Jessica Springsteen, the 29-year-old daughter of Bruce Springsteen, will compete with her stallion Don Juan van de Donkhoeve for the United States show jumping team.
On July 6, a day after the news was confirmed, she said on Instagram, “I’ve been dreaming about this since I can remember!” “I am eternally grateful to my team, friends, and family for assisting me in making this a reality. We’re off to Tokyo!! I’m honored to work with @laurakraut @teamkpf and @mclainward.official on this project. There isn’t a horse on the planet with whom I’d rather be on this journey, so thank you, Don! You’re my once-in-a-lifetime horse… Let’s go, the United States of America!”
Jessica has put in a lot of effort to make it to the Olympics. She was an alternate at the 2012 London Olympics, however, she did not make the 2016 Rio Olympics team at all.
There have been various Olympians with Hollywood ties over the years. Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner, whose father Caitlyn Jenner won the decathlon event at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada, have a parent who competed in the Olympics. She would go on to star with her family on Keeping Up With the Kardashians and later on her own spinoff, I Am Cait, to win over a new generation of fans.
Others who came from well-known families or who made their name in the entertainment industry went on to become Olympians.
Jessica Springsteen
As part of the United States show jumping team, Bruce Springsteen’s daughter will compete in the Olympics for the first time in Tokyo in 2020. This equestrian, who competed in the 2012 Olympics as an alternative, was born to ride!
Hugh Laurie
William George Ranald Mundell “Ran” Laurie, the House alum’s father, was a rower who competed in the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany and again in the 1948 Olympics in London, three years after World War II ended, winning a gold medal in the coxless pairs event.
“In 1936, he actually attended the Berlin Olympics. He stood with Adolf Hitler in the stadium “In 2016, the actor remarked on Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show. “There were a few more people there as well.”
Caitlyn Jenner
Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner‘s dad won the decathlon event at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada.
Princess Anne
In 1976, Queen Elizabeth II’s daughter and aunt to Prince William and Prince Harry, Princess Anne, became the first member of the British royal family to secure a spot on the British equestrian team at the Olympic Games. She received a concussion while competing in the games in Montreal, Canada, but she finished the competition.
Capt. Mark Phillips, her ex-husband and fellow equestrian, represented Britain at the 1972 Olympics.
Zara Tindall
Princess Anne and ex-husband Capt. Mark Phillips’ daughter, and cousin of Prince William and Prince Harry, competed in the 2012 Olympics in London, following in her parents’ footsteps. Her mother gave her with a silver medal for the British Equestrian team.
Princess Haya bint Hussein
In the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, the daughter of Jordan’s late King Hussein and sister of King Abdullah II competed in equestrian jumping.
Sheikha Maitha bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
A taekwondo athlete is the daughter of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. In 2008, she competed in the Beijing Olympics. She is the first woman to carry the national flag of the UAE at the event.
Dianne Gerace
Retired NBA star and actor Rick Fox‘s mother competed in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo in the high jump and pentathlon.
Hillary Wolf
The former child star, who co-starred with Macaulay Culkin in the first two Home Alone films, is an Olympian! She competed in judo events in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, and the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, after retiring from acting in 1992.
