What to know about Simone Biles’ family

Before making her mark as the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history, Simone Biles was just a kid to her parents, Ronald and Nellie Biles.
Ronald and Nellie Biles as well as their extended family, including Simone Biles’ husband, Jonathan Owens, were in the stands at the Paris Olympics, cheering on Simone Biles as she won gold in both the women’s gymnastics individual all-around and the team competition with her teammates, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Hezly Rivera and Jade Carey.
In Paris, Simone Biles also won gold in the women’s vault competition and silver in the women’s floor competition, bringing home her 10th and 11th Olympic medals.
After the team competition, Simone Biles sweetly called out her dad for using binoculars to see her better in Paris, writing on Instagram alongside a photo of Ronald Biles, “my dad & his binoculars is soooo freaking cute.”
Ronald Biles, Simone Biles’ biological grandfather, and his wife of over 40 years, Nellie Biles, adopted Simone Biles when she was 6, after she and her three siblings were placed in foster care due to their mom’s issues with substance abuse.
Simone Biles and her sister Adria Biles were adopted by Ronald and Nellie Biles in Texas, while their two older siblings were adopted by a great-aunt in Ohio.
In an episode of her Facebook Watch series, titled “Simone vs Herself,” Simone Biles opened up about her upbringing.
“I don’t remember a lot about foster care, but I definitely knew that we had been taken from our biological mom, and then you just think you’re going to go back to her,” she shared. “We were very fortunate that we actually got to stay with our siblings because a lot of the time you either get regrouped from home to home to home, or you and your siblings get split up.”
Simone Biles has credited her success to Ronald and Nellie Biles and has expressed her gratitude for their support and presence in her life.
“Appreciation post for my sweet parents,” she wrote in the caption of an Instagram post in June 2021, alongside a photo of her parents giving her kisses on her cheeks.
“Thanks for making sacrifices since day 1 so I can live out my dream,” she continued. “But most importantly thanks for always being there for me through all the highs and lows.”
Read below to find out more about Simone Biles’ family.
Ronald Biles was serving in the Air Force and raising his daughter Shannon Biles, Simone Biles’ mom, as a single dad when he met his future wife in San Antonio, according to a 2016 profile by Andscape and ESPN.
The couple tied the knot Jan. 16, 1977, and later welcomed two sons, Ronald Biles Jr. and Adam Biles.
In the Netflix documentary “Simone Biles: Rising,” Nellie Biles shared that that the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where fans were not allowed due to COVID-19 restrictions, was the first gymnastics competition of Simone Biles’ career that Nellie Biles and her husband had ever missed.
After Simone Biles’ success at the Paris Olympics, Adria Biles shared a touching Instagram post showing love and admiration for her older sister.
“The little girl in me would look for you in every single room she walks into,” Adria Biles captioned a throwback photo of herself with Simone Biles. “You have made me into the person i am today and i will forever look up to you. i love you sister 🤍.”
In an essay she wrote for ESPN, Adria Biles said growing up, she and Simone Biles would often train together, describing her sister as “fearless.”
“Sometimes, when it came to trying a new move, she’d joke that she was going to die. It’s something all gymnasts joke about — the fear is real,” Adria Biles recalled. “But most of us don’t go and do it perfectly then! Simone was always able to go for it. If she felt fear, she never showed it.”
Adria Biles, who shared that people always mistook her for her sister, said she now looks up to her “in every way.”
“Simone is as outgoing as she seems, and yes, she is always laughing,” Adria Biles wrote for ESPN. “She’s also kind and humble, and I’m so proud to have her as my sister. I look up to her in every way.”
Ronald Biles Jr. and his wife Samantha married in 2020.
The couple welcomed their daughter Ronni Louise Biles on Nov. 25, 2022, announcing the news on Instagram.
Baby Ronni is often seen at Simone Biles’ gymnastics competitions, including the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In a video shared on Instagram by her parents, Ronni Biles can be seen donning the mini version of Simone Biles’ “Go for Glory” gymnastics uniform by GK Elite.
Ronald Biles Jr. also shared photos on Instagram of the whole family traveling to Paris, writing, “We’re OFFICIALLY on our way Paris!!!! I’m still in shock and can’t believe we’re all going. Thank you Mom & Dad for all the support and help as well … LET’S GO SIMONE and TEAM USA 🇺🇸!!! Looking forward to seeing y’all ladies soon in Paris.”
Ronald and Nellie Biles own the World Champions Centre, where Simone Biles has trained.
The gym is located in Spring, Texas, and opened in 2014.
Simone Biles’ brother Adam Biles worked there previously as a general manager.
Simone Biles and NFL star Jonathan Owens were married in a courthouse wedding in April 2023 before hosting a destination wedding in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in May 2023.
The couple celebrated their first wedding anniversary in April 2024.
Owens took time off from training camp with the Chicago Bears to travel to Paris to sit alongside the Biles family and cheer on his wife on at the 2024 Olympics.
“I think it’s super exciting that we get to be in each other’s elements and supporting each other’s dreams and goals, and yeah, it is these memories that we make that we’ll never get back,” Simone Biles said previously of Owens being able to watch her in Paris.
“Anytime we can show up for one another and support, we just get super excited because our schedules don’t align that much,” she said. “So whenever it does, it’s really important for the both of us to show up and support.”
In an interview with People in January 2023, Simone Biles shared that Nellie Biles played an important role in her nuptials to Owens.
“She’s someone I can bounce things off of and has been letting me do my thing as I figure out what works for us,” Simone Biles said at the time. “We are so excited to celebrate with our close circle, and she’s a big part of that.”
“My mom gives me advice on everything,” she added. “I look to both her and my dad as role models in many ways, but also as examples of what a strong base of love and support looks like.”
The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of ABC News and ESPN.