Turns Out We've Been Pronouncing Alysa Liu's Name All Wrong

Alysa Liu captured the world's attention—and their hearts—with her unconventional approach to the Milan Olympics. The 20-year-old figure skater won the gold medal in ladies' singles after a remarkable comeback that followed her retirement from the sport at 16. Since then, she's been everywhere. Paris Fashion Week. The iHeartRadio Music Awards. Giving makeup tutorials for Allure. And in the course of consuming all the available Liu content on the internet, I learned that we've been pronouncing her name totally wrong. (Thankfully, she's cool with it.)

In an interview with Allure, the Olympic gold medalist shared her competition makeup routine, which was surprisingly and refreshingly simple. But the frame of the video didn't talk about all her favorite makeup products. It was Liu explaining how to pronounce both her first and last name.

Like most people, I've been saying "Uh-lissa Lee-you." As it turns out, her first name is actually "Uh-lee-suh," though the athlete's response reflected her laid-back persona.

"Everyone says 'Alyssa' and that's totally OK," she says in the video. "Everyone pronounces things differently." She has also on occasion introduced herself as "Alyssa," noting that it's primarily her family who employs "Alysa" and even her friends call her by the former.

As for her last name, Liu explains that the correct Chinese pronunciation is "Lee-yoh."

"I actually don't mind," she says of the incorrect pronunciations of "Lee-u" and "Lu."

"I think 'Lu' is really cute. 'Lee-u' is the Americanized version, I guess. But 'Lee-yoh' is technically the correct way if you want to be exact."

While Liu has previously said she can't imagine retiring after this year's Games, she's taking a well-deserved break. The skater opted out of the World Championships that took place in Prague at the end of March, but that doesn't mean she hasn't had a packed schedule. After a dizzying victory media tour, it seems she's going to Hollywood. Just the other day, she and classical/jazz/pop sensation, Laufey, announced that Liu would make an appearance in the latter's forthcoming music video, "Madwoman," out April 13. The cast also includes Heated Rivalry breakout star Hudson Williams, The Summer I Turned Pretty's Lola Tung and KATSEYE member Megan Skiendiel. With such a stacked lineup, I can't wait for the premiere.