Gus Kenworthy
Kenworthy in 2019
Personal information
Birth nameAugustus Richard Kenworthy
NationalityBritish, American
Born (1991-10-01) October 1, 1991 (age 32)
Chelmsford, Essex, England[1]
Height175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight75 kg (165 lb)
Websiteguskenworthy.com
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2007–present
Subscribers52.9k[2]
(December 30, 2021)
Total views7.8 million[2]
(December 30, 2021)
Last updated: September 2019
Medal record
Men's freestyle skiing
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2014 Sochi Slopestyle
X Games
Silver medal – second place 2016 Aspen Slopestyle
Silver medal – second place 2016 Aspen Superpipe
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Oslo Superpipe
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Oslo Big Air
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Tignes Slopestyle[3]
New Zealand Winter Games
Gold medal – first place 2011 Cardrona Slopestyle
Gold medal – first place 2011 Cardrona Halfpipe
Winter Dew Tour
Silver medal – second place 2012 Breckenridge Big Air
Gold medal – first place 2014 Breckenridge Slopestyle
Gold medal – first place 2015 Breckenridge Slopestyle
Gold medal – first place Breckenridge 2016 Team Challenge
Bronze medal – third place Breckenridge 2017 Team Challenge
Gold medal – first place Breckenridge 2018 Team Challenge
FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships
Silver medal – second place 2017 Sierra Nevada Slopestyle
Representing  Great Britain
Ski World Cup
Gold medal – first place Calgary 2020 Freestyle Halfpipe
Winter Dew Tour
Silver medal – second place Copper 2020 Modified Superpipe

Augustus Richard Kenworthy (born October 1, 1991) is a British-American former freestyle skier, actor, and YouTuber. He has competed in slopestyle, halfpipe, and big air. Kenworthy won the silver medal in men's slopestyle at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. As of 2019 Kenworthy represents Great Britain. He was cast as Chet Clancy in the ninth season of the horror anthology series American Horror Story: 1984.

Early life and education

Kenworthy was born in Chelmsford, Essex to an English mother, Heather "Pip" Tyler, and an American father, Peter Kenworthy.[4][5] He has two older brothers, Hugh and Nick Kenworthy.[6]

Peter Kenworthy, a former banker from Philadelphia who worked in London for several years, has been the executive director of the Mountainfilm film festival in Telluride, Colorado since 2006.[7][8] Pip Kenworthy, originally from Bristol, England was born into a large family with eight siblings. After moving to London in the early 1970s, she began working backstage in costumes at the Kings Head Theatre Club. She also ran a vintage booth at Camden Lock Market.[5] In 1993 when Gus Kenworthy was two years old, the family emigrated and settled in Telluride.[5]

Kenworthy graduated from Telluride High School in June 2010.[6] He could have graduated in 2009 but chose instead to take a year off to ski.[9]

Career

Kenworthy won AFP World Championships overall titles in 2011, 2012, and 2013.[10][11][12][13] In 2014, he placed second at the Olympics in Sochi, Russia and won his first medal, a bronze, at the X Games in Tignes, France in the slopestyle event.[14] He won the World Cup Men's Halfpipe in Park City, Utah,[15] in 2015 and again in 2016 in Mammoth, California, and finished second in 2017.[16][17] He finished third in the Men's Slopestyle during the 2017 World Cup in Silvaplana, Switzerland.[18]

In 2019, Kenworthy guest starred on RuPaul's Drag Race, All Stars 4, Episode 3, "Snatch Game of Love", as one of the available bachelors. Kenworthy joined the main cast in the ninth season of FX's anthology series American Horror Story as Chet Clancy.[19][20] In December 2019, he announced he would compete for his birth nation, Great Britain.[19] In February 2020, he won his first gold medal as a competitor for Great Britain.[21] In January 2022, he made his final X Games competition competing in the Superpipe final. He finished his X Games career having made 32 appearances in the event and joining some of the greats of the sport.

At the 2022 Winter Olympics, Kenworthy competed for the last time.[22][23][24] He qualified for the final in 12th and finished 8th in the final.

