Nicola Adams is one of Britain’s most famous women professional boxers. She has a tremendous boxing history in which she became the first woman to win an Olympic boxing title in 2012. Nicola also supports the LGBT community and is the first openly LGBT person to win an Olympic title.

Born name

Nicola Adams

nickname

Nicky, Babyface, The Lioness, The Smiling Assassin

Sun sign

Scorpio

Place of birth

Leeds, West Yorkshire, England

Residence

• Oakland, San Francisco Bay, California, USA
• Leeds, West Yorkshire, England

nationality

training

Nicola studied at Agnes Stewart Church of England High School in Ebor Gardens, Leeds. She later enrolled for upper secondary education at Hopwood Hall Sports College in Rochdale in Greater Manchester for a Council for Business and Technology Education National Sport Diploma (BTEC) (2007-2008).

At the same time she began training at Hopwood Hall Boxing Academy and after graduating from high school she devoted herself entirely to boxing.

Nicola is also a former student at Bradford College. In 2008 she began training with Bradford Police and College Academy Boxing Club with trainer Alwyn Belcher until winning her first Olympic medal in 2012.

In 2015 the University of Leeds awarded Nicola an honorary Doctor of Laws degree for her services to the sport of boxing.

occupation

Boxer, fitness model, fashion designer, actor

family

• Father – Innocent Adams (plasterer)
• Mother – Denver Adams aka Dee (Restaurant Manager, Hairdresser)
• Siblings – Curtis / Kurtis Adams (Younger Brother)
• Others – Verna Adams (Stepmother), Gareth (Stepbrother)

Manager

Nicola is managed by –

• Ed Griffiths & Alex Segal, Intertalent Group, London
• Steve Goodwin, Boxmanager

Build

Athletic

Height

5 feet 5 inches or 165 cm

weight

54 kg

girlfriend / boyfriend / spouse

Nicola dated –

1. Marlen Esparza (2015-2018) – Her only public relationship was with a fellow boxer, Marlen Esparza. The two women have known each other since 2009 when they trained at the same academy. They even shared the podium at the 2012 London Olympics, where Marlen Esparza won the bronze medal alongside Nicola’s gold. But it wasn’t until 2015, when they attended a training camp in Colorado, US, that the pair developed a connection. During one of her evenings, Nicola had an allergic reaction to the sauce on her nachos, which contained nuts, and it was Marlen who stood by her side as she was rushed to the emergency room. Finally, Nicola proposed to get married at the luxurious and romantic Shangri-la restaurant in London for Christmas 2016. Nicola shared that the fact that she had another female athlete as a fiancé made her life a lot easier as she understood the rigorous training schedule they had to go through and not make unnecessary demands at the end of a busy day. But they apparently split in March 2018, when Marlen’s growing insecurities about her career compared to Nicola’s ever-increasing success and Marlen’s daily drinking combined with anger issues caused reasons that caused the couple to drift apart. Just a few days after splitting from Nicola, Marlen shared the news of her engagement to a male personal trainer named Frank on her Instagram account.

race/ethnicity

Schwarz

She is of African American descent.

hair colour

Schwarz

eye color

dark brown

sexual orientation

Bisexual

distinguishing features

• Keeps her hair very short
• She usually has a good-natured smile on her face
• Exceptionally fit body
• Flawless smooth skin

brand promotion

• Brand ambassador of Hyundai car company (2013)
• Nicola was part of the Marks & Spencer (2013) print shoot for the company’s sales campaign, starring Dame Helen Mirren, artist Tracey Emin and singer Ellie Goulding.
• Featured in a commercial for Aviva UK (2016), an insurance company
• Declared the face of E45 Skincare (2017)
• Collaborated with American sporting goods, equipment, apparel and footwear company Everlast (2018) to release a ten-part luxury sport that reflects her personal style
• Partnered with Toy Company Mattel (2018) for the release of a Nicola Adams Boxer Barbie doll along with the release of a Barbie portraying 16 other female celebrities/female historical figures
• Her Twitter bio claims that she is also a Mercedes Benz (2018) brand ambassador

