Lipinski is the only child of Patricia Brozyniak Lipinski and Jack Richard Lipinski, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1982. The family lived in Sewell, New Jersey until 1991. Lipinski began roller skating at age three and later won a number of competitions. She began figure skating at age six. Her first competition was the 1990 regional championship, where she finished second. In 1991 her father's job required the family to move to Sugar Land, Texas. However, training facilities were not available there. In 1993 Lipinski and her mother moved back to Delaware, where she had trained before. She later moved to Detroit, Michigan to train with Richard Callaghan.
Lipinski first came to national prominence when she won the 1994 U.S. Olympic Festival competition, which at the time was a junior-level competition. Later that season she placed fourth at the 1995 World Junior Figure Skating Championships and second in the junior level at the 1995 United States Figure Skating Championships. By that time, Lipinski was the subject of a great deal of media attention.
After a disappointing fifth-place finish at the 1996 World Junior Championships, Lipinski changed coaches from Jeff Di Gregorio at the University of Delaware to Richard Callaghan in Detroit. Moving up to the senior level, she benefited from the withdrawal of Nicole Bobek from the 1996 U.S. Championships to place third and qualify for the World Figure Skating Championships, where she placed fifteenth.
That year, the International Skating Union voted to raise the minimum age for participating at the World Championships to 15. Lipinski, who was 13 at the time, was grandfathered into remaining eligible for future events, along with other skaters who had already competed at the World Championships before the new age requirement was introduced.
In 1997, Lipinski unexpectedly won both the U.S. and World Championships, and, at the age of 14, became the youngest person ever to win either title. At the 1996 U.S. Postal Challenge, Lipinski became the first female skater to land a triple loop/triple loop jump combination, which became her signature element.
The following season, Lipinski got off to a shaky start, losing to Michelle Kwan at Skate America, to Laetitia Hubert at Trophee Lalique, and to Kwan again at the 1998 U.S. Championships. At the 1998 Winter Olympics, both Lipinski and Kwan skated excellent programs, with Lipinski winning a narrow victory. Many people believe that Lipinski was aided by the fact that she skated near the end of the last group, as Kwan had skated first, as it is a common practice for judges to "save room" for skaters who have yet to perform. However, Lipinski performed a more technically difficult program than Kwan.
