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Jennifer Bricker

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Jennifer Bricker-Brauer (born Jennifer Bricker, October 1, 1987)[1][2] is an American acrobat, aerialist, and memoirist. Born without legs, she was placed for adoption by her parents.[3] She is the sister of American Olympic gymnast Dominique Moceanu, although the two were unaware they were biological siblings until later in life.

Jennifer Bricker
Bricker at SXSW 2024
Born
Jennifer Bricker

(1987-10-01) October 1, 1987 (age 37)
Other names
  • Jen Bricker
  • Jen Bricker-Bauer
  • Jennifer Bricker-Bauer
Occupation(s)Acrobat, aerialist
RelativesDominique Moceanu (sister) Christina Moceanu Chapman (sister)
Websitejenbricker.com
Bricker addressing an audience at the Cydcor 2015 National Conference, Nashville, TN.

Career

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Bricker grew up competing in gymnastics alongside teammates who did not have disabilities.[4] At age of 10, she competed in the Junior Olympics.[5] In 1998, Bricker competed in the AAU Junior Olympics (power tumbling), placing fourth. The same year she received the U.S. Tumbling Association’s Inspiration Award.[3][6] She was the first disabled high school tumbling champion in the state of Illinois.[7]

After taking a break from tumbling, Bricker began performing in aerial acrobatics and trampoline around 2008. With performer Nate Crawford, she co-choreographed and performed in a trampoline show at the Amway Center in Orlando during the 2008 Mascot Games. They ceased performing the show when Crawford was cast in Britney Spears' Circus Tour (2009). This exposed Bricker to the show's producers and she became featured performer on the Circus tour,[8] appearing in 40 shows across North America and Australia.[9] She has also performed in Cirque du Soleil’s Las Vegas show, Club Light.[10]

Her story is detailed in her memoir Everything Is Possible: Finding the Faith and Courage to Follow Your Dreams, which was a New York Times bestseller. Writing in Psychology Today, Nancy L. Segal noted, "The sisters' reunion makes for an inspiring story of family ties broken and restored. But it also provides priceless material for research into the roles of nature and nurture in athletic prowess".[11]

In 2022, Bricker performed in Omnium Circus's live show, I’mPossible.[12] She is an inductee into the World Acrobatic Society's Gallery of Legends Hall of Fame.[13]

Personal life

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"She Looks Like Me" cast and crew at SXSW 2024. Torquil Jones, Jen Bricker–Bauer, and Dominique Moceanu.

Jennifer Bricker was born on October 1, 1987 with no legs.[2] She was adopted by George and Sharon Bricker of Hardinville, Illinois.[14] She grew up with three older brothers.[9]

Her adoption was closed, but her birth parents' names were on some documents. During the 1996 Olympics, the cameras cut to the parents of gymnast Dominique Moceanu and the Brickers made the connection. When she was 16, Bricker asked her adoptive parents if they knew anything about her birth family and they told her about Dominique. Enlisting the assistance of a private investigator uncle, Jennifer Bricker got in touch with her biological parents. She spent four years trying to get in touch with her sister. Bricker met with Dominique and her other sister, Christina Moceanu, in person for the first time in 2008.[9][5] The Moceanu family is ethnically Aromanian, from modern Romania.[15]

The sisters went public with their story in 2012.[9] Moceanu's memoir, Off Balance, tells her side of the story in learning that Bricker was her younger sister who had been placed for adoption at the hospital at birth.[16][17] Before learning Moceanu was her sister, Bricker idolized her, and even had posters of her on her bedroom walls.[17][18] The 2024 documentary “She Looks Like Me” from director Torquil Jones tells the story of the two sisters discovering their connection.[19][20]

She married Austrian-born Dominik Bauer in 2019, becoming Jennifer Bricker-Bauer.[14] She gave birth to a son, Malachi Bauer, in 2023.[13]

References

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  1. ^ Lynn, Allison (June 8, 2012). "Champion Gymnast's Hidden Life: Dominique Moceanu on Secret Sister". ABC News. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Peterson, Deb. "Illinois girl born without legs doesn't let that stand in her way". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Rich Schapiro (June 10, 2012). "Jennifer Bricker looked up to secret sister Moceanu". NY Daily News. Archived from the original on September 12, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
  4. ^ Radnofsky, Louise (September 26, 2021). "Gymnastics Isn't in the Paralympics—and There Is Little Momentum to Change That". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Venema, Vibeke (January 25, 2017). "My idol turned out to be my sister". BBC Online. BBC. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  6. ^ "Illinois girl born without legs doesn't let that stand in her way". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 1, 1998.
  7. ^ "HBO Real Sports: Gymnast Sisters", HBO video archive; see also the transcript
  8. ^ Nicole Weskerna (September 25, 2009). "Bricker's talent goes worldwide on singer's tour". Robinson Daily News. Archived from the original on September 12, 2014. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  9. ^ a b c d Maine, D'arcy (September 8, 2016). "Meet Jen Bricker, the gymnast born without legs". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  10. ^ Parks, Mary (July 2, 2019). "Athlete Born Without Legs Finds Sister Separated at Birth". Spectrum News 1. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  11. ^ Segal, Nancy L. (November 3, 2015). "A Tale of Two Sisters". www.psychologytoday.com. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  12. ^ Klein, Carolyn (April 10, 2022). "In "I'mPossible," Omnium Circus Opens Up All-New Access". StageLync. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Matusz-Braniecka, Katarzyna (September 27, 2023). "Jen Bricker, the amazing acrobat who was born without legs". Aleteia. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  14. ^ a b Hogan, Kate (July 15, 2019). "Author and Aerialist Jen Bricker Weds Fiancé in 'Small, Hometown' Wedding: 'It Was Literally Perfect'". People.com. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  15. ^ Both, Ștefan (January 8, 2019). "Povestea aromânilor din Banatul Timișean. De unde a venit acest "neam frate cu românii"". Adevărul (in Romanian).
  16. ^ Lynn, Alison (June 11, 2012). "Champion Gymnast's Hidden Life: Dominique Moceanu on Secret Sister". ABC News. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  17. ^ a b Segal, Nancy L. (November 3, 2015). "A Tale of Two Sisters". Psychology Today. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  18. ^ "The Secret Link Between Two Gymnasts, Outlook - BBC World Service". BBC. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  19. ^ "She Looks Like Me". SXSW 2024 Schedule. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  20. ^ Adlakha, Siddhant (March 18, 2024). "'She Looks Like Me' Review: Family Secrets and Public Scandals Brush Shoulders in a Scattered Documentary". Variety. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
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