Sasha Cohen

Alexandra Pauline "Sasha" Cohen (born October 26, 1984) is an American retired figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World Championship medalist, the 2003 Grand Prix Final Champion, and the 2006 U.S. Champion. She is known for her artistry, flexibility and body lines, and musical interpretation.

Early life Cohen was born in Westwood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California. Her nickname "Sasha" is a Russian diminutive of "Alexandra". Her mother, Galina Cohen (née Feldman), is a Jewish immigrant from Odesa, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union, and a former ballet dancer. Her father, Roger Cohen, is a graduate of the UC Berkeley School of Law and formerly a law partner at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison.

Cohen graduated from Futures High School in Mission Viejo, California, in 2002. Cohen graduated from Columbia University in 2016 with a degree in political science. As a university student, she has used the name Alex rather than Sasha.

In 2005, Cohen published her autobiography, Fire on Ice. The autobiography was republished in 2006 with a new chapter on the 2006 season.

Skating career

Early career A gymnast from an early age, Cohen switched to figure skating when she was seven years old, but it wasn't until she was eleven that she began to take the sport seriously. One of her early skating coaches was Victor Yelchin, father of late actor Anton Yelchin. With this victory Cohen automatically secured her place on the U.S. Olympic team for the 2006 Winter Olympics, a spot made official on January 14 of that year by the United States Figure Skating Association.

At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Cohen was in first after the short program, leading Russia's Irina Slutskaya by a mere .03 points. In the final free skate, Cohen fell on her first jump, a triple lutz, and had her hands down on her second jump, the triple flip. She completed the rest of her elements, including five triples. Cohen finished with an Olympic silver medal,

Halls of Fame In 2015, Cohen was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. The next January 22, U.S. Figure Skating made her part of the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame Class of 2016. According to figure skating historian James R. Hines, Cohen's "potential as a talented, artistic, and extremely flexible skater was never completely realized owing to her inability to present two clean programs in the same competition, especially in world and Olympic competition".

Ice shows Cohen has participated in the ice show Stars On Ice for several years, as well as starring in the 2010 Art On Ice alongside Stéphane Lambiel. She joined 2010 Olympic ladies champion Yuna Kim in the All That Skate ice show, scheduled for July 23–25, 2010 in Goyang, South Korea, alongside other skaters including Michelle Kwan, Stéphane Lambiel and Brian Joubert.

Television and film Cohen in attendance at the 2026 U.S. Championships with Adam Rippon Cohen has appeared, as herself and as an actress playing a role, in commercials, television episodes, documentaries and feature films.

Television Cohen has done commercials for Citizen Watch, Simply Saline, and Got Milk?. She appeared in Episode 7 of the second season of Project Runway wherein designers were challenged to design a skating dress for her. The winning dress (by Zulema Griffin) did not fit and the dress had to be resized. Cohen made a brief appearance guest starring as herself on the May 5, 2006, episode of the NBC drama, Las Vegas. In April 2008, she appeared as a contortionist on the premiere episode of Secret Talents of the Stars and advanced to the semifinals, although the show was cancelled before she could perform again. She made a guest appearance as an ice skater in CSI: NY season 3 episode 12 "Silent Night". Cohen also participated in the 2013 edition of "Tornado Week" on The Weather Channel, helping break the myth that small tornadoes are not as destructive by demonstrating a tight spin.

Film Cohen played Fiona Hughes, Moondance Alexander's archenemy, in the Don Johnson movie Moondance Alexander. At the 2006 Academy Awards, Cohen served as a guest correspondent for Inside Edition. This experience led to an encounter with Ben Stiller and a discussion about having a part in a future comedy about figure skating, which Cohen said she would enjoy. In 2007, she appeared as herself in Blades of Glory. Later that year, she also had a role in Bratz: The Movie. In 2017, Cohen appeared as herself in the Syfy TV movie, Sharknado 5.

Cohen was featured in The Weight of Gold (2020), an HBO Sports Documentary which "explor(es) the mental health challenges that Olympic athletes often face."

Personal life On July 5, 2015, it was announced that Cohen was engaged to hedge fund manager Tom May. On August 20, 2016, the couple married in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In February 2018, she and May were living apart and going through divorce proceedings. Cohen now works as an associate at Morgan Stanley. In October 2019, Cohen announced her engagement to Geoffrey Lieberthal, an equity partner who is also the son of political scientist Kenneth Lieberthal. They have two children: a son born in January 2020 and a daughter born in August 2021. Cohen and Lieberthal married in September 2022 in Aspen Mountain, Colorado.

Programs

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition 2009–2010 España cañí by Pascual Marquina Narro choreo. by Lori Nichol Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven choreo. by Nikolai Morozov Sick and Tired by Anastacia choreo. by Sasha Cohen

Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen performed by Jeff Buckley choreo. by Sasha Cohen

Mein Herr (from Cabaret) by Kander and Ebb choreo. by Sasha Cohen 2008–2009

Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven choreo. by Nikolai Morozov

Don't Stop The Music by Rihanna choreo. by Sasha Cohen

I Could Not Ask for More by Sara Evans choreo. by Sasha Cohen

Hard to Say I'm Sorry by Chicago performed by Peter Cetera choreo. by Sasha Cohen

Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley performed by Peter Cetera choreo. by Sasha Cohen 2007–2008 What's Left Of Me by Nick Lachey choreo. by Sasha Cohen

Hurt by Christina Aguilera choreo. by Sasha Cohen 2006–2007 It's So Hard To Say Goodbye by Boyz II Men choreo. by Sasha Cohen

Anytime, Anywhere by Sarah Brightman choreo. by Sasha Cohen 2005–2006