Monday, October 17, 2011

Top Strong Woman - Laura Creavalle, professional female bodybuilder, originally from Guyana

Laura Cordelia Creavalle is an IFBB professional female bodybuilder, originally from Guyana.

Creavalle was born on January 25, 1959 in Essequibo, Guyana. Laura was one of the most successful female bodybuilders of the 1990s. Creavalle earned her pro card by winning the heavyweight class at the 1988 IFBB World Amateur Championships in Puerto Rico. She made her pro debut six weeks later at the 1988 Ms. Olympia contest. She was the first woman to win the Ms. International title three times (since matched by Vickie Gates, Yaxeni Oriquen, and Iris Kyle), and was twice runner-up in the Ms. Olympia contest. She holds the record for the most consecutive Ms. Olympia appearances with twelve (from 1988 to 1999), finishing below sixth place only in her first appearance. Creavalle was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 2007.

Now retired from competition, she operates Club Creavalle, offering personal training, nutrition training, and related services. Laura has written two cook books, A Taste of Club Creavalle (ISBN 0-9669168-1-6) and The Lite Lifestyle: 150 Ultra Low Calorie Recipes for Rapid Weight Loss! (ISBN 0-9669168-8-3). She also co-authored The Health Handbook (ISBN 0-9669168-5-9) with former husband Chris Aceto. Laura has been a feature editor for Muscle & Fitness magazine on low fat cooking in the Muscle Fare column.

Creavalle now lives in Toronto with her husband Colin Maragh, whom she married in 2000. They operate a company called Healthy Gourmet Express, which provides customers with weekly deliveries of ten meals.