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Following her historic Olympic performance at the London Game, “Fierce Five” team member, Gabby Douglas, has been in high-demand. Fans have seen the gymnast her winning smile on cereal boxes, chatting with the First Lady and engaging in countless television interviews. Gabby continues her turn in the spotlight, gracing the cover of the December 2012 issue of Essence magazine.

Within the issue, the publications highlights its “2012 Women of the Year” and Douglas is among those honored. The “Flying Squirrel” looks perfectly polished in her cover shot, trading in those famous Olympic leotards for designer threads. She’s pictured wearing a black and gold dress from Notte by Marchesa, accessorized by one of her gold medals. Gabby’s controversial hairdo was also transformed for the shoot, with the help of celebrity hair stylist, Ted Gibson.

“Doing her hair was one of the highlights of my career. Today was about making her feel the most comfortable in front of the camera,” Gibson said.

As Essence.com explains:

In the cover story Gabby Takes Flight, see what life has been like for “America’s Sweetheart” after making Olympic history — and why she continues to steal our hearts today. Plus, ESSENCE remembers the shared triumphs (Serena’s top wins at Wimbledon, the Olympics and the U.S. Open), personal storms (Sybrina Fulton’s fight for justice for slain son Trayvon Martin) and bittersweet good-byes (to Whitney, Donna, Ms. Melodie and more) that made us cheer, grieve and strengthen our resolve.

“In my dreams I didn’t think about how many shows I would be on and how many people would tweet me…it’s so cool!” –Gabrielle Douglas 

The issue hits newsstands on November 9th. For behind-the-scenes footage of Gabby’s glamorous transformation for her cover shoot, check out the video below:

The magazine also honors U.S. Olympians Carmelita Jeter, Sanya Richards-Ross and Allyson Felix with an alternate cover. The gold-medal winning ladies are each pictured wearing gold dresses to match.

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• Gymnastics
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This post is related to an ongoing story:

• 2012 Olympic Games in London

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