Shelley Ann Beattie (August 24, 1967 – February 16, 2008) was a 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. Beattie's highest placement was the top three at the

Ms. International The Ms. International female bodybuilding contest was considered to be the second-most prestigious competition for female bodybuilders (second only to the Ms. Olympia competition), from its inception in 1986 through 2013. It was first held in 1 ...

and

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 ...

contests, the two most prestigious shows for female professional bodybuilders. She was one of the few deaf professional female bodybuilders in the world, making the cover of ''Deaf Life'' magazine twice in the 1990s. After her retirement, she joined the Grinder on America's Cup team, finishing second place in both 1994 and 1995. In 2008, she died by suicide.

Early life

Shelley Beattie was born in

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Beattie's mother was a athlete, while her sister, who was , played college basketball at

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

. Beattie became deaf at the age of three due to an aspirin overdose. In school, she learned sign language and had several operations and

speech therapy Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if they are th ...

to improve her ability to communicate. However, Beattie was socially isolated due to her deafness and turned to sports as an outlet. She competed track and field, including

heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

, cross country,

hurdling Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

, and 400 meter sprints. She also set a school record for the low hurdle. At the age of 14, she began lifting weights to improve her times. At age 16, Beattie sustained an ankle injury that she believed was career-ending. Beattie's home life was unstable. Between the ages of 14 and 17, she had been placed in three different foster homes and had attended three different schools. She turned to weightlifting as an outlet to cope with anxiety and frustration. Beattie attended

Western Oregon State College Western Oregon University (WOU) is a public university in Monmouth, Oregon. It was originally established in 1856 by Disciples of Christ pioneers as Monmouth University. Subsequent names included Oregon State Normal School, Oregon College of Ed ...

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

from 1984 to 1988, graduating with a degree in

child psychology Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development ...

and

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

. During this time, she also studied jazz dance and choreography, and joined a dance company.

Bodybuilding career

She also began entering and competing in amateur bodybuilding competitions at this time. In her first competition, the Portland Rose Cup Novice, she weighed in at 124 pounds and finished fourth in the heavyweight class. Soon, she began reaching the top five of every amateur competition she entered, including several wins. She developed a friendly rivalry with fellow bodybuilder

Nikki Fuller Nikki Fuller (born January 23, 1968) is an American professional female bodybuilder. At her largest, Fuller weighed . In competition, her height was listed at and her biceps measured . Some of her best lifts are for a max on bench press and 11 ...

, often times finishing second to her in competitions. In 1989, Beattie met Aaron Shelley, an exercise and physiology graduate at Oregon State. With Shelley, she improved her diet and training, resulting in her taking the overall title at the 1990 NPC Emerald Cup and the Pacific Coast Championships. After winning the overall title at the 1990 NPC USA Championship, she turned pro. As a professional, she competed at a height of and a body weight of around . Due to internal politics at the International Federation of BodyBuilders, she was unable to enter the 1990 Ms. Olympia after her USA Championship win. She went on to enter the 1991

, finishing third. At the 1991 Ms. Olympia, she placed seventh. In the 1992 Ms. Olympia, her placement of third was her highest professional bodybuilding achievement. Beattie retired after placing seventh in the 1993 Ms. Olympia contest. In addition to being a professional bodybuilder, Beattie worked as a group home counselor for developmentally delayed teenagers.

Retirement

After retiring, Beattie competed as a grinder on the

America³ ''America'' (pronounced "America Cubed") is the name of both a syndicate that vied for the America's Cup in 1992 and 1995 and its boats. 1992 Cup victory The program was operated by Bill Koch and Harry "Buddy" Melges in the 1992 America's Cup ...

sailing team (the first all-women's

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

team). She also jointed the cast of the '' American Gladiators'' TV series under the name "Siren", competing in 44 episodes between 1992 and 1997. Because she was deaf, she took visual cues from referee Larry Thompson and fellow gladiator Salina Bartunek (known as "Elektra" on the show). Spectators would also wave their hands in the air or stomp their feet instead of applauding.

