Meet Alysa Liu's father Arthur: All we know about figure skater's parent who fled China as political refugee

The American figure skater, Alysa Liu, is considered as one of the elite talents in the sport. The 2021 Nebelhorn Trophy champion and Lombardia Trophy champion won a gold medal at the 2025 World Championships, which was held in Boston, Massachusetts.

At the 2025 US Championships held in Wichita, Kansas, the notable skater achieved a silver medal. The California native also became the youngest woman to clinch the gold medal in the 2019 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Liu successfully defended her title in the 2020 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Alysa Liu is the eldest child of Arthur Liu, who left China as a political refugee after denouncing the Communist regime following the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. He settled in the Bay Area, Northern California and became a lawyer after attending law school.

One of the most prominent female skaters in the world, Liu comes from a biracial background as her father, Arthur Liu, considered himself a global citizen (via VOA News). Her father and mother, who is also of Chinese descent, decided to have children via surrogacy and with an anonymous white egg donor.

At the age of 16, Liu made her Olympics debut at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and clinched the sixth place in the women’s singles competition. As per the Associated Press via VOA News, Arthur Liu had mentioned that the skater was warmly welcomed by Chinese people. He added:

“I’m super happy the Chinese people welcome her and think highly of her.”

The iconic skater also holds a bronze medal from the 2020 World Junior Championships.

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Alysa Liu reflects on her 2025 World Championships feat

Alysa Liu at the FIGURE SKATING: MAR 28 World Figure Skating Championships - Source: Getty

Alysa Liu recently achieved a historic feat by becoming the first American female figure skater to clinch a gold medal at the Boston 2025 World Figure Skating Championships in 19 years. During her interview with CNN in March 2025, she shared her thoughts on her accomplishment. She mentioned:

“Even yesterday, I didn’t expect this. I didn’t have expectations coming in. I never have expectations coming into competitions anymore. It’s more so what I can put out performance-wise and I really met my expectations on that part today.”

She continued:

“It means so much to me. Everything that I’ve been through, my last skating experience, my time away and this time around I’m so happy, I’m mostly glad I could put out two of my best performances.”

In 2022, Liu had announced her retirement from skating. But she returned to the sport in March 2024.