Lauren Holiday

Lauren Nicole Holiday is an American retired professional soccer player who played as a midfielder and forward for the United States women's national soccer team from 2007 to 2015. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Holiday played professionally for FC Kansas City in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Boston Breakers in the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). She played collegiate soccer for the UCLA Bruins.

Holiday won gold with the national team at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, 2012 London Summer Olympics, and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada. She played for the team at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup where the U.S. finished in second place and Holiday was named to the tournament's All-Star team.

In 2007, she was named U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year. She earned U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year honors in 2014. She was the first player in NWSL history to have her jersey retired after retiring from the league.

After a long health journey, Holiday became a mother. Holiday underwent open-heart surgery when she was just three years old. She then was six months into her pregnancy when doctors discovered a benign tumor on the right side of her brain. Five months after her daughter, Jrue Tyer, was born and her tumor was successfully removed. Holiday said playing sports helped her become stronger growing up, and is crediting her child with helping her get through the tough times.