“When it came to my childhood - growing up in a single-parent home, often struggling financially - my mother definitely instilled in me and my siblings this strength, this will, to just continue to survive and succeed.”

American ballet dancer and author, born 1982

Misty Danielle Copeland is an American ballet dancer and author. Born in 1982, she is best known for her work with American Ballet Theatre and for becoming the company’s first African American female principal dancer in 2015. Copeland spent much of her career at ABT, one of the leading classical ballet companies in the United States. She is also an author, and her public words often reflect her place in ballet and the significance of breaking a long-standing barrier in the field.