Lenda Murray (born February 22, 1962) is an American professional female bodybuilding champion.

Early life and education

Murray was born in 1962 in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, the daughter of Darcelious and Louvelle Murray. She began participating in organized sports at the age of 15. At Henry Ford High School, Murray was both a record-holding sprinter and varsity cheerleader. She went on to attend

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

, earning a degree in political science and intended to become a lawyer. While at Western Michigan, she continued to cheerlead, and became the second

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

to be chosen as the university’s

homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

queen in 1982. After a brief tenure cheerleading for the

Michigan Panthers The Michigan Panthers were a professional American football team based in the Detroit, Michigan area. The Panthers competed in the United States Football League (USFL) as a member of the Western Conference and Central Division. The team played i ...

in the now-defunct

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

, she worked with the Michigan Panthers for two years and then was invited to try out for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

cheerleaders. After she auditioned for the group and made the next-to-last cut, she decided she might need to slenderize her thighs a bit.Ravo, Nick
"Ms. Olympia: 'They said I was a natural'"
''

The Free Lance-Star ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', December 11, 1992, p. D2. Retrieved on June 19, 2013.

Bodybuilding career

Amateur career

In 1984, she joined a gym, the Powerhouse Gym, in

Highland Park, Michigan Highland Park is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,977 at the 2020 census. Along with its neighbor of Hamtramck, Highland Park is an enclave city surrounded by the city of Detroit. History The area tha ...

. Within the first two days of joining the gym, Ron Love, an NPC Nationals contender told her that she had the physique to be a bodybuilder. After about a year of training to just stay in shape, she decided to compete in the 1985 Ms. Michigan Championships. After placing 4th she was hooked to the sport. Her father didn't show up to her first bodybuilding competition, but eventually did to others. She rose quickly through the ranks, soon winning contests at the state and regional levels. In 1989, she earned her professional status at the IFBB North American Championships.Female Bodybuilding Interview of the Month
/ref>

Professional career

1990–1997

Murray soon became a regular presence in bodybuilding magazines and a favorite subject of photographer Bill Dobbins who focused extensively on her in his books ''The Women'' and ''Modern Amazons''. At the 1990 Ms. Olympia, Murray succeeded six-time champion

Cory Everson Corinna "Cory" Everson (née Kneuer; born January 4, 1958) is an American female bodybuilding champion and actress. Everson won the Ms. Olympia contest six years in a row from 1984 to 1989. Education Corinna Kneuer was born in Racine, Wisconsin ...

and defeated Bev Francis to become the Ms. Olympia champion, a title Murray would hold for six years from 1990 to 1995. She appeared in such mass-market publications as ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'', ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when ...

'', '' Mademoiselle'', and '' Vanity Fair'', as well as in

Annie Leibovitz Anna-Lou Leibovitz ( ; born October 2, 1949) is an American portrait photographer best known for her engaging portraits, particularly of celebrities, which often feature subjects in intimate settings and poses. Leibovitz's Polaroid photo of Jo ...

’s photo essay ''Women''. Murray’s physique became the standard against which professional female bodybuilders are now judged—an hourglass figure, with broad shoulders tapering into a V-shaped torso mirrored by a proportionally-developed lower body. At the 1991 Ms. Olympia, Murray won the slimmest margin of victory for any Ms. Olympia, edging out Bev Francis by a final score of 31 to 32. Afterwards, she would go on to win the Ms. Olympia competition in 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1995.

First retirement

Murray lost the Ms. Olympia title to

Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls (born April 23, 1968) is an American professional female bodybuilding champion, fitness, and figure competitor. Early life and education Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls (born Kim Chizevsky) was born in 1968 in Charleston, Illino ...

in 1996, and went into retirement after finishing second to Chizevsky-Nicholls again in December 1997.

2002–2004

However, after four years of retirement she returned to the Ms. Olympia stage, and won two more Ms. Olympia titles in 2002 and 2003.

Second retirement

She finished second in the heavyweight class to

Iris Kyle Iris Floyd Kyle (born August 22, 1974) is an African-Indian American professional female bodybuilder. She is currently the most successful female professional bodybuilder ever with seventeen titles including ten overall Ms. Olympia wins (the m ...

in 2004, and again retired from competition.