Personal life

In October 2015, Kenworthy publicly came out as gay in an interview with ESPN.[25][26] He said in a later interview with Attitude magazine that he chose to come out on ESPN because "I wanted to do it in my words and once and for all–and hopefully help kids that are in the same position I was."[27] Rolling Stone noted the "freestyle medalist is the first action-sports star to come out."[28][29] He was in a relationship with Robin Macdonald, who was also involved in the ski industry, working in film and photography.[30][31] The couple gained international media attention as a result of Macdonald texting him a photo of five stray dogs—four puppies and their mother—during their stay in Sochi, at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Macdonald stayed behind for more than a month to save the family of dogs, and others, while he fought to bring them home.[32][33] Their adoption of these dogs helped bring further attention to the problematic rise of the stray dog population in Sochi, which grew significantly during the Olympics.[33] The two eventually broke up after a five-year relationship.[30]

From November 2015 to July 2019, Kenworthy was in a relationship with American theatre and film actor and reality television personality Matthew Wilkas.[30][34][35] At the 2018 Winter Olympics, in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Wilkas kissed Kenworthy before his qualifying run in the men's slopestyle;[36] the kiss was broadcast on live television and was lauded as being a significant moment for the visibility of LGBT athletes.[37][38][39] In June 2017, Kenworthy received the HRC Visibility Award for his work in LGBT visibility in professional sports.[40][41]

In 2017, Kenworthy was a cast member on the MTV series The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros, which featured former competitors as well as professional athletes.[42][43] In 2018, he was chosen by Fierté Montréal as one of the six grand marshals for the Pride Parade.[44] He announced his participation in AIDS/LifeCycle in 2019, aiming to raise $1 million to fight HIV/AIDS.[45][46] He joined approximately 2,000 other cyclists on a 7-day, 545-mile cycling trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles. He raised a total of $249,745.[47][48]

Kenworthy said he did not believe that boycotting the 2022 Olympics in China would solve any international human rights situations, and while in China, he spoke out against "human rights atrocities".[49][50]

In 2022, it was revealed that Kenworthy had been dating Creative Artists Agency executive Adam Umhoefer for two years.[51]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Ref(s)
2019 Olympic Dreams Gus
2023 80 for Brady Erik
2023 The Sacrifice Game [52]

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2016 The Real O'Neals Himself Episode: "The Real Match"
2017 The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros Himself 6 episodes
2017 Sharknado 5: Global Swarming Skier Television film
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Himself Episode: "Snatch Game of Love"
2019 Beat Bobby Flay Himself - Celebrity Judge Episode: “Oh Brother”
2019 American Horror Story: 1984 Chet Clancy 9 episodes
2020 Will & Grace Slutty Steve Episode: "Filthy Phil, Part I"
2021 Coming Out Colton Himself Documentary
2023 Special Forces: World's Toughest Test Himself - Contestant Season: 1

