Back to news
Dominique Moceanu Says Demi Moore and Bruce Willis Threw the Team a 'Surprise Party' After Olympic Gold: 'Coolest Chick Ever' (Exclusive)
@Source: people.com
Winning Olympic gold is special — but there's something unique about winning it in the United States.
Dominique Moceanu and Shannon Miller, who competed together in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, joined forces once again to talk about their medal-winning ways on Saturday, March 29, at 90s Con.
On the red carpet, Moceanu, now 43, told PEOPLE exclusively during the 90s Con red carpet that during her Olympic run, she got to meet some major American celebs. "I met Andre Agassi, so that was really cool," she remembered.
But there's one extra special memory from the competition. "Bruce Willis and Demi Moore threw a surprise party at Planet Hollywood after we won gold," she said. "We were police escorted over there, and she had just filmed G.I. Jane, so that was really exciting."
"She had her bandana on," she remembered. "I thought she was the coolest chick ever. It was a lot of fun."
Moceanu was just 14 at the time (and became the last gymnast to compete legally at the Olympics at 14). She told PEOPLE she remembered seeing other celebrities in the stands during competitions, including Jamie Lee Curtis.
"That's what's really special about the home games as well," she said. She predicted that the 2028 Los Angeles Games — where her son Vincent Canales is hoping to compete — will draw big crowds and celebrities, too.
Moceanu and Miller, now 48, were part of the “Magnificent Seven,” the first American gymnastics team to take home Olympic gold medals in the sport. The athletes reunited 19 years later during a panel discussion at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, moderated by PEOPLE's Breanne L. Heldman.
The team faced tough competition in the 1996 games: the then-dominant Russian Federation fell to silver with less than a point differential. At the time, Miller was the second-most decorated American gymnast in history and the year’s reigning national champion. Moceanu, meanwhile, held the national champion title the year before and was the youngest ever to do so at 13.
After the 1996 games, Monceanu went on to win the all-around title at the 1998 Goodwill Games, the first non-Russian in history. She then retired from the sport, and was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1998 and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2008. Moceanu went on to graduate from John Carroll University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in business management.
More recently, Moceanu and her long-lost sister, Jen Bricker, were the subject of a documentary called She Looks Like Me. The film starts in Chicago in 1987 when Moceanu’s parents left her sister as a newborn in the hospital. Bricker was born without legs due to a uterine band cutting off the blood supply to her lower limbs in utero. She was later adopted by an Illinois family and grew up idolizing Moceanu. Bricker pursued her own accomplishments as an acrobat and aerialist, including touring as a featured act on Britney Spears' World Tour and a selection into the Gallery of Legends Hall of Fame by the World Acrobatic Society.
Decades later, they reunited."There were times when I was reliving these scenes that were so hard for me," Moceanu told PEOPLE at the screening last year.
“Hearing my mom talk about my biological mom, and then the adoption scene, or the scene when I was born and they left me at the hospital, I was like, 'Oh, I don't know,'" Bricker said. "It hit me in a way I just was not expecting."Meanwhile, Miller ended her gymnastics career after the 1996 games. She graduated from the University of Houston and earned a law degree from Boston College. Since then, Miller has pursued philanthropic efforts, working with organizations like the Special Olympics, Children’s Miracle Network, Drug-Free Youth, the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Pediatric Aids Foundation.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.90s Con runs through Sunday, March 30, at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.
Related News
14 Mar, 2025
Tom Hiddleston Shines in 'The Life of Ch . . .
30 Mar, 2025
Gaza's bakeries could shut down within a . . .
16 Mar, 2025
Ben Affleck Spotted With Kids In LA Amid . . .
18 Mar, 2025
Lucknow Super Giants Team Meets UP Chief . . .
20 Mar, 2025
BCCI lifts saliva ban in IPL after getti . . .
23 Mar, 2025
Chennai Super Kings Good Luck Wishes: Wh . . .
13 Feb, 2025
Neighbours star has barely aged a day as . . .
25 Feb, 2025
Petrol, Diesel Fresh Prices Announced: C . . .