Bethany Hamilton was born on February 8th, 1990. She was born and raised in Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii by her parents Tom and Cheri. Her dad, Tom, was a professional surfer. Both of her older brothers, Noah and Tim, also surfed.

Bethany Hamilton was taught at a very young age and started surfing competitively at the age of 8. She earned her first sponsorship at the age of 9.

One of the biggest challenges Bethany Hamilton had to face was her losing her arm. When she was 13 years old she was attacked by a 14 foot tiger shark while she was surfing with her best friend.

Bethany Hamilton had many achievements. In 2004, she won the ESPY award for Best Comeback Athlete and also the Courage Teen Choice Awards. In 2005, she received the Mildred "Babe" Didrikson-Zaharias Courage Award from the United States Sports Academy.

Bethany Hamilton displayed grit by continuing to surf after she lost her arm. It was only 26 days after the shark attack that she got back in the water to surf again. She had to overcome her fear of going back into the water again.