity, as China strictly forbids dual citizenship, and Gu has never publicly confirmed renouncing her American passport. When pressed on the issue, she stated: “When I’m in the U.S., I’m American, but when I’m in China, I’m Chinese.”

Beyond the commercial spotlight, Gu maintains clear athletic ambitions. She ranks among the most dominant athletes in freestyle skiing World Cup history and is currently defending her big air and halfpipe titles at the 2026 Winter Olympics. In December 2025, she won the opening halfpipe World Cup event in China, marking a triumphant return from injury.

Eileen Gu competes at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. Photo by AP

Gu describes her training philosophy as “train like you’ve never won and compete like you’ve never lost.” She frequently shares glimpses of her busy routine, from taking 5 km recovery runs, reading books in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, to doing homework during fashion photo shoots. This blend of elite athletic discipline and a glamorous lifestyle makes her a compelling role model for the youth.

Marketing experts suggest Gu will retain her immense commercial value long after retirement due to her carefully curated image. In an era driven by celebrity culture, audiences are captivated by an athlete’s personal journey and personality, not just their medal count, and Gu checked all the boxes.

Yet for Gu, the medals remain more important than the million-dollar contract. In a handwritten diary entry shared on social media, she wrote that skiing is meaningful because of its positive impact on herself, her community and its contribution to the sport’s legacy.

The story of the “Snow Princess” illustrates how a new generation of athletes is using globalization and social media to maximize their influence while pursuing sporting success. As she headlines the 2026 Winter Olympics, Eileen Gu continues to push the commercial and athletic boundaries of winter sports.