Amy Michelle Purdy is an American actress, model, para-snowboarded, motivational speaker, clothing designer and author. She is the 2014 Paralympic bronze medalist, 2019 Paralympics silver medalist and the co-founder of Adaptive Action.
Born in Las Vegas in 1979, she was only 19 when she contracted Neisseria meningitis, a form of bacterial meningitis. This disease affected her circulatory system and led to septic shock of both her legs, which had to be amputated below the knees. She lost both her kidneys, and her spleen had to be removed. Doctors had given Amy a 2% chance of surviving. 2 years later she received a kidney transplant from her dad.
After Amy received her prosthetic legs, she began snowboarding 7 months later and finishing 3rd in the competition at Manmoth Mountain. She received a grant from the Challenged Athletes Foundation which has enabled her to compete in several other snowboarding competitions.
In February 2003, she played a model in Madonna music video. Later in 2003, Purdy started working for Freedom Innovations, a prosthetic feet manufacturer, as its “Amputee Advocate”.
She has gone on to co-found her own non-profit organization, Adaptive Action Sports,[5] a chapter of Disabled Sports USA for individuals with physical disabilities who want to get involved in action sports (snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing) or art and music.
In 2005, Purdy made her film debut in What’s Bugging Seth, a movie by Eli Steele.
She was named one of ESPNW’s Impact 25 in 2014,[9] and one of Oprah’s SuperSoul 100 visionaries and influential leaders in 2016.
She retired from competitive sports in March 2022.