Michelle Curran

Michelle "MACE" Curran is a former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, motivational speaker, and author. She had a 13-year career in the Air Force, where she flew F-16 fighter jets, logging over 1,500 flight hours, including 163 combat hours in Afghanistan during Operations Freedom’s Sentinel and Resolute Support. From 2019 to 2021, Curran was the only female pilot in the elite Air Force Thunderbirds, serving as the Lead Solo Pilot (Thunderbird #5), making her the second woman ever in that role since the team's founding in 1953. She performed for millions across the U.S. and internationally, inspiring audiences with high-speed maneuvers like the vertical roll, often set to No Doubt’s “I’m Just a Girl.”

Curran grew up in a small town, studied criminal justice at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, and joined the Air Force through ROTC, initially driven by a thirst for adventure. She trained as an F-16 pilot, served in Japan at Misawa Air Base, and later became an instructor pilot in Texas, where she was the first woman to fly with the 335th Fighter Squadron. After leaving the military in 2021, she founded Upside Down Dreams, a company focused on empowering others to overcome fear and failure, and wrote a children’s book by the same name.

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