Is Simone Biles a Twin? Exploring Her Bond with Sister Adria

Earning 11 Olympic medals obviously puts a major spotlight on Simone Biles. They don’t call the gymnast “the GOAT” for no reason. That also means aspects of her personal life wind up under a microscope. Take, for example, Simone’s relationship with husband Jonathan Owens, where people are constantly analyzing their body language or commentary about each other. That same attention falls on her family, which includes five siblings. If you’ve spotted Simone with her sister Adria Biles, you’ll definitely be doing a double-take. You may also find yourself wondering if they’re twins.

While Simone and Adria appear almost identical in some pics, no, they’re not actually twins. Instead, the sisters are approximately two years apart. (At the time of reporting, Simone is 27, while Adria is 25.) Even so, it’s clear that Adria is her big sister’s biggest fan. As she wrote on Instagram ahead of Simone’s 2023 wedding, “i will forever celebrate you and clap for you, i love you sister.” And she’s grateful for the time they get to spend together, including filming a fun ad for Visa and U.S. Bank’s new card. As Adria wrote along with the clip, “forever cherishing these moments with my sister.” Of course, commenters couldn’t resist noting the similarities, writing things like, “TWINS!!!” and “Twinning! Adorbs!”

The pair seems to be living it up and enjoying themselves (as they should!), but things haven’t always been so easy. Here’s everything you need to know about Simone’s little sis.

Simone Biles’ path to becoming a champion wasn’t without obstacles, but Adria Biles was by her side through it all. The sisters, along with their two other biological siblings, spent time in foster care. In 2023, Simone explained to CNN, “It was because our biological mom was struggling with drug and alcohol abuse. I was 3 years old. I just remember us as kids being so hungry.” Eventually Simone and Adria were adopted by their grandparents, Ronald and Nellie Biles.

As Simone wrote in a 2018 piece for CNN, it’s because of her grandparents that she was able to flourish at her sport: “Without their encouragement and support, I would have never been a gymnast. I was blessed to have both a gift and the chance to develop it.” Gymnastics was also a way she bonded with Adria. In ESPN, the younger Biles reflected, “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. [Simone would] go first, and I’d follow. We were both gymnasts, so we were always trying things around the house. Nothing scared her.”

Admiring her fearless sister was a constant for Adria, as she explained in a heartfelt throwback Instagram, writing, “the little girl in me would look for you in every single room she walks into. you have made me into the person i am today and i will forever look up to you.”

Even though Adria Biles looks up to her sister, she also set out to make a name for herself — on reality TV. Now in its third season, “Claim to Fame” is a competition where contestants try to figure out one another’s famous family members. Back when the show began in 2022, there was one celebrity relative who doubled as a celebrity lookalike: Simone Biles’ little sis, Adria. She went by her middle name “Louise” and made it pretty far in the season.

Just like her big sister, Adria was super competitive. It proved a meaningful experience, as she captioned the cast photo above, “my forever family.” After her elimination, Adria told Distractify, “Being in the competition and making it as far as I did despite everyone knowing who I was related to was almost comical! I definitely surprised myself!” She also shared that she watched the show with Simone.

“Claim to Fame” isn’t the first time the sisters’ resemblance was pointed out. In the aforementioned ESPN piece, Adria revealed she gets confused for Simone all the time. “Even in Brazil, people came up to me every day thinking I was her. They’d ask for autographs and take pictures,” she said. Although she acknowledged the strong resemblance, she also explained their differences: “I’m about 5-foot-2. Simone is 4-foot-8. I’m a good head taller than her.” So there you have it — mystery solved.