Personal life and death

Beattie was bisexual. She had a six-year relationship with John Romano, a magazine columnist at ''Muscular Development''. At the time of her death, Beattie lived on a farm east of

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...

, with girlfriend Julie Moisa. Beattie was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. On February 13, 2008, she attempted suicide by hanging and died three days later, aged 40.Lynn, Capi. "Farewell to one who beat so many obstacles" Statesman Journal 10 March 2008

Filmography

*'' American Gladiators'' (TV Series) – Siren (1992–1996) *''

Hot Shots! Part Deux ''Hot Shots! Part Deux'' is a 1993 American parody film directed by Jim Abrahams. It stars Charlie Sheen, Lloyd Bridges, Valeria Golino, Richard Crenna (parodying his Colonel role in the ''Rambo'' franchise), Brenda Bakke, Miguel Ferrer, Rowa ...

'' (1993) – Siren

Contest history

* 1986 – Portland Rose Cup Novice 4th (HW) * 1987 – Collegiate Emerald Empire 1st (HW) * 1987 – Portland Rose Cup Novice 3rd (HW) * 1988 – Portland Rose Cup Novice 3rd (HW) * 1988 – Oregon Championships 3rd (HW) * 1989 – Western Oregon Championships 1st (HW) * 1989 – Collegiate Emerald Empire 1st (HW) * 1989 – Vancouver Natural Championships 1st (HW) * 1989 – Portland Rose Cup Novice 1st (HW) * 1989 – NPC Emerald Cup 2nd (HW) * 1989 – Pacific Coast Championships 2nd (HW) * 1990 – NPC Emerald Cup – 1st (HW & Overall) * 1990 – NPC USA Championship – 1st (HW & Overall) * 1991 – IFBB Ms. International – 3rd * 1991 – IFBB Ms. Olympia – 7th * 1992 – IFBB Ms. International – 7th * 1992 – IFBB Ms. Olympia – 3rd * 1993 – IFBB Ms. International – 9th * 1993 – IFBB Ms. Olympia – 7th

Other competitions

*1994 Grinder on America3 America's Cup team – 2nd *1995 Grinder on America3 America's Cup team – 2nd

Magazine covers

* December 1990 – ''MuscleMag International'' * July 1991 –
DeafLife Volume IV, Number 1
' * January 1991 – ''NPC News'' * December 1992 –

' * March 1993 – ''Female Bodybuilding'' * August 1993 – ''Muscular Development'' * December 1993 – ''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

'' * February 1994 – ''Muscular Development'' * September 1994 – ''Muscular Development'' * November 1994 – ''

Women's Physique World ''Women's Physique World'' was a magazine covering female bodybuilding and fitness and figure competition, published from 1984 to 2006. History and profile The first issue was dated Fall 1984, and featured Lori Walkup on the cover. Subsequent ...

'' * January 1998 – ''Muscular Development''

References

*Bradford, Reg. ''The Butterfly has Spread it's Wings!''. Nebraska: Muscle Mag International (no. 134). August 1993. USPS 4601. (Lincoln, NE: Canusa Products/Foote & Davies, 1992.). Biography Section: pages 126–128, 130, 132–136, 139–140, 143, and 147–148 cover Shelley Beattie story.

External links

Beattie's StatsAmerican Gladiators Siren Profile (GladiatorsTV.com)
*
Tribute by John Romano and ''Muscular Development'' readers.Article on Beatty's life from Statesman Journal
from The Oregonian {{DEFAULTSORT:Beattie, Shelley 1967 births 2008 deaths American female bodybuilders Bisexual women Deaf sportspeople American LGBT sportspeople People with bipolar disorder Professional bodybuilders Suicides by hanging in Oregon Western Oregon University alumni American deaf people LGBT bodybuilders 2008 suicides 20th-century American women 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century American women