Corinna Everson (original) (raw)

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American bodybuilder (born 1958)

Corinna Everson
Bodybuilder
Personal info
Full name Corinna Kneuer Everson
Born (1958-01-04) January 4, 1958 (age 66)Racine, Wisconsin, US
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight On-season:155–160 lb (70–73 kg)Off-season:160–165 lb (73–75 kg)
Professional career
Pro-debut IFBB North American1982
Best win Ms. Olympia six consecutive times (undefeated)1984–1989
Predecessor Carla Dunlap
Successor Lenda Murray
Active Retired 1989

Corinna "Cory" Everson, née Kneuer, (born January 4, 1958) is an American female bodybuilding champion and actress. Everson won the Ms. Olympia contest six years in a row from 1984 to 1989.[1]

Corinna Kneuer was born in Racine, Wisconsin and attended high school in Deerfield, Illinois. She attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she was a multi-sport standout (gymnastics, track & field and badminton).[2]

While attending the University of Wisconsin–Madison, she met Jeff Everson, a competitive bodybuilder who worked there as a strength coach. They married in 1982. While they were married, the Eversons built a successful mail-order clothing business called Sampson and Delilah.[3][4]

Bodybuilding career

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Everson began to train seriously as a bodybuilder after her graduation, and made rapid progress. In the early years, she and her husband trained at Ernie's Gym on Sherman Avenue in Madison. She won the Ms. Olympia bodybuilding contest at her first participation and remained undefeated from 1984 to 1989 when she retired from competition.[5]

In January 1999, Everson was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame, as part of the inaugural group.[6] She was inducted into the Muscle Beach Venice Body Building Hall of Fame on September 5, 2005. At the 2007 Arnold Classic she became the first woman to be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2008 was inducted into the National Fitness Hall of Fame.[7] In 2012, she was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.[8]

Film and television career

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After retiring from competition, Everson turned to acting with her first major movie appearance being Double Impact (1991) alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme.[9] She took a minor role in Natural Born Killers (1994). Then in Ballistic (1995), she reprised the evil musclewoman role, losing the final fight to Marjean Holden playing an undercover cop. Everson has made a number of guest appearances in television series, most notably playing Atalanta on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. She appeared in two episodes of The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. with her sister, Cameo Kneuer. In 1991, Everson appeared on To Tell The Truth game show. Everson was the original host of the fitness show BodyShaping,[10] which she also produced. She also hosted her own exercise show on ESPN, Cory Everson's Gotta Sweat,[11] for seven years.

Year Title Role Notes
1986 The Morning After Miss Olympia
1989 The Girl from Outer Space Lab Guard #1
1991 Double Impact[9] Kara
1994 Natural Born Killers TV Mallory Knox
1995 Ballistic Claudia
1996 Felony Sondra
1997 Sacred Trust Grace Larson
1999 My Favorite Martian SETI Guard Uncredited
Year Title Role Notes
1993 The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. Katrina Schwenke Episodes: "No Man's Land" and "Steel Horses"
1994 Renegade Aurora Episode: "Muscle Beach"
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Amazon Woman #1 Episode: "Wall of Sound"
1995-1998 Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Atalanta Episodes: "Ares", "Let the Games Begin", "If I Had a Hammer"
1996 Goode Behavior Unknown Episode: "Goode Sport"
Tarzan: The Epic Adventures Mara Episodes: "Tarzan's Return: Part 1" and "Part 2"
Strange Luck Physik Receptionist Episode: "Wrong Number"
1997 Home Improvement Herself Episode: "Pump You Up"
2005 Charmed Hulk Paige Episode: "Hulkus Pocus"

She married Jeff Everson in 1982. They divorced in 1996; however, she continues to use Everson as her stage name. In 1998, she married Dr. Steve Donia, a dentist; they have two children whom they adopted from Russia. She became active with Nightlight Christian Adoptions, an adoption agency that brings orphans from Russia and Belarus to the US to stay with families looking to adopt a child.[12]

Everson's sister, Cameo Kneuer, is a two-time Ms. National Fitness champion and a mainstay of the TV game series Knights and Warriors

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Ravo, Nick (December 2, 1992). "WORKING OUT WITH: Lenda Murray; Wonder Woman In the Flesh". New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  2. ^ "Bodies are her business". Minneapolis Star Tribune. July 31, 1988. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  3. ^ Herman, Valli (March 20, 1991). "Lines muscling in on fitness fashion". LA Daily News. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  4. ^ "Mitos do Bodybuilding: Cory Everson".
  5. ^ a b "Cory Everson bio". International Federation of Body Building. Archived from the original on January 1, 2010. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  6. ^ "Hall of fame inductees for 1999". International Federation of Body Building and Fitness. Archived from the original on January 1, 2010. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  7. ^ Skrabacz, Ron (April 18, 2008). "National Fitness Hall of Fame introduces Class of 2008". Daily Herald. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  8. ^ "International Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2012". International Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on February 18, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
  9. ^ a b Harrington, Richard (August 12, 1991). "Double Impact". Washington Post. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  10. ^ Rushin, Steve (July 17, 1989). "Are You Sweating Yet?". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on September 4, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  11. ^ Stevens, Liz (April 16, 1998). "The newest aerobic trend is a real kick". Ft. Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  12. ^ Stiefel, Steve (December 2002). "Cory's kids". Flex. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
Ms. Olympia
Preceded by:Carla Dunlap First (1984) Succeeded by:Herself
Preceded by:Herself Second (1985) Succeeded by:Herself
Preceded by:Herself Third (1986) Succeeded by:Herself
Preceded by:Herself Fourth (1987) Succeeded by:Herself
Preceded by:Herself Fifth (1988) Succeeded by:Herself
Preceded by:Herself Sixth (1989) Succeeded by:Lenda Murray