Marja Lehtonen, professional female bodybuilder and personal trainer from Finland

Marja Lehtonen is a professional female bodybuilder and personal trainer from Finland, born in 1968 in Tampere.

Lehtonen was born in Tampere, Finland in 1968. Always interested in outdoor activities, she joined a sports club in 1983 and became a track athlete. Through training as a sprinter she discovered an interest in weightlifting. After two years of growing interest in bodybuilding, she decided to see if she could compete in the field and entered the Finland National Championship. She won 2nd place in the lightweight category, taking her to the World Championship in Mexico City in 1990, where she finished 7th.

Lehtonen stands 5'2" and competes at a weight of 120 pounds (her off-season weight is 138 pounds). As a teenager she competed as a sprinter before turning to bodybuilding. She gives her best lifts as a curl (EZ-curl-bar) of 150 pounds for eight reps, and a bench press of 242 pounds for two reps.

Chyna, American professional wrestler, actress, pornographic actress and former bodybuilder

Chyna (born Joan Marie Laurer; December 27, 1970) is a former American professional wrestler, actress, pornographic actress and former bodybuilder. She is best known for her career with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1997 to 2001, where she was billed as "Chyna: 'The Ninth Wonder of the World'" (André the Giant was already billed as the eighth). She began her WWF career as Paul "Triple H" Levesque's on-screen bodyguard, and the duo also dated in real-life. They were both members of the popular D-Generation X stable, a storyline alliance of several wrestlers, until 1999.

Chyna holds the distinction of being the only Diva in WWE history to compete, full time, in the men's division. She was the first woman to enter the Royal Rumble, qualify for the King of the Ring tournament, and be the number one contender for the WWF Championship. In 1999, she became the first and only woman to hold the WWF Intercontinental Championship, which she held twice. She also held the WWF Women's Championship once, before leaving the company in 2001. She claims that Levesque's affair with Stephanie McMahon, daughter of WWF owner Vince McMahon, was a factor in her departure. After originally retiring from professional wrestling in 2004, Chyna made a return in May 2011 by joining Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).

Outside of wrestling, Laurer has appeared in Playboy magazine twice, as well as numerous television shows and films. In 2005, Laurer was a cast member on VH1's The Surreal Life, which led to several other celebrity reality appearances on the network, including The Surreal Life: Fame Games in 2007 and Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew in 2008. She is also known for her tumultuous relationship with fellow wrestler Sean Waltman, with whom she made a sex tape. It was released in 2004 and entitled 1 Night in China.

Joan Marie Laurer was born on December 27, 1970 in Rochester, New York to parents Janet and Joe Laurer. She had two older siblings: Janet and Sonny. After her parents divorced when she was approximately four years old, Laurer had three different stepfathers and one stepmother. According to Laurer, her first stepfather threatened suicide at one point, and her biological father, who once accidentally stabbed her mother in the thigh with a bread knife, had a problem with alcohol. From 1973 to 1983, Joanie Laurer, her siblings, and her mom moved several times.

As a child, Laurer learned to play both the violin and cello. In seventh grade, Laurer was sexually kissed by a much older teacher who worked at her school. At age thirteen, while attending Penfield High School, Laurer began purging after she ate. She left home at age sixteen after her mother tried to force her into a drug rehabilitation facility, instead going to live with her biological father. That same year, she began working out, and because her stomach muscles were so strong, she did not feel any pain when she developed an ovarian tumor. She finished her last year of high school in Spain. She attended the University of Tampa, graduating in 1992 with a major in Spanish Literature. During college, she was raped by two men after getting drunk at a party. During college, she also studied French and German; Laurer can converse in either language. She also was a member of the ROTC and a Resident Advisor of her dorm. She originally wanted to use her knowledge of foreign languages to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation or Drug Enforcement Administration. Subsequently, she joined the Peace Corps and was assigned to Guatemala.

Anja Langer, former professional female bodybuilder of the late 1980s, born in Stuttgart in Southern Germany

Anja Langer (born June 3, 1965) is a former professional female bodybuilder of the late 1980s. Her career peaked in 1988 when she placed second at the 1988 Ms. Olympia.

Anja was born in 1965 in Stuttgart in Southern Germany, where she grew up in the nearby town of Böblingen. Langer grew up in a house near a forest and at a young age she did a lot of outdoor activities. Because of this she developed a passion for nature and the outdoors. As an active child, her first passion was gymnastics. She competed at the age of eight in several gymnastic competitions and was successful. She also took part in horseback-riding competitions since her family own two horses and became part of a horseback-riding club. During this time Anja became more involved with different types of sports that captured her curiosity. She tried diving at the age of fourteen and jazz dance soon after. It was during this time, at the age of fifteen that she was introduced to bodybuilding by her first boyfriend, who she is good friends with to this day.

