Was She in Foster Care?

Fans want to know more about whether Simone Biles was adopted, especially after the documentary, Simone Biles Rising, released on Netflix on July 17, 2024. The first two episodes of the docuseries share some details about the Olympic gymnast’s time in foster care and her adoption. Biles has opened up about her experience through the system in the past, but the documentary provides an additional perspective from her adopted mother, Nellie Biles, the wife of Simone’s adopted father and grandfather, Ronald Biles. Here’s what we know about how Simone Biles was adopted, her biological parents, and her experience in foster care.

When was Simone Biles adopted?

Simone Biles was officially adopted in 2003 when she was six years old by her grandfather, Ronald Biles, and his second wife, Nellie Biles. They also adopted Simone’s younger sister, Adria Biles.

When Simone was three years old, she and her siblings entered foster care because her biological mom, Shanon Biles, was struggling with drug and alcohol abuse. Simone’s biological father, Kelvin Clemons, was never a part of her life, according to Life & Style magazine. Simone recalls her struggles during that time, saying in Simone Biles Rising that she didn’t know where she was going to end up and “if there was gonna be food on the table.”

How long was Simone Biles in foster care?

According to Nellie in the documentary, Simone and her siblings were in foster care for six to nine months before they were able to get them all in their Spring, Texas home. Nellie remembers Simone being at one time separated from her siblings during that tumultuous six-to-nine-month time period. But after two years in the Texas home, she and Adria were officially adopted by Ron and Nellie in 2003, while Simone’s two older siblings, Ashley and Tevon, were adopted by Harriet, Ronald’s sister. For Ron and Nellie, Simone says that “probably the hardest thing for them to do [was] not only bring us in, but to see if they could repair our trauma.”

She also shares that “whenever you’re in foster care and you come out of it, the odds are against you.” This gave her the motivation to push further, in gymnastics or otherwise, saying that she was “always that kid that if somebody told me I couldn’t do something, I would.” Nellie provides further insight, saying that gymnastics gave Simone “the control that only she has” and believes that “she could control it because she could perfect it.”

In a 2023 CNN interview, Biles shares her support for the non-profit Friends of the Children, an organization that provides mentors to vulnerable young people, including children who are still in foster care.

Simone Biles will compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics, with her first day of competition being on July 28 according to the official schedule. If all goes well there, she will compete in the Women’s Team Final on July 29 (in the Pacific Time Zone), the Women’s All-Around on July 31, and multiple apparatus finals through to August 5.