Early life and education
Vera Ellen Wang was born and raised in New York City, and is of
Chinese
descent. Her parents were born in China, and came to the United States
in the mid-1940s. Her mother, Florence Wu, worked as a translator for
the
United Nations, while her father, Cheng Ching Wang, owned a
medicine company. Wang has one younger brother, Kenneth.
Wang graduated from
The Chapin School in 1967, attended the
University of Paris and earned a degree in
art history from
Sarah Lawrence College. Wang began
figure skating at the age of eight.
[2] While in high school, she trained with
pairs partner James Stuart, and competed at the 1968
U.S. Figure Skating Championships. She was featured in
Sports Illustrated's
Faces in the Crowd in the January 9, 1968 issue.
[3] When she failed