Religion

Christianity

Known for

• She became the first woman in the world to win an Olympic gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics, when the IOC instituted a separate women’s event in boxing
• 2012 and 2016 Olympic champion in women’s flyweight division
• Gold medal wins in Commonwealth Games (2014), European Games (2015) and Women’s World Cup (2016)

First boxing match

Nicola has achieved a long string of “firsts” in her glorious boxing career:

• She fought her first fight at age 13.
• She represented England for the first time in 2001 and was the first female boxer to do so.
• English Amateur Champion (2003) was her first title win.
• Winning a silver medal at women’s bantamweight in European Amateur Championships (2007) was her first success at an international tournament.
• Nicola made her professional boxing debut in April 2017 at the Manchester Arena in England, winning the fight against Argentinian opponent Virginia Noemi Carcamo.

first movie

The boxer has never been seen in a feature film.

After turning to professional boxing, Nicola also began taking acting classes on the side as she nurtured aspirations of landing a starring role in a prime time film or TV show.

First TV show

Before the International Olympic Committee introduced funding for women’s boxing in 2009, Nicola was self supporting in additional uncredited roles on UK soap operas namely: Coronation Street, Emmerdale , and EastEnders .

After winning Olympic gold in 2012, she was invited as a celebrity guest for her first interview on The One Show in August 2012.

Personal trainer

• Turning pro, Nicola established her residency in the city of San Francisco under the supervision of Virgil Hunter (trainer to several world-class boxing champions such as Andre Ward and Amir Khan) and train Nonito Donaire Sr.
• Before Nicola turned pro there was a training regime extremely intense that involved 5-6 hours of training as she had to prepare for a fight every few weeks or months compared to longer breaks between her professional fights.
• She started her day with early morning cardio, which usually consisted of a 3-mile run. Nicola would also do high-intensity intervals and sprints for further conditioning when a boxing match was coming up.
• She was weighed at 7:15 am each morning and was not allowed to gain more than 5% of her weight distribution. Therefore, as a flyweight, she was not allowed to exceed 53.5 kg.
• The morning was reserved for hypertrophy and strength training in the weight room.
• After lunch, the entire afternoon was devoted to boxing and sparring, ending with painful ice baths to reduce the pain and inflammation in the body and promote faster recovery.
• High carbohydrate and high protein meals dominated Nicole’s daily diet. Spaghetti bolognese and a healthy version of chicken fajitas were her staples.
• Breakfast was high in fiber and usually the heaviest meal of their day, followed by rice/spaghetti/fajitas with veggies for lunch. The boxer ended her day with a rare combination of tomato/chicken/vegetable soup and ice cream.
• During the 8 years of her Olympic training, all of Nicola’s meals were prepared with fresh ingredients, free of additives and preservatives, in consultation with her trainer and nutritionist.
• For a full week, meals were delivered at her doorstep labeled for each day of the week. All the boxer had to do was freeze them to store and warm them up before consuming them at the appointed time of the day.
• After winning an Olympic gold for the first time, Nicola headed straight to McDonald’s for chicken nuggets and a strawberry milkshake, though she wasn’t simply hungry to break the monotony of years of strict dieting.
• In 2017, Nicola’s focus shifted to become more explosive in all of her features. She especially started landing powerful knockout punches.
• As a pro boxer, her training day runs from 7am to 7pm with slightly lighter mornings and more intense afternoons and evenings that look like this:
  • Cycling/running in the morning
  • strength training in the afternoon
  • Sparring and skipping in the evening
• Nicola doesn’t count calories. Meals prepared by her nutritionist are as follows:
  • Breakfast – toast and egg whites
  • Lunch – chicken breast with rice and vegetables
  • Snack – fruit or a piece of tuna
  • Dinner – Steak or ground beef with pasta and vegetables
  • Dessert – natural yoghurt with fruits

