Six days before her 16th birthday, golfer Michelle Wie announced that she was becoming a professional. "I'm finally turning pro, and I'm so excited," she said. "The first time I grabbed a golf club, I knew I'd do it for the rest of my life."
The six-foot-tall native of Hawaii started playing golf at age 4. By age 12, she was playing as an amateur, an athlete who does not compete for money, against many of the world's best professional male and female golfers.
Michelle, a high school junior, has signed deals to promote Nike and Sony that could earn her $10 million a year. This will make her the richest female golfer in the world. But Michelle is also giving back. She has already donated $500,000 to the U.S. Golf Hurricane Relief Fund.