She began weight training in 1980, at a local gym near her home in Germany. At the time she was the only girl weight training at the gym. This did not bother her since all the men at the gym were impressed by how strong she was. Little by little she increased her training, she put more attention to her diet and decided to compete in her first bodybuilding competition. In 1981 she competed in the Baden-Württemberg Championships and placed second to last. Langer was not discouraged and decided to train harder and competed again in the same contest and placed second. At this time bodybuilding was still a hobby for her and her parents, who disagreed with her bodybuilding, wanted it to remain that way. Because of this Anja had to keep her competition preparations a secret. It was later that her parents accepted her passion for bodybuilding and respected their daughter's career of interest.

In school she studied graphic art, while still competing regularly. When she completed school, Langer decided to make her hobby her profession during this time. She placed fourth at the German Championships, second Amateur World Championship in Madrid, Spain. In 1986 she won the Junior World Championships, European Amateur Championships, German Championships, and placed in the top five at her first Ms. Olympia. After turning pro, Langer decided that her main goal as professional was to win the Ms. Olympia title, but 1987 was a difficult year for Anja. Her father died in that year and because of this she was unable to fully focus on her bodybuilding preparations. Despite this she was able to get second at World Pro Championships, and second at the Olympia. After placing second at the Olympia, Langer decided to put her competitive career on hold. She decided to take a whole year off and compete again at the 1990 Ms. Olympia in hopes of winning that show.

Top Strong Woman - Iris Kyle, American professional female bodybuilding champion

Iris Kyle (born August 22, 1974) is an American professional female bodybuilding champion.

"Iris Kyle" was born in 1974 in Benton Harbor, Michigan,the fifth of six children. Her early athletic endeavors included running cross country, basketball (point guard), and softball (shortstop). She was an All-American in basketball, and received a number of athletic scholarship offers. Iris attended Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi on a basketball scholarship, majoring in business administration.

Kyle won her first contest, the 1994 Long Beach Muscle Classic. She earned her pro card by winning the heavyweight class and overall title at the 1998 NPC USA Championship in Las Vegas. Kyle has had a series of high placing as a professional, including sixth consecutive top five showings at the Ms. Olympia. She won the heavyweight class at the Ms. Olympia in 2001, then captured the overall titles at both the Ms. International and Ms. Olympia in 2004. In 2006, Kyle won both her second Ms. International title and her second Ms. Olympia title; she repeated this double victory in 2007. She won her third straight Ms. Olympia title in 2008. At a height of 5'7", Iris typically competes at a bodyweight of approximately 155–161 pounds.

In recent times Kyle had spent time trying to increase her marketability by auditioning for movies and TV shows. Most recently she appeared on the TV show Wipeout. While competing in the show she was constantly referred to as "he" by one of the hosts and also suffered an accident that broke several ribs, during the first segment on the water slide. Due to these injuries she was not able to train correctly for bodybuilding competition and placed 7th at the 2008 Ms. International, but rebounded at the 2008 Ms. Olympia by winning the show.

In a recent interview with RX Muscle Girls Inc with the hosts Colette Nelson and Krissy Ching, Kyle talked about her appearance in Wipeout as well as her performance at the Ms. International. In the interview she said that she was invited back to the show due to the popularity of her episode, but she declined due to the possibility of injury as well as feeling disrespected by the sexist host who referred to her as a he.

More recently Kyle went to the 2009 Ms. International and won the show, becoming only the second woman to win the show a record of four times. In a recent interview she said that she is planning to come back to break the record and become the greatest Ms. International in history.

Top Strong Woman - Marianna Komlos, Canadian bodybuilder, fitness model and Valet

Marianna Komlos (September 3, 1969 – September 26, 2004) was a Canadian bodybuilder, fitness model and Valet. She is perhaps best known for her stint in World Wrestling Federation in 1999 as Marianna and "Mrs. Cleavage" Where she was the Manager and "mother" for a wrestler known as "Beaver Cleavage" a parody of the TV show Leave It To Beaver.

Before she started bodybuilding, Komlos weighed as much as 197 pounds (89 kg). Komlos started competing in provincial contests in 1993, and eventually won the middleweight class at the British Columbia Championships in 1997. Jerry Kindela, editor-in-chief of Flex, said, "Marianna's one of the most beautiful bodybuilders I've ever seen." (Wennerstrom, 2004)

Komlos appeared on the covers of many fitness magazines including Muscle & Fitness (September, 1997), Flex (November, 1997), Women's Physique World (December, 1997), and Natural Bodybuilding & Fitness.

