The 20-year-old athlete was announced alongside a roster of global celebrities, including actresses Krystal Jung, Sydney Sweeney and Yu Prariyapit, as well as Miss Cosmo 2025 Top 5 finalist Italy Mora.
This marks Liu’s first nomination by TC Candlerunderscoring her massive surge in popularity following viral performances at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, where she won the women’s single competition and also helped Team USA claim gold in the team event.
Beyond her athletic talent, Liu captivated audiences with her signature blonde-and-brown striped halo hair, a look that quickly became a hot trend.
Gold medalist Alysa Liu poses with her medal following the victory ceremony of the figure skating women’s single free skating final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on Feb. 19, 2026. Photo by AFP |
Liu is increasingly viewed as the face of a new generation of athletes who are unafraid to challenge the long-standing norms of fashion, beauty and self-expression within the world of figure skating. Following her display in Italy in February, the 20-year-old’s Instagram following skyrocketed from around 210,000 to an impressive 7 million.
Born in California in 2005, Liu has a compelling personal history. Her father, Arthur Liu, sought political asylum in the U.S. in 1989 after leaving Guangzhou, China. According to reports from The AthleticChina once invited for Liu to represent them at the Winter Olympics, but her father declined, and she continued to compete for Team USA.
Liu was the youngest athlete to win the national championships, with back-to-back domestic titles at just 13 and 14 years old. As a young teenager, she was a phenomenon, becoming the first female skater in history to successfully land both a quadruple jump and a triple Axel (3A) in the exact same competition.
After unexpectedly retiring at age 16 to experience a normal life as a teenager, Liu returned to the ice at 18 and captured the World Championship title at 19.
At Milano-Cortina, Liu became the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in singles figure skating since Sarah Hughes in 2002, ending a 24-year drought for the U.S.
TC Candler is an independent American platform that reviews film, art and beauty. The site’s “100 Most Beautiful Faces in the World” list has been published annually since 1990, expanding to include a male celebrity list in 2014. The nominees are selected based on a variety of criteria, including aesthetic, charm, elegance, naturalness, uniqueness and potential.
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