Who Are Eileen Gu's Parents? Inside the Gold Medallist's Family Story as 'Lab-Made' Rumours About Her Go Viral

Following her record-breaking performance and gold medal win at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Chinese athlete and freestyle skier Eileen Gu has become the centre of a digital firestorm. A bizarre rumour about her family and origin, dubbing the Olympian as 'lab-made', has swept throughout social media, shifting the global focus from her gravity-defying tricks to her DNA.

But behind the 'engineered' labels lie a deeply human narrative of a high-achieving matriarchy. From her mother's journey from Beijing to the Bay Area to her late grandmother's unwavering influence, here is the inside story of the women who raised her.

'Lab-made' Rumour Sweeps the Internet

A bizarre rumour circulating on social media has labelled Gu as 'lab-made'. The post, stitched from a thread about fellow Olympian Alysa Liu, claimed Gu was born when her mother was over 40 and that her father was absent.

The user wrote: 'Fun Fact: Eileen Gu was born when her mother was over 40. Gu has no father (or her father was not involved), she took her mother's last name. The only thing we know is that she is a hapa. Her mom is a genetic biologist.'

They added, 'Plus, Eileen Gu and Alysa Liu grew up in the same community and have known each other since childhood. Seems like both of them were lab-made.'

The Gold Medallist's Family Story – The Truth

Although the post contains fragments of truth about Gu and her origin, there is no verified evidence that the 22-year-old Olympian was born via IVF. Reports confirm that Gu was born in San Francisco to her Chinese mother, Yan Gu, and an American father.

Gu was raised in a household defined by a powerful matriarchy, primarily led by her mother and grandmother, in San Francisco. Yan Gu, who moved from China to the US in her twenties, was a former chemical engineer and investment professional. She was also a part-time ski instructor at Lake Tahoe, and is credited with introducing her daughter to the sport and later managing her career.

Her grandmother, Feng Guozhen, who to Gu was her 'Nai Nai', was a former senior engineer at China's Ministry of Transport. Her grandmother moved to the US to help raise her, and instilled fluency in Mandarin and deep pride in her Chinese heritage.

Gu often credited her grandmother as the person who taught her to always strive for the top, and she described her as 'fiercely competitive.'

Gu's grandmother, unfortunately, passed away on the final day of the 2026 Winter Olympics. She shared that after her performance, she had just been told that her grandmother was gone.

'I just found out that my grandma passed away. She was a really big part of my life growing up and someone I looked up to immensely. She was a fighter,' Gu said, holding back tears.

Gu added, 'A lot of people just cruise through life, but she was a steamship. Like, this woman commanded life, and she grabbed it by the reins, and she made it into what she wanted it to be.'

On Instagram, Gu shared photos of herself and her grandmother. She wrote: 'Because I promised her I would be brave like her.'

Who is Eileen Gu's Dad?

Little is known about Gu's father, who has remained absent from her public life. Reports state he is American and a graduate of Harvard University. However, her family has maintained strict privacy regarding his identity and background.

Speculation once linked Yan Gu to Ray Sidney, a former Google software engineer, but Sidney is not Gu's father. He reportedly dated Yan for a few years when the Olympian was young.

Despite the bizarre 'lab-made' rumour about her origins and family, Gu has not released any statement addressing the claims.