Top Strong Woman - Tonya Knight, American former IFBB professional female bodybuilder

Tonya Knight (born March 24, 1966) is an American former IFBB professional female bodybuilder.

Knight was a regular on American Gladiators as Gold from 1989 to 1992 until she left due to an injury to her left knee. Tonya won the Ms. International title in 1989. However, it was later discovered that she had used a stand-in when she was chosen for a random drug test at the 1988 Ms. Olympia contest. As a result, she was disqualified from both of these contests, forfeiting her prize money as well as the Ms. International title. She was also suspended from the IFBB for two years. She won the Ms. International title when she returned to competition in 1991.

Top Strong Woman - Ericca Kern, professional female bodybuilder and model, born in Kansas City, Missouri

Ericca Kern is a professional female bodybuilder and model from the United States.

Ericca was born in Kansas City, Missouri on June 18, 1965. Her family moved frequently but settled in Hermantown, Minnesota in 1975. At the age of 18 Ericca discovered she had an eating disorder. In 1985 Ericca was attending the University of Minnesota Duluth and found a small weight room. In 1987 Ericca married and graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth and gave birth to her daughter Jessica in 1988. Ericca was divorced in 1992 and met future husband Brad Kern. She started to train for her first show, the 1992 Gopher State championship. There she placed first in the heavyweight class, and also won the overall championship. During the next four years Ericca gained more success at local and national competitions. Finally in January 1995 Ericca moved her family to Irvine, California and competed at the 1995 IFBB North American Bodybuilding Championships. Ericca placed first in the heavyweight class and won the overall championship, earning her pro card. Ericca currently lives in Fort Lauderdale, FL and is training to compete in the IFBB Pro Figure Division in late 2010.

Top Strong Woman - Yolanda Hughes, professional female bodybuilder from the United States, born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Yolanda Hughes is a professional female bodybuilder from the United States.

Yolanda was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on October 30, 1963. At a height of 5'6½", she competed as a heavyweight as an amateur. She earned her pro card by winning the World Amateur championship in 1992. She spent several years living in Germany, where she met her husband, Thomas Heying. After moving back to the US in the mid-1990s, they settled in Bellingham, Wa., where they still live. As a professional, her greatest success was winning consecutive Ms. International titles in 1997 and 1998. She competed in six Ms. Olympia contests, placing second to Kim Chizevsky at the 1998 Ms O, which was held in Prague in the Czech Republic that year (the only time it has been held outside North America).

Yolanda also had a cameo in the 2002 movie Rollerball. Recently Hughes opened a special training studio called Fitness Exotica in which she offers training and dance lessons to customers.

Top Strong Woman - Raye Hollitt, American actress and female bodybuilder

Raye Hollitt (born April 17, 1964) is an American actress and female bodybuilder, also known by her stage name Zap, one of the original cast members of American Gladiators. She was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Raye Hollitt appeared in Season 1 of American Gladiators in 1989, taking off the second season (1990–91) for maternity leave, before returning for Season 3 and continuing on the show through 1995. She reappeared for an alumni show in the final season (1995–96).

Hollitt married actor Ted Prior in 1990. Ted remarried in 1992 and has three children, as well as, their daughter, Teddi Rae. She is not married to date.

Top Strong Woman - Kristy Hawkins, professional female bodybuilder from the United States

Kristy Hawkins (born August 28, 1980 in Longview, Texas) is an IFBB professional female bodybuilder from the United States.

Hawkins earned her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2002, graduating summa cum laude and with University and Foundation Honors. She read for her M.S. in Chemical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 2005. She is currently working towards a Ph.D. in chemical engineering, also at Caltech.

Hawkins is currently studying chemical engineering in the area of metabolic engineering in yeast with an emphasis on inducible promoter systems and other strategies for fine-tuning expression of recombinant enzymes / proteins. She is primarily working to produce benzylisoquinoline alkaloids in S. cerevisiae, but has also constructed yeast strains which exhibit modified responses from the GAL promoter and is pursuing other RNA-based strategies for regulation by small molecules in vivo.

Kristy enjoys reading (during cardio), cross-stitching, and hiking.

Kristy always struggled with her weight growing up and found her way into the weight room at a young age while her mother did aerobics. At age 15, she got her own gym membership and went every day after school/work. The owners were hosting a competition and taught her the basics of training, nutrition, and posing, and she has competed every year since age 17. She has twice placed in the top four at the NPC Nationals.