Gabby Douglas on the cover of Essence. (Photo: Essence Magazine)
Essence magazine women of the year cover. (Photo: Essence magazine)
Olympic Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas (L) and singer Alicia Keys onstage during the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards at Staples Center on September 6, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Olympian Gabby Douglas arrives at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards at Staples Center on September 6, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas waves after leading the Pledge of Allegiance during day two of the Democratic National Convention at Time Warner Cable Arena on September 5, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The DNC that will run through September 7, will nominate U.S. President Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
London 2012 Olympic games gold medalist Gabby Douglas throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the New York Mets play against the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field on August 23, 2012 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Olympic gymnastics champion Gabby Douglas poses with David Wright #5 of the New York Mets before playing against the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field on August 23, 2012 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Olympian Gabby Douglas (L) and Natalie Hawkins attend the Stand Up To Cancer benefit at The Shrine Auditorium on September 7, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Gabby Douglas on the cover of Essence magazine. (Photo: Essence magazine)
“Golden” Gabby Douglas will be stepping back into the spotlight soon after a brief hiatus from her recent media blitz. Making history as the first African-American to win gold in the individual all-around gymnastics competition brought the athlete many opportunities. The sixteen-year-old made several television appearances over the summer — and can soon be seen on The Vampire Diaries. Douglas even performed with Alicia Keys during the Video Music Awards. But we have not seen much of the golden girl from Virginia Beach in recent weeks.
RELATED: Gabby Douglas’ secret to success: ‘Always stick to your sport’
Gabby Douglas on the cover of Essence. (Photo: Essence magazine)
Until now. After appearing on Time in July, Douglas is set to grace the December issue of Essence, appearing on one of the issue’s two “Women of the Year” covers. The other image will feature Gabby with fellow Olympic gold medalists Allyson Felix, Carmelita Jeter and Sanya Richards-Ross of the USA Track & Field team.
Essence magazine “Women of the Year” cover. (Photo: Essence magazine)
The Huffington Post reports that Douglas has remained in awe of her stratospheric level of success. “In my dreams I didn’t think about how many shows I would be on and how many people would tweet me… it’s so cool!,” she told the black women’s style bible.
Gabby shares her story in an issue that also features fabulous women from every cultural sector. “Powerful stories about first lady Michelle Obama, Robin Roberts, Serena Williams, Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, and the late Whitney Houston and Donna Summer are also included in the issue,” BET.com reports.
RELATED: Gabby Douglas wins Sportswoman of Year award
The Essence ”Women of the Year” issue will hit newsstands on Friday, November 9. Will you be picking up a copy?
Follow Alexis Garrett Stodghill on Twitter at @lexisb.