Nicola Adam’s favorite things

• Summer Cocktail – Piña Colada cocktail, mojito, or a rum-based drink
• Fun Activity Spot – amusement parks
• Resort – Miami, Florida
• City – San Francisco, California
• Hotels – Shangri-la im Shard AND Park Lane Hilton in London
• Cuisine – Mexican
• Restaurants in San Francisco – La Taqueria, Colibri and Gracias Madre (for Mexican food), Brazilian steakhouse called Fogo de Chão
• City for Nightlife / Party – London
• TV Shows – All American prime time TV shows such as Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad
• Airlines – Virgin Atlantic, British Airways
• Guilty Treats – Ice Cream, Frosted Flakes / Frosties, Pizza
• Pizza Topping – Pepperoni with added chicken
• Dish she loves to cook – steak, chicken fajitas
• Holiday / holiday sports – water skiing, snowboarding
• Exotic Meal – The Duck at Min Jiang , a Chinese restaurant on the top floor of the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, London
• Place yet nightcap – Tinseltown in Farringdon
• First Date Space – Trocadero or Namco to play arcade games
• Shops – Selfridges, Harrods, Nando (for chicken), 24 hour supermarkets for snacks, Jimmy Choo for shoes, Louis Vuitton for bags
• Boxing Role Models – Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard
• Nightclub – Heaven on Villiers Street, London
• Daytime hangouts in London – Borough and Maltby Street markets
• Fashion Era – 1990s when dungarees, denim jacket and crop top were popular
• Style Icon – Rihanna, Will.I.Am
• Clothing brands – Paul Smith, Helmut Lang
• Fashion Designers – Alexander McQueen, Philip Lim
• High Street Store – Topshop
• Vintage Item – Vintage trainers like a pair of Nike Air Jordan
• Thing about her hometown, Leeds – Friendly people
• Place with the best views in Leeds – Roundhay Park
• Yorkshire Sport and Team – Rugby League, Leeds Rhinos
• Yorkshire Sportsman – Danny McGuire of Leeds Rhinos (Nicolas former schoolmate)
• Yorkshire Actor – Patrick Stewart
• Yorkshire Celebrity Nicola Admires Most – Comedian Leigh Francis
• Restaurant in Leeds – A Portuguese restaurant called Fazendas
• Yorkshire Activity Area – Climbing at Ilkley
• Hometown Mall – Trinity Leeds shopping and leisure centre

Nicola Adams Facts

1. Before the age of 10 she was a very weak and sick child. She had myriad allergies to a variety of foods ranging from fish to chocolate, suffered from asthma, had flat feet, and wore mittens to prevent scratching her eczema-ridden skin.
2. Aggressive fights between her parents until they divorced when Nicola was 11 years old worried her constantly.
3. Nicola has also been diagnosed with ADHD (Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder). To this day, her ideal date or vacation involves plenty of physical activity. The boxer just doesn’t like to sit still.
4. She became a boxer because her mother couldn’t find a babysitter for her every time she attended her aerobics class. Nicola’s mother would take her to an after-school boxing gym along with her brother to keep them both busy.
5. Nicola won her first fight at the age of 13 and mimicked some of the moves of boxer Prince Naseem and Muhammad Ali in the ring.
6. The boxer explained that the discipline he instills in her as an athlete has given her the confidence to succeed in all areas of her life.
7. Despite her ADHD, Nicola makes every effort to maintain her positive attitude and mental focus to prepare physically for each fight. She said there are times when she sees doubt in another opponent’s eyes when she already knows she’s going to win a match before she starts.
8. She likes to collect shoes.
9. Due to her ageless, athletic looks, Nicola is asked to show her ID at nightclubs by her early 30s.
10. In 2012, Independent Publication featured Nicola Adams as the most influential LGBT celebrity on Sunday’s Pink List.
11. In her twenties, Nicola fractured a vertebra in her back after falling down stairs and had to take a year off from boxing. Around the same time, the IOC announced the introduction of women’s boxing. Determined to qualify, Nicola used two morphine patches on her back to pass the final Olympic trials and be selected to the national team.
12. She was with the. Awarded Orders of the British Empire Civil Prize in the capacity of Member (MBE) and Officer (OBE) in 2013 and 2017.
13. Her autobiography Faith was published in May 2017.
14. She has a tattoo of a lion with a crown on her back along with the words I am everything I want to be .
15. The boxer claims that all of her motivation comes from her never-ending desire to win. She says she never thinks about losing until it happens. When defeat catches her by surprise, she completely isolates herself, locking herself in a room for a day to review what she did wrong.
16. To learn more about the inspirational athlete, visit her official page @ nicola-adams.com.
17. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.