Web series

Year Title Role Notes
2017 New York Is Dead Pogo Ball Student 1 episode

Music videos

Year Title Artist Notes
2022 "Taste So Good (The Cann Song)" Vincint (featuring Hayley Kiyoko, MNEK, & Kesha)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Gus Kenworthy". teamusa.org. United States Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "About goosey3713". YouTube.
  3. ^ "ESPN X Games profile for Gus Kenworthy". Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  4. ^ Klingsporn, Katie (February 12, 2014). "Go, Gus!". Telluride Daily Planet. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Viebrock, Susan (February 3, 2011). "Fashion Friday: Pip on what to wear to the Fling (Interview with Pip Kenworthy)". Telluride Inside... and Out. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Kenworthy Grabs Silver in U.S. Podium Sweep". Watch Newspapers (Western San Juan Mountains newspaper, serving Telluride). February 13, 2014. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  7. ^ "First Ever Double Flip Off Of A Rail – Yeah Gus!". Mountainfilm Blog. July 14, 2011. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  8. ^ "Profile of Peter Kenworthy". Mountainfilm. April 14, 2011. Archived from the original on August 15, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  9. ^ Hemphill, Steve (June 9, 2010). "Q&A Wednesday with Gus Kenworthy". Freeskier Magazine. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  10. ^ "Kenworthy Keeps Overall Title at AFP Worlds". US Freeskiing. Archived from the original on February 17, 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  11. ^ Michelson, Megan. "AFP Champs: Big Air". Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  12. ^ Hansman, Heather. "Kenworthy, Voisin Win AFP Slopestyle". ESPN X Games. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  13. ^ "US Freeskiing's profile on Gus Kenworthy". US Freeskiing. Archived from the original on February 13, 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  14. ^ "Atomic Skis' profile on Gus Kenworthy". Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  15. ^ "World Cup - Men's Halfpipe 28.02.2015". data.fis-ski.com. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  16. ^ "World Cup - Men's Halfpipe 23.01.2016". data.fis-ski.com. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  17. ^ "World Cup - Men's Halfpipe 04.02.2017". data.fis-ski.com. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  18. ^ "World Cup - Men's Slopestyle 03.03.2017". data.fis-ski.com. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  19. ^ a b Roper, Eleanor (December 3, 2019). "US Olympian Kenworthy switches to GB". Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  20. ^ Petski, Denise (February 6, 2019). "'American Horror Story': Gus Kenworthy & Emma Roberts Set For Season 9". Deadline. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  21. ^ "Ski World Cup: GB's Gus Kenworthy wins freestyle gold in Calgary". BBC Sport. February 15, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  22. ^ "Gus Kenworthy Says Competing in Final Winter Olympics Will 'Honor' His Mom: She's 'So Supportive'". Peoplemag. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  23. ^ "Gus Kenworthy retires at the 2022 Winter Olympics: "I couldn't be more thankful"". GAY TIMES. February 20, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  24. ^ Bruton, Michelle. "Olympic Halfpipe Final Will Be Gus Kenworthy's Last Ever Competition, But His Legacy Goes Far Beyond Skiing". Forbes. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  25. ^ Roenigk, Alyssa (October 22, 2015). "Olympic freeskier Gus Kenworthy's next bold move — coming out". ESPN. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  26. ^ "Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy proud to be part of LGBTQ community at Beijing Games". NBC News. February 17, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  27. ^ Stroude, Will (November 12, 2015). "Gus Kenworthy talks about Sochi, first sexual experiences and becoming a gay role model". Attitude. Archived from the original on September 21, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  28. ^ Browne, David. "Hot Rebel Skier Gus Kenworthy". Rolling Stone. No. December 2015.
  29. ^ Kenworthy, Gus [@@guskenworthy] (October 22, 2015). "Twitter" (Tweet). Retrieved October 22, 2015 – via Twitter.
  30. ^ a b c Hicklin, Aaron (December 29, 2016). "The Love Portfolio: Gus Kenworthy + Matt Wilkas". Out.com. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  31. ^ "Openly Gay Skier Gus Kenworthy Is Embracing His Role at the Winter Olympics". Time. December 15, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  32. ^ Rachel Axon; Lindsay Jones (February 13, 2014). "U.S. Olympian is doing his best to adopt all the stray puppies in Sochi". USA Today. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  33. ^ a b "U.S. freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy adopting stray Sochi puppies". CBS News. February 13, 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  34. ^ Wong, Curtis M. (July 11, 2019). "Gus Kenworthy Splits From Longtime Boyfriend Matthew Wilkas". HuffPost. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  35. ^ "Gus Kenworthy Splits From Longtime Boyfriend Matthew Wilkas". HuffPost. July 11, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  36. ^ Buzinski, Jim (December 27, 2018). "Gus Kenworthy kissing his boyfriend Matt Wilkas on live TV at the Olympics was the gay sports moment of 2018". Outsports. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  37. ^ Reilly, Katie (February 17, 2018). "Gus Kenworthy and His Boyfriend Kissed on TV at the Olympics and Fans Are Ecstatic". Time. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  38. ^ Gregory, Sean (February 18, 2018). "Gus Kenworthy's Boyfriend Matthew Wilkas on the Meaning of Their Historic Olympics Kiss". Time. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  39. ^ Graham, Bryan Armen (February 18, 2018). "Gus Kenworthy's kiss with boyfriend on NBC greeted with acclaim". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  40. ^ Gus Kenworthy Receives the HRC Visibility Award, retrieved May 7, 2022
  41. ^ "The Resistance Reclaims Its Time at the HRC Los Angeles Dinner". Human Rights Campaign. March 14, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  42. ^ "The Challenge: Champs Vs. Pros TV Series Cast Members | MTV". MTV. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  43. ^ Brener, Jeremy (May 16, 2017). "Openly gay Olympian Gus Kenworthy competes on new MTV show". Outsports. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  44. ^ Burnett, Richard (August 9, 2018). "Montreal Pride shows its true colours". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  45. ^ Moore, Nick (February 8, 2019). "Gus Kenworthy pledging to raise $1 million to fight HIV • AIDS/LifeCycle". AIDS/LifeCycle. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  46. ^ Serafino, Jason (May 23, 2019). "Gus Kenworthy Talks About the Upcoming AIDS/LifeCycle and Social Media Activism". Muscle & Fitness. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  47. ^ "Gus Kenworthy". www.facebook.com.
  48. ^ "ALC2019: Gus Kenworthy - AIDS/LifeCycle". www.tofighthiv.org. Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  49. ^ "Gus Kenworthy Shares Why He Won't Boycott Olympics Despite China's Human Rights Record". HuffPost. February 16, 2022.
  50. ^ Leicester, John (February 21, 2022). "Human rights? China won that Winter Olympics battle. Almost". Associated Press News.
  51. ^ Padgett, Donald (January 27, 2022). "Gus Kenworthy Publicly Kissed His Boyfriend of 2 Years At Winter X Games". Out. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  52. ^ Grobar, Matt (May 6, 2022). "Shudder Boards Jenn Wexler's '70s Horror Film 'The Sacrifice Game' Starring Mena Massoud, Olivia Scott Welch, Gus Kenworthy & Chloë Levine". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 15, 2023.

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