50 Years Ago, Dorothy Hamill Won Olympic Gold and Rocked Her Iconic ’70s Haircut—Here’s What She’s Been Up to Since

With her mix of athleticism and elegance on the ice and her signature wedge haircut, figure skater Dorothy Hamill became a ’70s icon and inspired a generation of girls. 50 years after she won her gold medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics, Hamill, now 69, remains one of the most famous faces in the sport. Read on to see how she became a star and discover what she’s been up to since her Olympic triumph. Plus, learn all about the haircut that sent countless ’70s girls running to the salon.

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From skating on a pond as a child to winning Olympic gold at 19

Every champion’s story starts somewhere—and for Dorothy Hamill, it began with skating on a frozen pond by her grandparents’ house. Born in 1956, the 8-year-old Hamill quickly fell in love with the ice and began taking extensive lessons. She was dedicated to her sport from the start, waking in the middle of the night to practice and balancing skating and school, all while her parents invested in her training, costumes and travel.

In 1969, at just 12, Hamill earned the novice ladies’ title in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. She competed throughout her teen years, earning consecutive silver medals at the World Figure Skating Championships in 1974 and 1975, and soon enough, she would reach the summit of skating as she headed to the Olympic Games.

In 1976, at 19, Hamill competed in the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. She cut a distinctive figure with her cropped hair and unfussy costume, and her athletic prowess was on full display as she gracefully executed her jumps and nailed a combination of spins that came to be called the “Hamill camel.” Hamill made her complex moves appear effortless, and her years of hard work paid off, as she earned a well-deserved gold medal and cried tears of joy as she received her award.

Hamill’s Olympic victory was a source of great national pride, and she became America’s Sweetheart, receiving extensive media coverage and leading many girls to start skating. While Hamill’s winning routine still impresses 50 years later, it marked the end of a simpler era in figure skating, as she was the last female skater to win an Olympic gold with a routine that didn’t include a triple jump.

After her stunning performance at the Olympics, Hamill continued her hot streak by winning gold at the 1976 World Figure Skating Championships and turning professional.

How Dorothy Hamill’s wedge cut became the must-have hairstyle of the ’70s

As figure skating’s reigning queen, Dorothy Hamill had a major impact on the trends of the day, and her hair, worn in a short yet voluminous style known as the wedge haircut, caused a sensation and led her to become the face of Clairol’s Short & Sassy shampoo and conditioner. She was also often seen wearing round, oversized glasses that sparked another ’70s trend—and she even launched her own line of eyewear.

Hamill had no idea her haircut would become famous, and in a Vogue interview, she recalled, “I’d had short hair my whole life. It was more practical for skating. I was always trying to find somebody who’d give me a stylish cut other than that Dutch bowl . . . For a couple of years, I’d tried to get an appointment with this adorable, wonderful hairstylist, [Yusuke] Suga. Before the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, my father called the salon manager and asked if Suga could cut my hair. Suga was brilliant, a master at the precision cut, and, as it turned out, a huge fan of figure skating. He had a way of doing my hair so that it fell back into place when I skated. It was a complete shock when it became such a fad.”

Hamill’s journey to her iconic look took some trial and error. She got her first big chop after falling in love with Julie Andrews’ short hair in The Sound of Music—but as she told Time magazine, “It was very strange because I always had short hair and I always hated my short hair. So I was always trying to find a new style. I would look at magazines and try to find something that I thought was somewhat attractive that I could skate with.” Once she got her Olympics haircut from Suga, she finally found her perfect match—a style that was short, fashionable and most importantly, unobtrusive on the ice. The cut gave her freedom and allowed her to focus on her sport, and the look became so wildly popular that it earned a new name: the Dorothy cut.

What Dorothy Hamill has been up to since her victory at the Olympics

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Dorothy Hamill kept busy after the 1976 Olympics. From 1977 to 1984, she dazzled audiences as a headlining performer in the Ice Capades, bringing her talents to stages across the country. She also skated regularly with Broadway on Ice and starred in skating productions of Cinderella and The Nutcracker. Her performance in a skating production of Romeo and Juliet even earned her an Emmy Award. For nearly four decades, Hamill graced skating shows with her presence, performing regularly until 2013. That year, she was set to compete on Dancing With the Stars, but had to drop out due to a back injury. She had previously fought chronic pain caused by osteoarthritis at age 40.

Beyond the ice, Hamill has written two memoirs and served as a mentor to younger skaters. She’s also been courageously open about her struggles with depression and in 2007, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Hamill has now been cancer-free for many years and has been an advocate for causes related to her health conditions in addition to partnering with numerous charities supporting skating and athletics.

Hamill married singer and actor Dean Paul Martin, the son of entertainer Dean Martin, in 1982, but the marriage was short-lived, and they divorced after two years. In 1987, she married Kenneth Forsythe, a doctor, and they had a daughter, Alexandra. Hamill and Forsythe divorced in 1995. Since 2009, she’s been married to businessman John MacColl, and the couple is currently in Milan for the Olympics.

Hamill has spoken highly of the current U.S. figure skating team. “It’s a whole new sport,” she said, expressing admiration for how today’s young skaters perform feats of increasingly intense athleticism while knowing their limits. While she’s now mostly retired, she remains passionate about the sport that made her a star, and said, “There has always been this feeling of loving to be on the ice. I was really driven. There was so much about it that I loved . . . Fifty years later, I still love it. I can’t do what I did and I don’t do it as much, but I still love it,” and her 1976 performance remains the stuff that skating dreams are made of.