📍Redding, CA, USA
1985 – 2003“Megan Rapinoe was born in July 1985 in Redding, a small city in the Sacramento Valley of northern California, ringed by mountains and the Shasta lakes, along with her fraternal twin, Rachael. Her father, Jim, ran a construction business, and her mother, Denise, worked as a waitress, and they raised a large family of six children in a conservative, working-class town. Megan and Rachael were inseparable, playing every sport together. The girls idolised their older brother, Brian, who played football and taught them the game in the backyard, and they followed him to the field. Their father coached most of their youth teams. Megan was skilful, creative and fearless, and she has said she was a tomboy who loved anything with a ball. When Brian, at fifteen, began a long struggle with drugs and prison, the family was shaken, but Megan stayed close to him and determined to succeed. She went to Foothill High School in Palo Cedro, where she ran track and played basketball, and she and Rachael drove hours to play for the Elk Grove Pride club near Sacramento. The twins both went to the University of Portland, and Megan went on to win the World Cup with the United States twice, in 2015 and 2019, when she won the Golden Ball and Golden Boot, and the Ballon d'Or. She became one of the most outspoken athletes of her generation, campaigning for LGBTQ+ rights and equal pay for women players. In 2022 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Redding has honoured her as one of its own.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today