Where Is Misty Copeland Now? All About Her Life 10 Years After Making History

After 25 years spent dancing with the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), Misty Copeland is retiring.

Ten years ago, the prima ballerina became the company’s first Black principal dancer. At 32 years old, Copeland’s promotion came later than most, but she thrived in leading the company on the Lincoln Center stage — and was pivotal in making ballet a more inclusive and accessible space for Black performers and fans.

During a June 2025 interview with The New York Times announcing her pending retirement, Copeland reflected on her impact as the face of elite ballet.

“My whole career is proof that when you have diversity, people come together and want to understand each other and want to be a community together,” she began.

“So many young Black and brown people didn’t even know Lincoln Center was a place they could step foot in,” Copeland continued. “When they see my poster on the front, they feel like it opens their minds up to a whole new world.”

So, where is Misty Copeland now? Here’s everything to know about the prima ballerina and her life today.

Who is Misty Copeland?

Copeland is a professional ballerina and the first Black performer to be promoted to principal dancer with the ABT. She began dancing with the company in 2001, and after 15 years diligently rising through the ranks, Copeland earned her history-making promotion.

While her storied career has led to more diversity, equity and inclusion in ballet, Copeland asserted that her legacy isn’t strictly about her. She told The New York Times that she feels becoming the ABT’s first Black principal dancer wasn’t entirely a matter of talent.

“I’ve never felt like I’ve gotten to this place and given this opportunity because I am the best Black dancer to ever exist,” Copeland said. “I was the first at American Ballet Theater to be given an opportunity.”

How has Misty Copeland broken barriers for Black people in ballet?

During her conversation with The New York Times, Copeland remarked on the way prejudiced stereotypes have kept Black people off the stage and her hope that her success has shattered the glass ceiling for good.

“Black people have been told for generations, ‘You all have flat feet, so you’re not going to be in pointe shoes; your butts are too big, your thighs.’ We don’t all look this way, and that’s not all bad anyway,” Copeland said.

She continued, “It’s about opening your mind to the possibilities of what can be created when you see something done on a body in a way that you’re not used to.”

In addition to making history on stage, Copeland has maximized her impact by founding The Misty Copeland Foundation, authoring numerous children’s books and memoirs and co-founding Life In Motion, a production company.

All three projects meet Copeland’s goal of increasing diversity in the arts and touching people through different means, she told the Associated Press in June 2025.

“It’s exciting to be able to utilize dance in so many different mediums, and to me, that’s how you get true diversity — by giving people different entry points into learning about dance and feeling like they can be a part of it, which has been my goal,” she said. “How do I bring dance to as many people as possible in a way that really works for them?”

Does Misty Copeland still dance?

In a June 2025 statement to AP, Copeland announced her retirement from professional ballet. “It’s been 25 years at ABT, and I think it’s time,” her press release read. “It’s time for me to move to the next stage.”

While Copeland didn’t announce she would be retiring from professional dancing until 2025, she had taken a step back from performing several years prior. Since having a son with her attorney husband, Olu Evans, in 2022, the ballerina unofficially left the stage to focus on family and her namesake foundation.

During Copeland’s conversation with The New York Times, she revealed she had been thinking about retiring as early as 2019.

“In all honesty, I’ve wanted to fade away into the background, which is not really possible,” she said. “The legacy of what I’ve created, the way that I’m carrying so many stories of Black dancers who have come before me — I can’t just disappear. There has to be an official closing to my time at American Ballet Theater, this company that has meant everything to me.”

When is Misty Copeland’s final performance?

Copeland will give a farewell performance with the ABT on Oct. 22, 2025, to mark the end of her professional dancing career.

Taking place at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, “A Celebration Honoring Misty Copeland” will include performances by Copeland and other dancers, speeches from esteemed guests and video montages of Copeland’s 25-year tenure with the ABT.

According to AP, Caroline Kennedy and Oprah Winfrey will serve as honorary chairs for the farewell event.

Where is Misty Copeland now?

Though Copeland’s sights are no longer on the stage, she’s made it clear that she intends to stay active in the world of dance.

During her conversation with AP, Copeland said, “I’ve become the person that I am today, and have all the opportunities I have today, because of ballet, (and) because of American Ballet Theatre. I feel like this is me saying thank you to the company. So it’s a farewell.”

She notably added, however, “(But) it won’t be the end of me dancing. … Never say never.”

Copeland shared the same sentiment in a June 2025 announcement post on her Instagram, adding that she would remain focused on breaking barriers for the Black community in the next stage of her life.

Expanding on her decision to retire and hopes for the future, Copeland told AP, “I think I’ve just gotten to a place in my career where there’s only so much I can do on a stage. There’s only so much that visual representation like that can do.”

She continued, “I feel like it’s the perfect timing for me to be stepping into a new role, and hopefully still shaping and shifting the ballet world and culture.”