Gladys Portugues (born September 30, 1957) is an American former professional

female bodybuilder Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s, when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.

and actress. As a bodybuilder, she twice placed in the top 10 in the

Ms. Olympia The IFBB Ms. Olympia is both the highest ranking professional female bodybuilding competition and the title of the winner of the competition. It was first organized in 1980, and was held as part of the Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance ...

contest. She was married to Belgian actor and martial artist

Jean-Claude van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...

Personal life

Portugues of puertorican parents has said that she was inspired to start her own

bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

and

weight training Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength, size of skeletal muscles and maintenance of strength.Keogh, Justin W, and Paul W Winwood. “Report for: The Epidemiology of Injuries Across the Weight-Traini ...

regimen while attending

Marymount Manhattan College Marymount Manhattan College is a private college on the Upper East Side of New York City. As of 2020, enrollment consists of 1,571 undergraduates with women making up 80.1% and men 19.9% of student enrollment. The college was founded in 1936. Hi ...

, when she saw

Rachel McLish Rachel Livia Elizondo McLish (born 21 June 1955) is an American female bodybuilding champion, actress, and author. Early life and education McLish was born as Raquel Livia Elizondo in 1955 in Harlingen, Texas, the second-youngest daughter born. ...

on television winning the

title. In 1987, at the age of thirty, Portugues married Belgian martial artist and actor Jean-Claude van Varenberg. The couple divorced in 1992, but remarried in 1999. They have two children: Kristopher van Varenberg (born 1987) and Bianca Brigitte (born 1990). Her husband is professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Filmography

TV

Books

*''Hard Bodies Express'', Portugues, Dell; Reissue 1988, *''Hard Bodies'', Portugues and Vedral, Dell; Reissue edition 1986,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Portugues, Gladys 1957 births Living people American female bodybuilders American people of Puerto Rican descent Place of birth missing (living people) Actresses from New York City Professional bodybuilders