Cathy Rigby
| Cathleen Roxanne Rigby | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 12, 1952 Los Alamitos, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | U.S American |
| Other names | Cathy Rigby McCoy, Cathy Rigby Mason |
| Occupation | speaker, actress, former gymnast |
| Known for | gymnastics, acting |
| Spouse(s) | Tom McCoy |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Women's artistic gymnastics | ||
Representing  United States
|
||
| World Championships | ||
 |
1970 Ljubljana | Balance beam |
Cathleen Roxanne Rigby (born December 12, 1952), known as Cathy Rigby, is an actress, speaker, and former artistic gymnast. Her performance in the 1968 Summer Olympics helped to popularize the sport of gymnastics in the United States.
After her retirement from gymnastics, Rigby became a stage and television actress. She is most noted for the role of Peter Pan, which she played for more than 30 years. She also became a public speaker on the subject of eating disorders, which she struggled with and overcame.
Rigby was born in Los Alamitos, California, on December 12, 1952. She is the daughter of Anita and Paul Rigby. She has an older brother, Steve Rigby; an older sister, Michelle; a younger brother, Jeff; and a younger sister, Jill.
Rigby was the highest-scoring American gymnast at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, making her a favorite with American television audiences and helping to popularize gymnastics in America. She was the U.S. national champion in 1970 and 1972, and became the first American woman to win a medal at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships: the silver medal on the balance beam at the 1970 Championships.
Rigby went on to compete at the 1972 Summer Olympics, but was hampered by injury. Prior to the Games, she had been working on a balance beam skill that was quite risky for the time: a front aerial walkover. However, because she was injured, she did not attempt this move during the competition, and did not win a medal. She retired from gymnastics after the 1972 Olympics.
In 1974, the producers of a theater-in-the-round version of Peter Pan offered Rigby the title role. Rigby commented that she was "scared to death" during rehearsals; only 20 and just a year into "retirement," she had no idea what she would be doing with the rest of her life when the role came along. To her surprise, she discovered that she enjoyed playing Peter Pan.
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