Vanessa James's Biography

Vanessa James was born in Canada, but lived in Bermuda with her family until she was 10, and then lived in the USA.

Because her father was from Bermuda she was able to represent England in single skating as a junior.

She then switched to pairs skating, became a French citizen and partnered Yannick Bonheur and represented France.

They became the first black pair to compete in figure skating at the Olympics.

She then partnered Morgan Cipres and they became European champions in 2019.

In all, Vanessa James is a six time French national champion, and a four-time Olympian, representing France at Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018, and Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

In 2019, Vanessa James joined CBC’s Battle of the Blades.

She became of the professional skaters on Dancing on Ice in 2024. She was paired with Greg Rutherford.

Vanessa and Greg reached the last four, but had to pull out of the final because of an injury to Greg.

Trivia
Vanessa's twin sister Melyssa James has also skated competitively.

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