Sam Churchill

Samantha Raven "Sam" Churchill (born September 18, 1995) is an American television personality, model, and professional surfer, best known for starring in the x|MTV reality show Surfin' USA.

Early life
Churchill was born in x|Kahului, Hawaii to Joseph Churchill and Elizabeth Nielsen. Joseph works as an attorney and is of x|Anglo-American heritage, while Elizabeth was originally from x|Minnesota, but was raised in Hawaii due to her father's military career. She was of x|Danish and x|German ancestry.

Churchill's mother died in a car accident when she was four months old. When she was four years old, Churchill's father married Julianne Chen, an attorney of x|Chinese heritage. She grew up in an affluent family, with two older step-siblings: Mara and Paul, and a younger paternal half-sister: Deidre. Churchill attended private schooling her whole life, and graduated from high school in 2013.

Career
After graduating from high school, Churchill moved from Maui to Oahu, settling in x|Honolulu. She was signed to a modeling agency, and soon began working as a model. Churchill primarily worked in print modeling, but walked in x|Los Angeles Fashion Week in 2014 and 2015. She later began a professional surfing career, having surfed as a hobby since she was thirteen. Afterwards, she began a career as a television personality, being cast in the x|MTV reality series Surfin' USA.

Personal life
Since moving to Honolulu in 2013, Churchill has resided in the x|Kahala neighborhood. She has frequently stated that despite being ethnically x|European-American, she still identifies as half x|Asian-American due to being raised by her x|Chinese-American stepmother, which has attracted controversy.