Who Is Alysa Liu's Father Arthur Liu? An Activist And Lawyer, Welcomed Figure Skater Via Surrogacy

Alysa Liu is a well-known American figure skater. She began skating at the mere age of 5, and by the time she turned 13, Alysa became the youngest skater to win the US women's national champion title. Her career was mostly high points; however, the 20-year-old gave up figure skating for more than a year after placing sixth at the 2022 Winter Games. While the news left her fans disappointed at the time, this time around, Alysa Liu has returned with a renewed passion for the sport.  

For those unaware, Alysa Liu made her comeback by participating in the 2026 Winter Olympics as one of Team USA's ‘Blade Angles’. Now, Alysa is all set to appear during the Women's single figure skating finale. As fans look forward to whether Alysa can come out on top, renewed focus has been put on her father, Arthur Liu, who has played a significant role in her career. If you, too, are interested in learning about Alysa Liu's dad, keep on reading.  

Alysa Liu's father, Arthur Liu, emigrated from China in his 20s 

Before coming to the US, Alysa Liu's father, Arthur Liu, was born and raised in China's Sichuan Province in a small mountain village. He revealed the same during a conversation with NBC Sports. Apparently, Arthur had five other siblings. His father had a government job while his mother was a farmer. If reports are believed to be true, when Arthur was still living in China, he used to be a political activist. During his student life, he allegedly helped organise multiple demonstrations in his home country and was involved in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. 

This forced him to flee China at 25 years old and seek refuge in the States. Here, he began living in the Bay Area, after which he graduated with a law degree from the University of California. After graduating, Arthur Liu started his own practice, known as the Inter-Pacific Law Group Inc. Although Arthur thought he could make a fresh start in the US, during his conversation with NBC News, he revealed that the Chinese government allegedly sent a student to spy on him. However, the spy ended up confessing after Arthur took him into his house and even helped him find work. He said: 

“They are still paying attention to me after 30-some years. Since I organised protests and hunger strikes for democracy in China.”  

Arthur Liu welcomed his children, including Alysa Liu, via surrogacy 

Reports online suggest that Alysa Liu and her siblings, all of whom are younger than her, were born via surrogacy using anonymous egg donors. In total, she has four siblings – a sister, Selena, and triplets, Julia, Justin and Joshua. If a report by NBC Sports is to be believed, Alysa has met her surrogate mother, whom she also shared with the triplets. Arthur Liu is a proud single parent, and he became one by choice. Many times, he has spoken about starting his family in a not-so-traditional way. For instance, during a January 2019 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, he said that he had “always wanted to have kids and I was already 40.”  

Arthur Liu's mother moved from China to help raise his children  

Arthur Liu's mother, Shu, who originally lived in China, moved to California, where her son and his children were. Per NBC Sports, she played a major role in helping raise Alysa and her four siblings for the first 8 years of their lives. In fact, after she moved in with Arthur and his kids, the family lived together in a one-bedroom apartment. Apparently, Alysa truly enjoyed it when she and her siblings shared one room there. In a December 2025 interview with KCRA, the pro skater recounted: 

“When we were little, we would all sleep in the same room [in] three bunk beds, it was so fun. We would stay up late, like crawling around the bunk beds…Honestly, I kind of miss it.” 

Arthur Liu played a huge role in Alysa Liu's early skating career 

It was Arthur who introduced a 5-year-old Alysa to figure skating, inspired by Michelle Kwan and Kristi Yamaguchi, both figure skating legends in their own right. When Arthur realised that Alysa had a natural talent for the sport, he became really involved in his daughter's skating career. At the time, he reportedly spent a huge amount of money on her training. He even took Alysa all over the world so she could compete in various tournaments and only ever hired the best coaching for her.  

In later years, Alysa revealed that it was basically “his business” and “wasn't even really mine.” One of the reasons she said this was Arthur's behaviour during her early career. Although he described himself as having a “laissez-faire” approach, he was heavily invested in Alysa's practices, often during her coaching sessions. At one point, Arthur even brought a radar gun to the rink so that he could track the speed of Alysa's jumps.  

Alysa Liu did not ask for Arthur's permission when announcing her retirement from figure skating  

Alysa Liu had a break from figure skating for the first time in a long while during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is when she realised “what not skating is like,” something which she really seemed to love. Additionally, she also became aware of how much time she had actually spent away from her family owing to her skating competitions. This helped make up her mind to retire from the sport. Later, while speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, Alysa confessed that she didn't really ask for her father's opinion when she decided to retire because, at the end of the day, it was her life.  

Arthur Liu remains supportive of Alysa Liu's skating career, but is no longer involved with it at present  

In 2024, Alysa Liu returned from retirement. Although it is worth noting that this time around, Alysa had a few conditions before returning to the figure skating world. She claimed that from that point on, she would make her own decisions about her training and career, rather than her father or anyone else. In her words:  

“I get to pick my own program music, and I get to help with the creative process of the program. If I feel like I’m skating too much, I’ll back down. If I feel like I’m not skating enough, I’ll ramp it up. No one is going to starve me, tell me what I can and can’t eat. He’s a great father, I just didn’t want him to be as invested in it as he was before.” 

What are your thoughts on Alysa Liu's father as she prepares to take to the ice in the Women's single figure skating finale at the 2026 Winter Olympics? Let us know.  

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