Suni Lee’s eye-catching nails designed by Hmong women
MINNEAPOLIS – Suni Lee landed a gold medal — and a secure place in the hearts of millions.
The 18-year-old St. Paul phenom is now a household name.
Suni is known for wearing long acrylic nails, even during competition. (She’s been quoted as saying they help her grip the uneven bars.) So it wasn’t a surprise that she sported a stylish manicure at the Tokyo Olympics.
But the design — white, square-tipped nails with the Olympic rings — not only captured worldwide attention, but showcased her connection to a Hmong-owned nail salon in Minneapolis.
“She told us that her nails were her good-luck charm,” said Elizabeth Lee, a Hmong American nail artist and manager at Little Luxuries Nail Lounge.
The story behind the Olympic nails started with an Instagram message.
Lee, who had been following Suni’s career for years, couldn’t help but notice that she had her nails done for past competitions. Lee sent Suni a message from the salon’s Instagram account before the Olympic trials.
To her surprise, Suni not only responded, but came into the salon a week later to get a basic white acrylic set on her nails.
“Never in a million years would I have thought she would’ve responded back,” Lee said.
Before leaving for Japan, Suni came in again.
This time, Lee sketched out some designs, including one that represented Hmong heritage. Suni explained that she had to keep her nail designs simple, so they ended up with a white base decorated
with red and blue curvy waves on the right hand, and the Olympic rings on the left. (The waves were later buffed off because they were considered too distracting, Lee said.)
“Unfortunately, she’s sad that she couldn’t keep the red and blue on, but she was able to keep the rings, which was number one for me, for sure, because we had to hand-draw those and it did take a little bit of time,” Lee said.
Those nails lit up social media, garnering the salon national attention.
“We’re so thankful and really humbled by all of the attention we’re getting,” Lee said. “All the praise honestly goes to Sunisa. She’s the true superhero. She’s my hero in my book. She’s inspired me because, hey, like the girl has on nails, and she didn’t lose a single one during competition.”
Growing up in North Carolina, Lee was often in and out of her aunt’s salons. After working as a paralegal assistant, she became a nail artist four years ago.
Lee moved to Minnesota in 2019 to join her cousin Amy Vang at Little Luxuries. The two were close
when they were young.
Vang, who had moved from North Carolina to be closer to her husband’s family, opened the salon three years ago.
The gymnast is the first Hmong American to represent Team USA, for which she has won gold, silver and bronze medals. Lee and Vang said they are proud of Suni’s accomplishments and how she’s represented the Hmong community.
The women hope that parents in the Hmong community are able to reconsider the possibilities for their children after watching Suni’s journey to the Olympics. Oftentimes, they said, immigrant parents encourage their kids to become doctors or lawyers and achieve the American dream.
“I hope that going forward, this change will continue to help our community prosper,” said Lee. “And it’s only going to help Hmong families — especially second-generation Hmong parents — to really inspire their children to do whatever they want.
“Nothing is impossible. Sunisa Lee, she made the American dream a reality.”