Dominique was born on Sept. 30, 1981 in Hollywood, CA. When she was 6 monthes old her father hung her from a cloathes line to see how strong she was (I know, this story is on every page) and she held on until the line broke! At age 2 her family moved to Highland Park, Ill. where between the ages of 3 and 4 she was enrolled in her first gymnastics class. At age 3 she received her first passport and immediately went on a 3 month tour of Europe. At age 4 her father first contacts Bela Karoli inquiring about enrolling Dominique in his classes but he advises him to wait until age 9 or 10. Then when she is 6 her family moved again, this time to Tampa, Fl. and enrolls at LaFleur's Gymnastics. In 1989 her little sister Christina is born. Then in 1991 at age 10 her family moves again, this time to Houston, Texas so she can train with Bela Karoli. Her first practice session with Bela occured on December 18, 1991. Seven monthes later she qualifies for the Junior National team and later medals, becoming the youngest ever to do so at age 10. 1 year later she again qualifies for the Junior National team but this time she does not medal and ends up finishing 7th all around. But just 1 year later she compete's on the Junior National team again and this time finishes 1st place all around. 1 year after that she becomes the youngest person in U.S. history to win the Senior National title and the only person to go from a Junior title to a Senior title in one year. That same year at the World Championships in Sabae, Japan she wins a silver medal on the balance beam and finishes fifth all around, the highest finish by an American in the competition. Then in 1996 she competes in the Olympics and though she receives no individual medals she helps the U.S. win it's first womens all around title.