Legacy

Murray has won eight overall Ms. Olympia titles and has two professional wins in her weight class. She is the second most successful female bodybuilder ever, second only to Iris Kyle. From February 28, 2003 to May 31, 2003, she ranked 1st on the IFBB Women's Bodybuilding Professional Ranking List. Murray has previously done commentary for bodybuilding events on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

from 1993 to 1996. In 2010, Murray was inducted into the

IFBB Hall of Fame The IFBB Hall of Fame was established in 1999 to honor outstanding athletes and officials in the sport of bodybuilding. There have been no inductees since 2011. Induction years 1999 *Carla Dunlap *Cory Everson *John Grimek * Lee Haney * Rachel Mc ...

. In March 2011, she became a member of the

National Fitness Hall of Fame National Fitness Hall of Fame is an American hall of fame for notable fitness professionals. It includes notable figures involved in fitness instruction, training, education, fitness management and product development. The mission is to recognize ...

and received the award from Arnold Schwarzenegger. Every year there is an NPC competition, held at

Norfolk State University Norfolk State University (NSU) is a public historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnership. History The institution was founded on September 18, 1935 ...

, called the Lenda Murray Bodybuilding, Figure and Bikini Championships, which she is a promoter and organizer for.Hall of Fame Bodybuilder and Grandmother Still Flexing
/ref>Lenda Murray Ms Olympia 8 x World Champion
/ref> Murray is also spokesperson for Wings of Strength and she owns a nutritional products company Crystal Planet Nutrition.

Contest history

*1985 NPC Michigan State - 4th *1985 NPC Eastern Michigan - 1st *1986 NPC Michigan - 3rd *1986 NPC Ironwoman Michigan - 3rd *1987 NPC Michigan - 3rd *1987 NPC North Coast - 2nd *1988 NPC Michigan - 1st *1989 NPC Junior Nationals - 1st (HW and Overall) *1989 IFBB North American Championships - 1st (HW and Overall) *1990 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st *1991 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st *1992 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st *1993 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st *1994 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st *1995 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st *1996 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 2nd *1997 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 2nd *2002 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st (HW and Overall) *2003 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st (HW and Overall) *2004 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 2nd (HW)

Personal life

Murray is single and lives in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

with her cats, Martin and William.About
/ref> She is a Christian.Lenda Murray
/ref> She is a grandmother of eleven and a stepmother of four. Murray has done many videos to help others in their pursuit of fitness, been a professional cheerleader, a physical fitness trainer, a private trainer to professional wrestlers, athletes and others, along with trying out to become a professional wrestler for the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

in 1997. In November 1990, she founded Lenda Murray Inc. From June 1999 to November 2004, she oversaw the daily operations, administrative and financial activities of The Fitness Firm. From 1999 to 2005, Murray owned a gym in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

called The Fitness Firm.

Television appearances

Murray has appeared on daytime talk shows like Geraldo,

The Montel Williams Show ''The Montel Williams Show'' (also known as ''Montel'') is an American syndicated tabloid talk show, hosted by Montel Williams, which ran from 1991 to 2008. On January 30, 2008, the end of production of new episodes of ''The Montel Williams S ...

, and

The Jerry Springer Show ''Jerry Springer'' is an American scripted syndicated tabloid talk show that aired from September 30, 1991 to July 26, 2018. Produced and hosted by its namesake, Jerry Springer, it aired for 27 seasons and nearly 5,000 episodes. The television ...

Movie appearances

In 2015, Murray appeared in Adam Sandler's ''

The Ridiculous 6 ''The Ridiculous 6'' is a 2015 American Western action comedy film directed by Frank Coraci and written by Tim Herlihy and Adam Sandler, and starring Sandler, Terry Crews, Jorge Garcia, Taylor Lautner, Rob Schneider, and Luke Wilson. As Happy ...

'' where she played (

Terry Crews Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor, television host, and former American footballer. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/ CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', which aired from 2005 to 2009, and portrayed Terry Jeffords ...

's character) Chico's mother.

References

Sources

*Todd, Jan, "Lenda Murray", ''St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture'', Gale Group, 1999

External links

Lenda Murray Ms. Olympia Official website
! colspan = 3 , Ms. Olympia {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Lenda 1962 births African-American female bodybuilders Living people Sportspeople from Columbus, Georgia People from Highland Park, Michigan People from Kalamazoo County, Michigan People from Muscogee County, Georgia People from Wayne County, Michigan Professional bodybuilders Sportspeople from Detroit Sportspeople from Los Angeles Sportspeople from Kalamazoo, Michigan Sportspeople from Norfolk, Virginia Sportspeople from Virginia Beach, Virginia Western Michigan University alumni 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American women