By Sophia Bui, Andrew Georgy & Pham Tran
Fountain Valley High School (FVHS), or as some might call it, “the school of excellence,” has been a hub for creating geniuses and stars for many years. Many Baron alumni, who have graduated from the school, have their own story and successes that are just waiting to be told.
SHIRLEY BABASHOFF | CLASS OF 1975
An Olympic Hall of Famer, Shirley Babashoff is not only a record-winning swimmer but also an FVHS alumni! Born on January 31, 1957, Babashoff has won three gold and six silver Olympic medals, along with multiple first-place finishes at world championships. At one point in her career, she also held multiple world records and even all national freestyle records from the 100-meter to 800-meter events.
Babashoff started taking swimming lessons in Orange County at the age of 8, beginning at Cerritos College and eventually moving on to club swimming with the Buena Park Splashers. At 13, she eventually took her talents to Golden West College, where she swam for Phillips 66. There, she started setting multiple age-group records and was recruited to the Mission Viejo Nadadores. Under Hall of Fame coach Mark Schubert, Babashoff worked tirelessly through challenging workouts that aimed on improving her fly, back and breaststroke skills; in the end, it paid off, with Babashoff becoming one of the country’s best women freestylers.
At FVHS, Babashoff led the school to its first ever California Interscholastic Federation championship in her senior year.
After graduating from high school, Babashoff moved on to an even bigger stage: the 1972 Summer Olympics. Babashoff won two gold medals in the 4×100 meter freestyle and medley relay and silver medals in the 100 meter and 200 meter individual freestyle events. In 1974, she tied her own world record in the 200-meter freestyle and led the American women’s swim team to a win over the East Germans in a dual meet in Concord, California.
The 1976 Olympic Trials and Olympics was where Babashoff really shined, however. At the trials, she won all the freestyle events and set a new world record as well as six national records; in the actual Olympics, Babashoff won four silver medals and one gold medal, including one as an anchor over the steroid-filled East Germany 4×100-meter freestyle relay team. To this day, her upset is considered one of the greatest races in the history of women’s swimming.
After her swimming career, Babashoff went to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to get a business degree and worked as a swim coach for the Korean Olympic team at the 1988 Olympics. She also appeared on television a few times and partook in an endorsement contract.
An inspiration to female swimmers all over the world, we are so proud to have Babashoff as one of our own alumni!
MICHELLE PFEIFFER | CLASS OF 1976
American actress and producer Michelle Pfeiffer graduated from FVHS as class of 1976. A few years after graduation, Pfeiffer won the Miss Orange County beauty pageant and became a finalist in the Miss California contest. By participating in the contest, she secured an acting agent and began pursuing acting professionally.
One of her famous film roles was Elvira Hancock in Scarface (1983). After the film, Pfeiffer gained more public attention and more fans. Her other well-known films include The Witches of Eastwick, Love Field, Batman Returns and Dangerous Liaisons.
As her career went on, Pfeiffer became one of Hollywood’s most successful actresses in the 1980s and 1990s. She won the Golden Globe Award for the movie The Fabulous Baker Boys, three Academy Award Nominations and the Silver Bear for Best Actress for Love Field. Later, Pfeiffer also had a star of her own on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
DUVAL LOVE | CLASS OF 1991
Duval Lee Love, who was born in Los Angeles, made his way over to FVHS and into the football team. After graduating , Love began his football career playing for the UCLA Bruins. In his junior year at college, the Football News association named Love a third-team All American.
As his career progressed, Love was sought out to be selected and begin his career in the NFL. However, scouts were left shocked when it took 10 rounds for Love to finally be selected, since they had predicted that he would be picked no later than the fourth round.
Chosen by the Los Angeles Rams, the team of his home town, Love managed the offensive line alongside the rest of the team, all of whichfaced unsuccessful campaigns. That was, up until 1991 when Love was signed to the Pitsburgh Steelers. It was ultimately the best decision, as with the Steelers was where Love found success.
For the next few years, Love had a great run with the Steelers, but unfortunately they didn’t make the Superbowl. For the last two years of his 12-season career, Love signed with the Arizona Cardinals, proving his value and talent overshadows the importance of his tenth round selection. Love moved on to become an offensive line coach at Whittier college from 2007 to 2008, and after that retired to focus on his family life.
“Basically, I’m retired now. After I retired, I got married and have been able to watch my kids grow up and to be a part of their lives. I coached some of their football and hockey teams and have been happy just to be a dad,” Dove said.
DAVID DENMAN | CLASS OF 1991
From FVHS to Juilliard School in New York, David Denman pursued his dream of becoming a professional actor. At Juilliard, Denman got to participate in intensive training in acting, voice, movement and even classical theatre.
For his debut, he played Brian Durphy in The Replacements. Although his role didn’t have miuch dialogue due to the fact that the character is deaf, Deman was still able to gain public attention through his expressive physical movement and acting.
The popular sitcom The Office was a big achievement in his career. Denman played Roy Anderson, a character who went from a jealous ex to a more mature person. The show’s cast won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance. His other famous pieces include Big Fish, Jobs, After Earth and 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.
Denman’s great adaptability to many different genres has won him incredible recognition from the audience and the acting world.
LILIA VU | CLASS OF 2016
Graduated as class of 2016, Lilia Kha-Tu Du Vu is one of the most renowned star alumni of FVHS. From attending English class with Doug Wilton to receiving a position in the list of number-one female golfers in the nation, Vu sets an inspiring example for upcoming student athletes.
Born October 14, 1997, Vu was born and raised in Fountain Valley, California. She began playing golf at seven years old alongside her father and older brother with her father coaching her.
She attended FVHS and joined the girls’ golf team with coach Carter Keyser as her mentor.
“She won CIF as a freshman and made it to state every year she played. She was absolutely dominant as an athlete. She took her schooling very seriously,” Keyser said.
To have achieved so much at such a young age while balancing her education on top of it, Vu further impresses by getting accepted into UCLA after graduating.
“It’s not easy to get accepted to UCLA even when you are a great golfer,” Keyser said.
In her amateur career, Vu played collegiate golf for UCLA and ended up being ranked first on the UCLA career victory list, with 8 individual titles. In 2018, Vu represented the US at the 2018 Curtis Cup, Arnold Palmer Cupand USA World Amateur. In the same year, she earned her position in the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) for 2019. Vu finished first in the Epson Tour Race in 2021, earning player of the year honors and claiming LPGA Tour membership for the 2022 season.
2023 was her big break, when she became a Rolex first-time winner at the Honda-sponsored LPGA in Thailand, further adding a first-time major-champion at the Chevron Championship. She won the Rolex Annika Major Award with her second major win at the AIG women’s open as well asthe Penultimate event of the season and earned the Rolex Player of the Year honors. She made her Olympic debut during 2024 at the Paris Olympics.
“Lilia is arguably the best athlete in the history of Fountain Valley High School,” Keyser said.
With an overwhelming record of victories, Vu is still on her journey of dominating the field, setting an example for student athletes all over the world, especially students of FVHS.
