“I don’t recall much about living with Shanon"- When Simone Biles opened up on her biological mother’s struggles and her journey into foster care

Simone Biles once opened up about her difficult childhood, sharing how life was challenging, as her biological mother Shanon struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction. As a result, Simone and her three siblings, Ashley, Tevin, and Adria, faced hardships at a very young age, with their mother often being absent.

Biles recalled the presence of a cat from that time but had only a few memories of living with her biological mother. In her book "Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance" published in November 2016, the 23-time World Championships gold medalist wrote about her biological mother's struggles. Biles wrote:

"Life ended up being a little rocky for Shanon, because as she grew older, she got caught up in drinking and drugs. When I came along on March 14, 1997, my older sister, Ashley, had just turned seven and my brother, Tevin, was almost three. Two years later, on January 27, 1999, my little sister Adria was born. By then, our life with Shanon had started to become difficult. I don’t recall much about living with Shanon, but for some weird reason I do remember playing with a cat."

The seven-time Olympic gold medalist also recalled feeling anger toward the cat as it was well-fed while she and her siblings often had to stay hungry due to their mother's inability to care for them.

"I don’t think it was our cat. Maybe it belonged to a neighbor or maybe it was just a stray. Anyway, this cat was always being fed - and at the time, we were hungry at lot, so I was always kind of mad at this cat.”

She also recounted how child protective services took the four siblings to be placed in foster care in the same year.

"That was the same year that neighbors called social services and said we were being neglected, because they saw the four of us were often alone, little kids playing out in the street with no supervision. Soon after that, child protective services came to take my brother, sisters, and me away from Shanon."

After being placed into foster care, Simone Biles and her younger sister Adria were adopted by Shanon’s father Ronald and his second wife Nellie, while the elder siblings Ashley and Tevin were adopted by their great-aunt.

---

“I am who I am today because of foster care” - Simone Biles on how the system shaped her perspective on life

Simone Biles attends the Friends Of The Children 30th Anniversary Gala. (Photo by Unique Nicole/Getty Images)

Simone Biles spoke on how going to foster care during childhood brought her perspective on life. She said that while growing up in foster care meant facing numerous challenges, she rose above the challenges, which played a key role in shaping her into the person she is today.

During a gala fundraiser on October 25 for the non-profit organization Friends of the Children, she said (via USA Today),

“Growing up in foster (care), the statistics are just against you and it is what it is. But coming out on top of that, rising above − obviously I had my family to help, but I am who I am today because of foster care. And so I want the kids to also cherish and remember that and that you can do anything. It doesn't matter.”

Notably, Simone Biles donated $50,000 during the fundraiser. In the interview, she also spoke about interacting with children in foster care, who asked her about her age, height, boyfriend, and passion. She said she found the children "hilarious" and "loved" them.