Celebrity Name: Simone Biles
Brand Name: Mandarin Oriental
Represented By: Octagon
Deal Type: Long-Term Global Wellness Ambassador Partnership
Announced: February 20, 2026
Impact: First-ever Global Wellness Ambassador for Mandarin Oriental; positions the brand as a leading authority in modern holistic wellness
- Simone Biles has been named Mandarin Oriental’s first-ever Global Wellness Ambassador, a brand new role the luxury hotel group created specifically for this partnership.
- This is a long-term, purpose-driven collaboration where Biles will actively work with Mandarin Oriental’s Wellness Board to shape programming across performance, movement, nutrition, sleep, and mental wellbeing.
- Biles made her official debut in the role at Mandarin Oriental, Milan, symbolizing her personal and professional growth as a global wellness leader.
- The partnership is also linked to Laureus Sport for Good, a global charitable organization that uses sport to transform the lives of young people.
Simone Biles just added a major luxury brand to her growing portfolio. On February 20, 2026, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group announced that Biles (the most decorated gymnast of all time) is now the brand’s first-ever Global Wellness Ambassador.
This isn’t a simple celebrity photo deal. Biles will work directly with Mandarin Oriental’s Wellness Board, bringing her experience as an elite athlete to help shape real programs for guests around the world.
The focus areas include physical performance, meditation, movement, nutrition, sleep, and mental wellbeing; a full-picture approach to health that Biles has championed throughout her career.
“I’m excited to partner with Mandarin Oriental because we share the same belief that wellness is about more than physical performance — it’s about taking care of your whole self,” Biles said.
Alex Schellenberger, Chief Brand and Marketing Officer at Mandarin Oriental, described the deal as “a new era in how we engage with talent, moving beyond endorsement to genuine collaboration”.
The brand is no stranger to high-profile partnerships. Its famous “I’m a Fan” campaign, launched in 2000, has featured celebrities like Morgan Freeman, Lucy Liu, Alia Bhatt, and Michelle Yeoh.
But this Biles deal is different. It’s the first time Mandarin Oriental has created a wellness-specific ambassador role, signaling a strategic shift toward positioning the brand as a leader in holistic luxury wellbeing.
Athletes are increasingly becoming the faces of brands. Just recently, WNBA star Breanna Stewart was named ambassador for Throne Sport Coffee, and NBA legend Chris Paul partnered with AT&T in a high-profile brand deal, showing just how powerful the athlete-brand partnership space has become.
Biles is also coming off a historic 2024 Paris Olympics, where she won four medals and cemented her legacy as the greatest gymnast ever. Now 28, she continues to use her platform to advocate for mental health and holistic performance, making her a natural fit for the Mandarin Oriental brand identity.
This deal is a smart play on both sides. For Mandarin Oriental, Biles brings something most celebrity ambassadors can’t; lived, credible experience with the exact wellness journey the brand is selling to its guests.
She hasn’t just talked about mental health and recovery; she’s lived it publicly, making her one of the most authentic wellness voices on the planet.
For Biles, this expands her brand well beyond gymnastics into the global luxury lifestyle space; a category that commands serious long-term commercial value and cultural cachet.
The bigger picture? Luxury brands are no longer satisfied with a celebrity face on a billboard. They want partners who believe in what they’re selling, and that bar is only going up.
How does this deal affect Biles’s brand compared to traditional sportswear or fitness sponsorships? Could this inspire other luxury hotel groups to create dedicated athlete wellness partnerships?
