Alicia "JoJo" Starbuck (born February 14, 1951, Birmingham, Alabama), is an American figure skater. With partner Kenneth Shelley, she is a three-time United States pair skating champion (1970–72) and two-time Olympian (1968, 1972).
Early life and youth career Starbuck was raised in Downey, California and attended Cerritos College, along with Kenneth Shelley. She was first paired with Shelley for a show in 1959, when they were small children. They started training with coach John Nicks at the Arctic Blades FSC in 1961.
Championship career In their first year of senior competitions, at age 16, they qualified to compete at the 1968 Winter Olympics. Both Starbuck and Shelley attended Downey High School, where they performed off-ice lifts with the cheerleading squad,"A Gutsy, Gutsy Team/Starbuck & Shelley", Skating Magazine, January 1970. and Long Beach State College."JoJo and Ken", Skating Magazine, December 1971.
Like Shelley, Starbuck was a skilled singles skater. While Shelley went on to win the national title in singles as well as pairs in 1972, Starbuck retired from singles competition in 1968.
Success would be found in pairs. Shelley and Starbuck became three-time United States pair skating champions (1970–72) and two-time Olympians (1968, 1972)."JoJo Starbuck, Shelley, Retain Ice Figure Title", The Day (New London, CT); accessed November 3, 2014. In the first Olympics they finished 13th, in the second 4th.
Later career After turning professional, Starbuck made occasional appearances skating singles in addition to continuing to skate pairs with Shelley. She partnered John Curry in the "Tango Tango" number from his show Ice Dancing.Alone: The Triumph and Tragedy of John Curry (2014), Bill Jones, London: Bloomsbury (p. 204).
Starbuck performed for a short time with the Ice Capades. From 1976 to 1983, she was married to football quarterback Terry Bradshaw. She was Bradshaw's second wife.The Best Pittsburgh Sports Arguments (2007), John Mehno, Sourcebooks, Inc.; p. 225 During this time she also became well known as the face of Cup of Noodles, introducing millions of Americans for the first time to ramen.
Starbuck currently is affiliated with the Rink at Rockefeller Plaza a position she has had since the 1990s.
She had a minor career as an actress, performing in New York Stories (1989),Francis Ford Coppola: interviews, Francis Ford Coppola, Gene D. Phillips, Rodney Hill, University Press of Mississippi; , p.xxxii The Cutting Edge (1992),Bibliographic Guide to Dance(1994), v.20-23, New York Public Library and the TV movie Beauty and the Beast: A Concert on Ice (1996)."Television: Get a Haircut", John Leonard, New York Magazine, p.90
She continues to coach"Olympian Starbuck Teaches Skating at Codey Arena", South Orange Patch, February 10, 2010 and choreograph.IceCapades.tv , August 16, 2008. Starbuck lives in Madison, New Jersey, where she teaches at the Essex Skating Club of New Jersey.Seegers, Sandy. , Daily Record (Morristown), February 15, 2002; accessed March 12, 2011. "Starbuck, a two-time Olympian, watched the competition live at her home in Madison and, like most of the world, felt that Sale and Pelletier were perfect.""Our Coaches", Essex Skating Club website; accessed November 3, 2014.
Results (pairs with Kenneth Shelley) Event 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 Winter Olympic Games 13th 4th World Championships 11th 6th 5th 3rd 3rd North American Championships 2nd 1st U.S. Championships 1st J. 3rd 2nd 1st 1st 1st
References
External links Essex Skating Club