Lisa Lyon

Lisa Lyon (1953 to 2023) was an American female bodybuilder and photo model, regarded as one of the pioneers of women's bodybuilding. Born in Los Angeles, she studied art at the University of California at Los Angeles, took up weight training to build upper body strength for the Japanese fencing art of kendo, and was drawn into bodybuilding. She entered and won the first IFBB Women's World Pro Bodybuilding Championship in Los Angeles on June 16, 1979, the only bodybuilding contest of her career, and then promoted bodybuilding for women on television and in magazines and wrote the 1981 book Lisa Lyon's Body Magic. She modeled for Helmut Newton and Joel-Peter Witkin, and Robert Mapplethorpe made more than 150 photographs of her. She entered the IFBB Hall of Fame in 2000.