Corinna "Cory" Everson (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Kneuer; born January 4, 1958) is an American
female bodybuilding
Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s, when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions. champion and actress. Everson won the
Ms. Olympia contest six years in a row from 1984 to 1989.
Education
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).
Early career
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.
Bodybuilding career
Everson began to train seriously as a bodybuilder after her graduation, and made rapid progress. In the early years, she and Jeff trained at Ernie's Gym on Sherman Avenue in Madison.
She won the Ms. Olympia contest at her first participation and remained undefeated from 1984 to 1989 when she retired from competition.
Contest history
*1980 Ms. Mid America - 1st (Tall and Overall)
*1980 American Couples - 3rd (with Jeff Everson)
*1981 Ms. Midwest Open - 1st (Tall & Overall)
*1981 Ms. Central USA - 1st (HW and Overall)
*1981 Couples America - 1st (with Jeff Everson)
*1981 American Championships - 11th (MW)
*1982 Ms. East Coast - 1st (MW)
*1982 Bodybuilding Expo III - 2nd (MW)
*1982 Bodybuilding Expo Couples - 2nd (with Jeff Everson)
*1982 AFWB American Championships - 5th (HW)
*1982
IFBB North American - 1st (MW and Overall)
*1982
IFBB North American Mixed Pairs - 1st
*1983 Bodybuilding Expo IV - 1st (MW and Overall)
*1983 Bodybuilding Expo Mixed Pairs - 1st
*1983 U.S. Bodybuilding Championships Couples - 1st (with Jeff Everson)
*1983 AFWB American Championships - 8th (HW)
*1983
NPC Nationals - 2nd (HW)
*1984 American Women's Championships - 1st (HW and Overall)
*1984
NPC Nationals - 1st (HW and Overall)
*1984
IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st
*1985
IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st
*1986
IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st
*1987
IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st
*1988
IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st
*1989
IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st
Awards and honors
In January 1999, Everson was inducted into the
IFBB Hall of Fame, as part of the inaugural group.
She was inducted into the
Muscle Beach Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
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.
Film and television career
After retiring from competition, she turned to acting with her first major movie appearance being ''
Double Impact'' (1991) alongside
Jean-Claude Van Damme.
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.
''The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.'', often referred to as just ''Brisco'' or ''Brisco County'', is an American weird western television series created by Jeffrey Boam and Carlton Cuse. It ran for 27 episodes on the Fox network starting i ...
'' 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'',
which she also produced. She also hosted her own exercise show on
ESPN, ''Cory Everson's Gotta Sweat'',
for seven years.
Film
Television
Personal life
Cory and Jeff Everson divorced in 1996; however, she kept 'Everson' as her stage name. In 1998, she married Dr. Steve Donia, a cosmetic dentist; they have two children whom they adopted from Russia. She became active with
Nightlight Christian Adoptions
Nightlight Christian Adoptions is a national, non-profit, Hague-accredited, pro-life licensed adoption agency that counsels pregnant women and arranges adoptions. They have locations in ten U.S. states and arrange adoptions both domestically and i ...
, an adoption agency that brings orphans from Russia and Belarus to the US to stay with families looking to adopt a child.
Everson's sister, Cameo Kneuer, is a two-time Ms. National Fitness champion and a mainstay of the TV game series ''
Knights and Warriors''.
Books authored
*''Strength Training for Beauty Volume 3 - Number 1''Runner's World Magazine Company (1986)
*''Superflex: Ms. Olympia's Guide to Building a Strong & Sexy Body'' Contemporary Books (1987) with Jeff Everson
*''Back in Shape''
Houghton Mifflin Company
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Boston Financ ...
(1991) with Stephen Hochschuler
*''Cory Everson's Workout'' Perigee Trade (1991) with Jeff Everson
*''Cory Everson's Fat-Free & Fit'' Perigee Trade (1994) with Carole Jacobs
*''Cory Everson's Lifebalance'' Perigee Trade (1998)
References
External links
Facebook PageMs Olympia 1986 online - Cory everson win*
Cory Eversonfitness filmography at
Rotten Tomatoes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Everson, Corinna
1958 births
American exercise and fitness writers
American exercise instructors
American female bodybuilders
American film actresses
American television actresses
Living people
People from Deerfield, Illinois
Professional bodybuilders
Sportspeople from Racine, Wisconsin
21st-century American women