Jon and Kate Gosselin’s Daughter Mady Reveals She and Her Siblings ‘Experienced Racism’ Growing Up

Jon and Kate Gosselin’s 21-year-old daughter Mady is opening up about growing up Korean American in her rural town of Pennsylvania. The former TLC reality star, who is half Korean (from her father’s side) and half white (from her mother’s side), experienced racism that left her ashamed of her identity. She made the revelation in honor of Korean American Day.

[I’m] sharing this photo with you because this was taken on the morning before [I] got my first [American Girl Doll]. [She] was from the ‘look-alike’ line,” she captioned a throwback photo in part of herself with her doll baby on Instagram. “[She] did not look like me; she had blonde hair and blue eyes, by my choice. [At] the time, there wasn’t a doll from the line that looked like me, but more importantly, at 5, [I] chose a doll that reflected the way [I] thought [I] was [supposed] to look instead of the way [I] do.”

Mady, who has seven other siblings, including her twin sister Cara, says she grew up with “a gross sort of discomfort and shame.” Much in part was due to her not seeing many representations of herself in others and due to the racism of others. 

“[I] was [hyper-aware] of my ethnicity from a young age, but the transition from awareness to shame was a slow progression that [I] didn’t notice happening until [I] was much older,” she continued. “[I] want to make it known that [I’m] so proud to celebrate being [Korean-American] today. [I’m] proud to be a part of a community that has suffered through decades of ridicule and hate in this country (only made worse in the last [two] years), but [has] persevered through it powerfully and gracefully. [I’m] also proud I make a kick-ass kimchi.”

Mady’s experience was also coupled with her being a reality star of famous parents who eventually went through a bitter divorce and custody dispute. She and her siblings eventually appeared in the Jon & Kate Plus 8 spinoff, Kate Plus 8. Mady is now a student in New York.