Emilie was born in 1986 and raised in Biel, Switzerland. She was an only child until her adopted brother, Simon, came along from Haiti in June of 1995. Biel is a very multicultural city, which led Emilie to speak four languages fluently (French, Swiss-German, German and English). She started riding bikes at a young age, with her dad (former racer and now coach). She raced XC at an international level until 2006, where she finally discovered the fun of downhill. Emilie raced her first DH race in 2007 – 2020 will be her 13th season! Emilie completed her master’s in psychology sciences at Geneva University in 2014 then followed it up with a three-year postgraduate program at the University of Bern specializing in sports psychology.