How old is Greg Louganis?
Greg Louganis was born on January 29, 1960, in El Cajon, California, so he turned in January . El Cajon is a city in San Diego County, which is why some profiles, Britannica's biography among them, give his birthplace as San Diego.
He is alive. The last section of this page covers where he lives now.
Parents and birth family
Greg Louganis's parents are Frances and Peter Louganis, who adopted him as a baby and raised him in Southern California. His birth parents were teenagers who placed him for adoption when he was about eight months old.
He reconnected with his biological father, Fouvale Lutu, in 1984. In 2017 he found his biological mother through DNA tests and his half-siblings.
Heritage and nationality
Louganis is American. On his biological side he is of Samoan and Swedish descent. His adoptive father was of Greek descent.
Early life
Louganis started dance, acrobatics and gymnastics at about 18 months old after watching his sister's classes. By age three he was competing and performing, including shows at nursing homes and a local naval base.
He had asthma and allergies as a child and was encouraged to keep up dance and gymnastics to help manage them. Profiles of him also describe being teased and bullied over his skin color and his learning differences. He goes into the bullying and what came after it in two mental health podcast interviews.
Milestones before the Olympic gold
- Age 9: first diving lessons, after his family got a pool.
- Junior Olympic competitions: two-time Olympic champion Sammy Lee notices him and begins coaching him.
- 1976: Olympic silver on the 10-meter platform at age 16 in Montreal.
- 1978: he wins his first world title and starts a decade of training under coach Ron O'Brien.
He studied drama at the University of Miami and then at the University of California, Irvine, where he majored in theater with a dance minor. The dives and medals that followed are laid out in the complete Olympic record.
Is Greg Louganis gay?
Yes. Greg Louganis came out publicly in 1994 in a pre-recorded announcement at the opening ceremony of the Gay Games, an international LGBTQ+ sporting event.
He married Johnny Chaillot on October 12, 2013, after announcing their engagement in People magazine that June. In 2021 he shared that the marriage had ended.
HIV diagnosis
Greg Louganis was diagnosed with HIV about six months before the 1988 Seoul Olympics. HIV is the virus that can lead to AIDS. Many searches about his story use the word AIDS. HIV is the accurate term for his diagnosis.
He disclosed his status publicly in 1995 in an interview with Barbara Walters, around the release of his memoir (Sports Illustrated dates the Walters interview to 1995). Terry Gross covered the same ground with him on NPR's Fresh Air on March 2, 1995. What happened after his head injury in Seoul is covered on its own page.
All of those people who cheered for me through my Olympic career can no longer say that they have not been touched by HIV/AIDS.
Greg Louganis, recalling his 1995 interview with Barbara Walters, on NPR in 2015
He has lived with HIV for decades and became an advocate for HIV awareness. He has spoken about it in several interviews. The 1995 interview is the best place to start.
Books, stage and mentoring
His memoir Breaking the Surface, written with Eric Marcus, spent five weeks at number one on the New York Times bestseller list. The book and the 1997 movie are compared on their own page.
On stage he played Darius in the Off-Broadway play Jeffrey in 1993 and starred for six weeks in The Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me in 1995. On screen he appeared as himself in Portlandia.
He returned to the sport as a mentor to US divers and worked with the team at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics. He also hosts his own weekly podcast today.
Where Greg Louganis lives now
According to 2026 coverage, Greg Louganis spends most of his time in Panama. He sold his home and auctioned three of his five Olympic medals to pay for the move. He has said he wanted to find out who he is beyond his athletic career. The money side of the move is on the net worth page.
Early reports said the medal auction would raise money for the Damien Center, an Indiana HIV and AIDS services organization. He later said he needed the money for the move, as Metro Weekly reported in September 2025.
He stays active too. A February 2026 profile described a routine of yoga, meditation, weight training and hiking.
