Lenda Murray Bio
Graphy
Lenda Murray (born February 22 1962 in Detroit, Michigan)
is a female bodybuilder from the United States . She
is the world’s most successful female bodybuilder to
date: an eight-time winner of the Ms. Olympia title,
the highest achievement in professional female bodybuilding.
Background
At Henry Ford High School in Detroit, Murray was both
a record-holding sprinter and varsity cheerleader. She
went on to attend Western Michigan University, earning
a degree in political science. While at Western Michigan,
she continued to cheerlead, and became the first African
American to be chosen as the university’s homecoming
queen in 1982 (Todd, 1999).
After a brief tenure cheerleading for the Michigan Panthers
in the now-defunct United States Football League, Murray
took to the bodybuilding stage in 1985. 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. 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.
On November 24, 1990, Murray succeeded six-time champion
Cory Everson to become Ms. Olympia, a title Murray would
hold for most of the following decade. She appeared
in such mass-market publications as Sports Illustrated,
Ebony, Mademoiselle, and Vanity Fair, as well as in
Annie Leibovitz’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.
Murray lost the Ms. Olympia title to Kim Chizevsky in
1997, and went into retirement after finishing second
to Chizevsky again in 1998. However, after four years
of retirement she returned to the Ms. Olympia stage,
and won two more Ms. Olympia titles in 2002 and 2003.
She finished second in the heavyweight class to Iris
Kyle in 2004, and again retired from competition. Murray
is married to Urel McGill and lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
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)
Reference
• Todd, Jan, "Lenda Murray", St. James Encyclopedia
of Pop Culture, Gale Group, 1999
Source of information :http://www.answers.com/
Official Website: http://www.lendamurray.net/ |
