February 14, 1976, 50 years ago: Dorothy Hamill wins the Gold Medal in ladies' figure skating at the Winter Olympics at Innsbruck, in the Austrian Alps.
A 19-year-old native of the New York suburb of Greenwich, Connecticut, she had won the Silver Medal at the World Championships in 1974 and 1975, and the Gold Medal a few weeks earlier. Still, in spite of previous U.S. Gold Medalists Tenley Albright, Carol Heiss and Peggy Fleming, she was not considered the favorite in Innsbruck. But she won, and became "America's Sweetheart."
Hamill was credited with developing a new skating move, a "camel spin" that turned into a "sit spin," which became known as the "Hamill camel." The bobbed hairstyle that she wore during her Olympic performance was created by stylist Yusuke Suga, and started a fad, known as the "short and sassy" look, leading to a contract with Clairol hair products.
The following year, the film Star Wars premiered, starring Mark Hamill. He and Dorothy are not related, and it appears they have never even met.
She starred in the Ice Capades, and as late as 1993, a poll showed her tied with Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton as the most popular athlete in America, ahead of Michael Jordan, Joe Montana and Wayne Gretzky.
She has married 3 times, including to singer Dean Paul Martin (son of singer-actor Dean Martin), and had a daughter with her 2nd husband. As of 2025, she still appears in skating shows.
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