Sure, everyone knows Simone Biles — the GOAT who’s been dominating gymnastics for years. But if you’re an OG gymnastics fan, there’s no way you’ve forgotten Dominique Moceanu. Back in the ‘90s, she was the it girl of gymnastics, dazzling the world as part of the legendary Magnificent Seven that clinched gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. The world saw her as this flawless, golden athlete, but behind the scenes? Her personal life was a little messier than it seemed. Along with the pressure of being in the spotlight, Dominique had a complicated family life, she had a sister she didn’t even know about!
Back in 2024, the documentary She Looks Like Me dropped, and it was a total game-changer. The film digs into the story of Moceanu and her long-lost sister, starting all the way back in 1987 when Jennifer was left at the hospital as a newborn. Born without legs due to a uterine band cutting off the blood supply to her lower limbs, Jennifer was later adopted by Sharon and Gerald Bricker.
Growing up, Jennifer idolized Moceanu, who was making history on the gymnastics floor. “I was drawn to her because we looked alike and that was so important to me,” Bricker says in the doc. “No one looked like me growing up. I didn’t know any other Romanian people. I just saw myself in her in so many ways, and that was a big deal for me.” Jennifer refused to allow her disability to stop her from pursuing impressive accomplishments in her life.
Jennifer exhibited extreme bravery since an early stage of her life when she learned to move independently on the floor and hands before progressing to tree climbing and trampoline jumping with three older brothers. At age three, she got prosthetic legs, although she realized soon after that they did not suit her. Since moving without prostheses felt effortless to her, she decided to discard them and discovered her preferred method of movement.
The development of Jennifer into an aerialist, along with her acrobatic skills, led to her performing on Britney Spears’ World Tour. As a result of her outstanding journey, she was inducted into the Gallery of Legends Hall of Fame at the World Acrobatic Society.
But here’s the kicker—despite all these epic gymnastics accomplishments, Jennifer had no idea her sister was none other than gymnastics legend Dominique Moceanu. Fast forward to May 2008 in Cleveland, Ohio, and the two women finally meet. The emotions? Real and raw. Moceanu shared in the documentary, “There were times when I was reliving these scenes that were so hard for me.”
As for Jennifer, she opened up about how overwhelming it was to learn about her past. “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 says. “It hit me in a way I just was not expecting.” Through this documentary, viewers gain insight into the substantial achievements of these women. But the question comes, how did the sisters uncover the truth about their connection?
How Jennifer Bricker and gymnastics legend Dominique Moceanu found each other?
When Jennifer Bricker reached age 16, she inquired of her mother if there was anything they hadn’t told her about her birth family. The response her mom gave her surprised Jennifer completely when she revealed, “Your biological last name would have been Moceanu.“ Jennifer made the connection between the pieces of information she knew. This revelation made Jennifer understand that Dominique was her biological sibling. The discovery about their true origins became known to the Brickers when their birth parents’ names surfaced in official documents.
Then, during the 1996 Olympics, as the cameras flashed to Dominique’s parents, they realized it was no coincidence. But Jennifer wasn’t told until much later—her parents waited until she was older to share the truth. When Jennifer finally learned that gymnastics legend Dominique Moceanu was her sister, she wanted to reach out, but she didn’t want to come off as crazy. “I couldn’t just call her and say, ‘Hey, I’m your sister’,” Jennifer explained.
So, she asked her uncle, a private investigator, to contact her birth parents. They confirmed the adoption but never responded after the initial call, making it clear they wanted to keep their secret. Four years later, Jennifer wrote to Dominique, sharing her story and explaining how she had idolized her all her life. “I almost could not believe it myself, you had been my idol my whole life, and you turned out to be my sister!” she wrote, leaving out the part about her disability for later.
Gymnastic legend Dominique, who had always lived with the mystery of her sister’s existence, described the moment she found out as ‘the shock’ of her life. “Finding out about my long-lost secret sister was ultimately the shock of my life,” she said. When the two finally reunited, Dominique realized it wasn’t just a reunion—it was a story of forgiveness. “In itself, it’s an amazing story on how the stars aligned to be the way they were for us to meet, because it was all due to a clerical error that we even know about each other,” she reflected. Their reunion showed that sometimes life works in mysterious ways, and it’s never too late to find family where you least expect it.
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