Nicola Adams OBE created history at the 2012 London Olympic Games when she became the first female to win an Olympic boxing Gold medal, and she has gone on to earn the title of Great Britain’s most successful female boxer of all time.
In 2016, Nicola achieved what was the proudest moment of her career so far in becoming the first British boxer to successfully defend their Olympic title for almost 100 years. As of 2022, she is the only female boxer in the history of the sport to have won every major title available to her: Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth.
Nicola is one of the most inspiring speakers available; her story of pioneering victory in the ring serves as an inspiration to young women and general audiences alike. Openly gay, Nicola now shares her experiences as an LGBTQ+ speaker for events and touches on the homophobic abuse she has received being in the public eye.
In 2022, Nicola and her girlfriend Ella Baig announced they were expecting their first child together which Ella conceived via IVF and sperm donor. Their son was born July 2022.
Nicola Adams was the first female and openly LGBTQ+ boxer to win an Olympic gold and therefore she is a highly influential figure in the LGBTQ+ community.
Nicola was making history way back in 2001 as the first female boxer to represent England, and later became the English Amateur Champion in 2003, holding on to the title for another three years. In 2007, she won a silver medal at the European Championships, followed by silver at the World Championships the following year, and another at the 2010 World Championships. From that point on, Nicola excelled in the sport and went to claim Gold at the 2012 London Olympics, gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, followed by the Gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. At the start of 2019, Nicola was named full World Boxing Association champion, a title she held onto in a match at the end of 2019. She announced her retirement in November 2019 after a bout of injuries.
Her success in and out of the ring made her an instant role model to all audiences but particularly young girls. She wrote a book titled Believe: Boxing, Olympics and My Life Outside the Ring in 2017 to tell the public her story of grit and determination, and to explore the real person behind the boxing gloves.
In recognition of her services to boxing and unprecedented achievement, Nicola was appointed an MBE in the 2013 New Year’s Honours list, and an OBE in the 2016.
Outside of boxing, Nicola has been featured in a number of television programmes including Coronation Street (1960-) and Emmerdale (1972-), before cameoing as herself in Waterloo Road (2006-2015). She has also appeared on programmes including Celebrity Gogglebox (2019-), Bear Grylls’ Wild Adventure (2014-), All Round to Mrs Brown’s (2017-), The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer (2018-), The Jonathan Ross Show (2011-), A League of Their Own (2010-) and Room 101 (1994-2018). In 2020, she joined that year’s Strictly Come Dancing (2004-) line-up, and along with professional partner Katya Jones became part of the competition’s first same-sex couple.
In 2024, Nicola was part of the BBC’s guest presenting team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Becoming an icon of the LGBTQ+ community, Nicola is in an inter-racial and same-sex relationship, unfortunately resulting in being a victim of both racism and homophobia. However, Nicola is determined to combat such abuse and prejudice, and continues to raise awareness of a proud lesbian. Nicola was recognised as the Most Influential LGBT Person in Britain by The Independent, named on the annual DIVA Powerlist of Most Influential People of African/African Caribbean Descent in the UK, named one of the UK’s Most Eminent Lesbian and Bisexual Women on the Powerlist in 2016, became the first female boxer to receive the Joe Bromley Award from the Boxing Writers’ Club of Great Britain in 2012, was nominated in 2012 for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, was listed as one of the BBC’s 100 Women in 2015 and awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the University of Leeds in the same year.
Through several charities, Nicola has encouraged people of all ages and abilities to join their local sports club and to raise awareness of women in sport and boxing, including Great Ormond Street Hospital, Made By Sport, MQ, the Prince’s Trust, Save the Children and Sport Relief.
Now a popular choice as an LGBTQ+ speaker for events, Nicola proudly promotes acceptance and support for the community. She has worked alongside a number of companies across industries such as Aldi, Aviva, British Airways, E45, Influencer Intelligence, Marks and Spencer, the National Lottery, Panache, Smart Energy GB and Virgin Active.
– LGBTQ+
– Diversity & Inclusion
– Olympics
– Peak Performances
– Sporting Success
– Overcoming Adversity
– Drive & Determination
Widely regarded as the UK’s most successful female boxer, Nicola has forged a respected and influential name as an LGBTQ+ activist and is available to hire as a passionate diversity speaker for audiences of any size.
Fantastic! Nicola was open, honest and inspiring. It went amazingly well, and we can’t wait to have her back.
Macquarie Group Services
It thought it was fabulous. She is truly remarkable and we were thrilled to have her.
Jonathan, Blackstone
What an amazing role model to us all. Nicola’s unique humility and wonderfully warm personality inspired us all in what is achievable in life with purpose and hard work. The Q&A format was a big success, everyone loved the format. I would wholeheartedly recommend Nicola for the incredible impression she can make, and having so much time for all of us who were star struck with selfies awards.
Brian, SVP & GM EMEA, Blue Prism Ltd.