Former Miss Olympian Winners

Every Woman Bodybuilder Who Has Won the Title Through the Years

female bodybuilder flexing

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By
Richard Choueiri
Richard Choueiri
Richard Choueiri is a bodybuilding expert. He is a certified trainer and mixed martial arts coach who wrote "The Human Statue Workout."
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Updated on 03/12/19

The Ms. Olympia competition was started in 1980 to determine who was the best pro women's bodybuilder in the world, similar to how Mr. Olympia on the men's side of competition.

For the first 20 years, Ms. Olympia was held as a standalone event. Then, from 2000 onward, it was held together with Mr. Olympia in what has since been called the Olympia Weekend.

Another change that occurred in the year 2000 is the women's bodybuilding competition was divided into two weight classes: lightweight (under 135 pounds) and heavyweight (over 135 pounds).

This change only lasted until 2004 and the competition reverted back to a single open division in 2005. The final Ms. Olympia competition was held in 2014 and as of October 2017, no plans to revive the event have been announced. The following is a list of every winner of the Ms. Olympia competition.

01
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1980s

The first Ms. Olympia competition was held in 1980 in Philadelphia. At the time, the event was known as Miss Olympia, and the contestants for the first event were hand-picked by the organizer. As the decade progressed and women's bodybuilding became more popular, rules were changed to make qualification based on performance at related bodybuilding events.

  • Ms. Olympia I (1980, Philadelphia): Rachel McLish
  • Ms. Olympia II (1981, Philadelphia): Kike Elomaa
  • Ms. Olympia III (1982, Atlantic City, N.J.): Rachel McLish
  • Ms. Olympia IV (1983, Warminster, Penn.): Carla Dunlap
  • Ms. Olympia V (1984, Montreal, Canada): Cory Everson
  • Ms. Olympia VI (1985, New York City): Cory Everson
  • Ms. Olympia VII (1986, New York City: Cory Everson
  • Ms. Olympia VIII (1987, New York City): Cory Everson
  • Ms. Olympia IX (1988, New York City): Cory Everson
  • Ms. Olympia X (1989, New York City): Cory Everson
02
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1990s

In the 1990s, organizers of the Ms. Olympia competition changed the rules again and opened it to any female pro bodybuilder. In 1992, a series of controversial rules were added to prohibit contestants whose physiques were considered too large or unfeminine. These rules were dropped a few years later. The Ms. Olympia contest of 1999 was nearly canceled after the original promotor dropped out, citing lack of advance ticket sales.

  • Ms. Olympia XI (1990, New York City: Lenda Murray
  • Ms. Olympia XII (1991, Los Angeles): Lenda Murray
  • Ms. Olympia XIII (1992, Chicago): Lenda Murray
  • Ms. Olympia XIV (1993, New York City): Lenda Murray
  • Ms. Olympia XV (1994, Atlanta): Lenda Murray
  • Ms. Olympia XVI (1995, Atlanta): Lenda Murray
  • Ms. Olympia XVII (1996, Chicago): Kim Chizevsky
  • Ms. Olympia XVIII (1997, New York City): Kim Chizevsky
  • Ms. Olympia XIX (1998, Prague, Czech Republic): Kim Chizevsky
  • Ms. Olympia XX (1999, Secaucus, N.J.): Kim Chizevsky
03
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2000s

In 2000, the Ms. Olympia competition moved to Las Vegas, where it would be held every year thereafter until the event folded. That same year, organizers split the competition into two weight classes, lightweight and heavyweight (this would be ended in 2005) in an effort to increase competition. They also began scheduling Ms. Olympia to be held the same weekend as the Mr. Olympia competition.

  • Ms. Olympia XXI (2000): Andrulla Blanchette (Lightweight Bodybuilding), Valentina Chepiga (Heavyweight Bodybuilding)
  • Ms. Olympia XXII (2001): Juliette Bergmann (Lightweight Bodybuilding), Iris Kyle (Heavyweight Bodybuilding)
  • Ms. Olympia XXIII (2002): Juliette Bergmann (Lightweight Bodybuilding), Lenda Murray (Heavyweight Bodybuilding)
  • Ms. Olympia XXIV (2003): Juliette Bergmann (Lightweight Bodybuilding), Lenda Murray (Heavyweight Bodybuilding)
  • Ms. Olympia XXV (2004): Dayana Cadeau (Lightweight Bodybuilding), Valentina Chepiga (Heavyweight Bodybuilding)
  • Ms. Olympia XXVI (2005): Yaxeni Oriquen
  • Ms. Olympia XXVII (2006): Iris Kyle
  • Ms. Olympia XXVIII (2007): Iris Kyle
  • Ms. Olympia XXIX (2008): Iris Kyle
  • Ms. Olympia XXX (2009): Iris Kyle
04
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2010s

By the 2010s, interest in women's bodybuilding as a sport was waning. Iris Kyle continued her unprecedented domination of Ms. Olympia, winning all five years before retiring after the 2014 event.

  • Ms. Olympia XXXI (2010, Las Vegas): Iris Kyle
  • Ms. Olympia XXXII (2011): Iris Kyle
  • Ms. Olympia XXXIII (2012): Iris Kyle
  • Ms. Olympia XXXIV (2013): Iris Kyle
  • Ms. Olympia XXXV (2014): Iris Kyle