Misty Copeland

Misty Danielle Copeland, born September 10, 1982, is an American ballet dancer and author who danced primarily with American Ballet Theatre, one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. Her career unfolded in an era when classical ballet was still marked by narrow expectations about race, body, training, and access. On June 30, 2015, she became the first African American woman promoted to principal dancer in ABT’s 75-year history.

Copeland was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in the San Pedro community of Los Angeles, California. Her early life included frequent moves, family strain, and periods when her mother and siblings were homeless and living in two small rooms at the Sunset Inn in Gardena. She did not begin formal ballet training until age 13, after a drill team coach noticed her natural grace and encouraged her to attend a free class at a local Boys & Girls Club. Cynthia Bradley, who taught the class, soon began bringing Copeland to the San Pedro Dance Center. After only three months, Copeland was en pointe.

Her rise was unusually fast. By age 14, she had won a national ballet contest and received her first solo role. She drew media attention after performing Clara in The Nutcracker at San Pedro High School after only eight months of study, with 2,000 patrons attending each show. She also danced Kitri in Don Quixote at the San Pedro Dance Center and appeared in The Chocolate Nutcracker, an African American version of the tale narrated by Debbie Allen. In 1997, she won the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Award as the best dancer in Southern California.

What shaped Copeland’s outlook was not only talent, but pressure. In 1998, while she was already receiving professional offers, her ballet teachers were serving as her custodial and legal guardians and her mother was in a custody battle with them. Legal filings included Copeland’s petition for emancipation and restraining orders by her mother. Both sides later dropped the proceedings, and Copeland returned home to study with a new teacher, a former ABT member. After two ABT summer workshops, she joined ABT’s Studio Company in 2000, entered the corps de ballet in 2001, and became a soloist in 2007. From 2007 to 2015, she was described as having matured into a more contemporary and sophisticated dancer.

Beyond ABT, Copeland became a public speaker, author, celebrity spokesperson, and stage performer. She wrote two autobiographical books and narrated the documentary A Ballerina’s Tale, which focused on challenges in her career. In 2015, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world and put her on its cover. She also performed on Broadway in On the Town, toured as a featured dancer for Prince, and appeared on A Day in the Life and So You Think You Can Dance. She retired from ABT in 2025.

Copeland’s words still speak clearly because they come from lived experience, from starting late, standing out, and moving through uncertainty in a demanding art form. Her line, “Know that you can start late, look different, be uncertain and still succeed,” fits the facts of her life without needing ornament. It is a direct message from a dancer who entered ballet at 13 and reached its highest rank at one of America’s major companies.