Olympic snowboarder Shaun White is one of the most famous athletes in the world! Even so, the San Diego, California, native always makes time for his supportive family. Although Shaun doesn’t have kids with girlfriend Nina Dobrev, he’s incredibly close with his parents and siblings. To learn more about them, keep reading.
Shaun White has two siblings:
The three-time gold medalist has an older sister named Kari White and an older brother named Jesse White.
As it happens, Shaun’s big bro was the one who taught him how to snowboard! “Jesse taught me all the grabs and spins,” he told the San Diego Union Tribune in 2001. “He told me to do stuff, and I’d go try it and maybe land it.”
As for Kari, she has an adorable daughter named Charli, and Shaun is the best uncle to her! “Adult swim … well not really,” the X-Games record holder captioned a September 2021 Instagram post with his niece. The sweet pair was all smiles hanging out poolside — Shaun even helped teach Charli how to swim!
Shaun White is close with his parents:
Shaun credits his mom, Cathy White, and his dad, Roger White, for his successful career.
“In honor of the 2022 Winter Olympics being a couple of weeks away, I decided to take a look back over the years. Nothing compares to my first Olympics! I was 19 and had no idea my whole world was about to change. I won this competition with my first run out of two and got what’s called a ‘victory lap’ I dropped in, did some big airs and sprayed snow into the crowd,” the Friends With Benefits actor recalled via Instagram in January.
“I slid into the finish area where my family was waiting and I’ll never forget their faces crying with joy,” Shaun continued. “The magnitude of what I had just done hit when my mom hugged me and said, ‘From now on, you will forever be known as Shaun White, the Olympic Gold Medalist.’”
Prior to Shaun’s snowboarding taking off, his family struggled to make ends meet. “When my career in snowboarding started out, it was my entire family driving around in a van, staying at the mountains and trying to make it happen,” he told The New York Times in 2014.
On February 11, Shaun ended his Olympic career at 35 years old. After finishing in 4th place in Beijing, he immediately had a video call with his family back in the States. “I love you guys … I love you so much,” Shaun said through tears.