All About Alysa Liu’s Dad Arthur Liu, Who Welcomed 5 Children via Surrogate

All About Alysa Liu’s Dad Arthur Liu, Who Welcomed 5 Children via Surrogate

Alysa Liu – Arthur Liu – Alysa Liu family – Alysa Liu had a very “abnormal childhood.”

Raised in Richmond, Calif., by a single father, Arthur Liu, Alysa was introduced to figure skating at just 5 years old. After recognizing her natural talent, Arthur quickly structured her life around the sport, leaving little room for anything else.

By age 13, Alysa had become the youngest-ever U.S. figure skating champion and the first U.S. woman in history to land three triple axels, a move that few in figure skating have accomplished.

Despite her success on the ice, the young star wasn’t particularly passionate about the sport.

“I skated every day when I was 13 and 14, so it was a very abnormal childhood,” she said during a January 2026 interview for CBS’s 60 Minutes. She likened the experience to a job, adding: “Especially as a kid, you don’t really know what you want. Skating feels more like a responsibility or a burden, even.”

In April 2022, shortly after she competed in the Beijing Winter Olympics, Alysa shocked the nation when she announced her retirement at just 16 years old, a decision she did not consult her father on.

Two years later, she reignited her love for skating and made a remarkable comeback, winning the 2025 World Championships and securing two gold medals at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

From her unique family dynamic to her father’s involvement in her early career, here’s everything to know about Alysa Liu’s dad.

Arthur emigrated from China at 25

Arthur was born and raised in a small mountain village in China’s Sichuan Province, he told NBC Sports. He was one of six children, and his dad had a government job while his mom was a farmer.

At 25 years old, Arthur was forced to flee the country due to his involvement in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

After relocating to the Bay Area, he earned his law degree from the University of California and later started his own practice, Inter-Pacific Law Group Inc.

Arthur welcomed Alysa and her siblings through surrogacy

Alysa and her four younger siblings — sister Selena and triplets Julia, Justin and Joshua — were all born via surrogacy using anonymous egg donors. She and the triplets share a surrogate mother, whom the figure skater has met, per NBC Sports.

Arthur has spoken openly about starting his family in a non-traditional way and becoming a single parent by choice.

“I had always wanted to have kids and I was already 40,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle in a January 2019 interview.

Arthur’s mom helped raise Alysa and her siblings

Arthur’s mom, Shu, moved to California from China to help raise Alysa and her siblings for the first eight years of their life, per NBC Sports.

At one point, the family all lived in a one-bedroom apartment, and the siblings shared a room, which Alysa loved.

“When we were little, we would all sleep in the same room [in] three bunk beds, it was so fun,” she recalled during a December 2025 interview with KCRA. “We would stay up late, like crawling around the bunk beds … honestly, I kind of miss it.”

Arthur was very involved in her early skating career

Inspired by figure skating legends Michelle Kwan and Kristi Yamaguchi, Arthur introduced Alysa to the sport when she was just 5 years old.

After recognizing her natural talent, Arthur became heavily involved in his daughter’s skating career, pouring thousands of dollars into her training and taking her all over the world to compete and receive the best coaching.

“I spared no money, no time,” he said during the 60 Minutes special. “I just saw the talent.”

Despite describing himself as having a “laissez-faire” approach, Arthur regularly watched Alysa’s practices, dismissed several of her coaches and even brought a radar gun to the rink to track the speed of her jumps.

“It was basically his business,” Alysa said. “It wasn’t even really mine.”

Her family played into her decision to quit skating

Alysa first began thinking about quitting figure skating during the COVID-19 pandemic, when ice rinks shut down and the Olympics were postponed.

“That was my first ever break,” she told The Guardian in March 2025. “Once quarantine started, I was like, ‘Wow! This is what not skating is like.’ And I loved it so much.”

The time away from the ice also made her aware of how much time she had spent away from her family while competing.

“My worry was that I’ll have never lived with my family. I’m growing up so fast, so young. I knew that if I continued skating, I would never have a chance at home,” she said.

A few years later, in April 2022, she announced her retirement on Instagram, writing, “I honestly never thought I would’ve accomplished as much as I did. I’m so happy. I feel so satisfied with how my skating career has gone.”

“Now that I’m finally done with my goals in skating I’m going to be moving on with my life,” she continued, adding that she wanted to enjoy “spare time with my family and friends.”

While speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle that May, Alysa revealed that she did not talk to her father about the decision.

“I didn’t really ask [my dad’s] opinion when I decided to retire. After all, it’s my life,” she said, adding that Arthur was “supportive” of her decision.

Arthur is no longer involved in her skating

When Alysa made the decision to return to figure skating in 2024, she had a few conditions. This time around, she would be in charge of the decisions around her training and career.

“I get to pick my own program music, I get to help with the creative process of the program,” she said on 60 Minutes. “If I feel like I’m skating too much, I’ll back down. If I feel like I’m not skating enough, I’ll ramp it up. No one is going to starve me, tell me what I can and can’t eat.”

This shift also meant her father would be less involved. “He’s a great father, I just didn’t want him to be as invested in it as he was before,” she explained.

In the same interview, Arthur admitted that he was a “a little bit” hurt by Alysa’s decision.

“It’s like … I brought you up to two U.S. national titles,” he said. However, he remains supportive of her career and was seen cheering her on from the stands as she took home the World Championship title in March 2025.

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