Laurie Hernandez recently completed her graduation from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and shared glimpses of it on social media. She received sweet reactions from Simone Biles, Lindsey Vonn, and other fellow Olympians.

After her gymnastics career, Hernandez enrolled as a drama major at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and in March 2026, she made her formal Broadway debut in the hit musical ‘& Juliet.’ Shortly after this debut, she graduated from the university in May 2026 and shared a post about the same on her Instagram handle.

Posting pictures of her in the graduation attire, she penned a caption that read:

“Omg! Finally!! #Classof2026 drama & creative writing baby!!!”

hernandez’s post

This post drew the attention of her fellow Olympian, Biles, who dropped a sweet comment that read:

“CONGRATS 💜💜💜”

Following her, the skiing legend Lindsey Vonn also congratulated the former gymnast, commenting:

“Congrats!!!”

Along with them, the American ice dancer Madison Chock also penned a loving comment that read:

“Congrats!!!”

The former LSU gymnast, Olivia Dunne, also chimed in:

“Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!🙌”

Hernandez began gymnastics at the age of five and rose to fame during her 2016 Rio Olympics appearance. Here, she placed second all-around at the US Olympic Trials behind Simone Biles, and at just 16 years of age, she became the first US-born Latina to secure a place in the US gymnastics Olympic team since 1984. In addition to this, she also delivered a clutch performance on floor, vault, and beam to bag the team gold medal.

Following her 2016 Olympic run, she went on a long hiatus and returned to training in 2018, targeting the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. However, she suffered from a knee injury at the 2021 Nationals, eventually withdrawing from the Tokyo Games. Following this, she officially retired from the sport in 2021.

Laurie Hernandez made her feelings known about performing on Broadway 

Laurie Hernandez made her Broadway debut in March 2026 in the featured dance role of Charmion. In six weeks, she did eight shows a week, and amid this, she spoke to the media, where she weighed in on her new role. Revealing that this has always been her plan, she said:

“It definitely feels like the right next act. This makes a lot of sense for me. I knew I wanted to do acting and entertainment even while I was still in gymnastics, and I had talked with my parents about it. I was like, ‘Hey, you know, if I get to go pro, and I get to go out there and do acting, that’s something that really excites me,'” said Laurie Hernandez.

Opening up about the rehearsals and transitioning into this, she added:

“Rehearsals was terrifying. here was just a lot of information that I was receiving over the course of hours in two and a half weeks. I felt like my biggest worry was I didn’t want to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. I wanted to make sure that I could sing and dance at the same time.”