Simone Biles has a lifelong support system in her sister Adria Biles. After Simone Biles exited the team finals at the Tokyo 2020/2021 Olympics, then subsequently the individual all-around competition, Adria rushed to defend her. "y’all are all about mental health until it no longer benefits you.. i can’t imagine being that inconsiderate WHEWWWW," she tweeted at the time, in what was a reference to the insensitive comments the star gymnast was getting for choosing to sit out the competition for her well-being.
The viral tweet is far from the first time Adria, who's two years younger than her famous sibling, has shown steadfast care: She has a history of being fiercely loyal to Simone, and the two have always had an exceptionally close relationship. As she's stepped into the spotlight over the past few years (including TV appearances), Adria has never stopped showing love to her big sis. Now that the 2024 Paris Olympics are in full swing and Biles is back competing on Team U.S.A., we're taking a look at what we know about Adria.
Who is Adria Biles?
Adria, 25, is one of four of Simone's biological siblings: The two also have an older brother, Ron Jr., and an older sister Ashley Biles Thomas.
Adria, according to a post she made on X (formerly Twitter), works in dental hygiene.
The younger sister of the famed gymnast is also a former gymnast herself. She started at 9-years-old and ended up competing at the junior elite level, even training with Simone and competing until 2016.
The two also spent time together in the foster system before being adopted by their maternal grandparents, Ron and Nellie, when Simone was 6 and Adria was 4. (Both Simone and Adria refer to Ron and Nellie as their parents.)
Adria has opened up about her and Simone's childhood in the past. When speaking to ESPN in a 2016 interview, she shared, "My sister has always been. When we were little kids, we'd stand on a railing on the second floor of our house, then jump off onto the couch down below on the first floor. She'd go first, and I'd follow. We were both gymnasts, so we were always trying things around the house. Nothing scared her."
In a June 2021 Facebook Watch documentary, she described her sister as being "bossy" growing up and shared that the two fought "all the time." Even still, she thinks of her as her "best friend."
Adria was a professional dancer for Houston's baseball team.
Adria also has experience in the professional dance world. In 2022, she joined the Shooting Stars, the dance team for the Houston Astros. (Think the Dallas Cowboy Cheerlanders but baseball instead of football.) She appears to have only remained on the dance team for one season, during which she served as “an ambassador of the Houston Astros organization through in-game promotions and entertainment, community outreach and charity events,” per the Shooting Stars’ website.
Adria competed on the reality TV show 'Claim to Fame.'
In 2022, Adria joined the cast of the first season of Claim to Fame, a competition reality show where relatives of celebrities attempt to conceal their identities to win $100,000. Playing under her middle name, Louise, Adria threw off her costars' guesses by telling them that her sister is a well-known former athlete whose biggest accolade was at the collegiate level. Though some contestants knew her true identity from day one, she lasted on the ABC series until episode 8.
"I was expecting to be the first one out!" she told USA Today after her elimination. "I did not think I was going to make it so far but I’m really proud of myself ... I basically thought I would walk through the door and walk right back out. Then I started winning and it was like, 'Okay, game on.'"
When asked what it's like being Simone's sister, Adria added, "I think when people ask this question they don’t realize she is completely normal. She doesn’t do flips around the house. We still fight sometimes and I steal her clothes. We are like best friends."
Adria was a bridesmaid in Simone's wedding.
Simone's tight-knit family played a big role in the gymnast's 2023 destination wedding to NFL player Jonathan Owens. Adria was a bridesmaid for the big event, and she documented several parts of the wedding lead-up and festivities on Instagram, including the bachelorette weekend, the bridal shower, and the big day itself. In one clip, she unboxed her wedding gift for Simone, her pressed bouquet, saying, "[Simone] deserves the entire world and I want to make it super, super special for her."
Adria is a huge cheerleader for her sister.
It's immediately obvious how Adria feels about her sis as soon as you see her X. Since 2019, she's had the post, "my sister is amazing. that’s it. that’s the tweet," pinned on her profile. She's also amplified and supported her sister often, including after vile comments surfaced after Simone's disclosures about sexual abuse, and the anxiety Simone said she felt afterward.
With every Olympics, she's there for Simone on the sidelines. She opened up to ESPN about cheering her on at the 2016 Olympics. "Everyone expected Simone to win in Rio. She told me once that she did feel the pressure, and that it was more pressure than she'd ever felt before," she told the outlet. "She said the expectations were hard—and she didn't want to disappoint anyone. But she also told me that she knew she was ready."
She also noted that they were frequently mistaken for each other at the sporting event since they look similar (despite Adria being several inches taller).
In the Facebook documentary, Simone spoke about the restrictions against spectators at the Tokyo Olympics and how it would be "weird" not to have her supportive family there: "They've never missed a competition."
For this year's sporting event, the sisters even appeared together in a Visa and U.S. Bank advertisement.
Adria rushed to support her sister during the Tokyo Olympics.
In her characteristically supportive way, Adria came quickly to her sister's defense in the aftermath of Simone's prioritizing her health and wellbeing at the Tokyo Olympics—and after Simone was unfairly criticized for her decision.
y’all are all about mental health until it no longer benefits you.. i can’t imagine being that inconsiderate WHEWWWWJuly 27, 2021
Adria's brother Ron also tweeted in support, saying, "She really needs them at this time, and is having a hard time. You’re still GOAT Simone and no one can ever take that away from you!! You’re an amazing woman, talented gymnast, and I know you can bounce from this." So Simone's family has her back 100 percent.
