Corinna "Cory" Everson (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

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 The IFBB Professional League Ms. Olympia (initially named the Miss Olympia) is professional bodybuilding's most prestigious competition and the title of the winner of the competition in female bodybuilding. It was first held in 1980. It was hel ...

contest six years in a row from 1984 to 1989.

Education

Corinna Kneuer was born in

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ; ; 22 December 1639 – 21 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille, as well as an important literary figure in the Western tra ...

, Wisconsin and attended high school in Deerfield, Illinois. She attended the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, where she was a multi-sport standout (gymnastics, track & field and

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

Early career

While attending the

, 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 her husband trained at Ernie's Gym on Sherman Avenue in Madison. She won the

bodybuilding 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

- 1st *1985 IFBB

- 1st *1986 IFBB

- 1st *1987 IFBB

- 1st *1988 IFBB

- 1st *1989 IFBB

- 1st

Awards and honors

In January 1999, Everson was inducted into the

IFBB Hall of Fame The IFBB Hall of Fame was established in 1999 to honor outstanding athletes and officials in the sport of bodybuilding. There have been no inductees since 2011. Induction years 1999 * Carla Dunlap *Cory Everson *John Grimek *Lee Haney *Rachel Mc ...

, as part of the inaugural group. She was inducted into the

Muscle Beach Muscle Beach is the birthplace of the United States physical fitness boom, which started in 1934 with predominantly gymnastics activities on the south side of the Santa Monica Pier. Muscle Beach Venice is the contemporary title of the outdoor we ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

Body Building Hall of Fame on September 5, 2005. At the 2007

Arnold Classic The International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness Professional League, IFBB Pro Arnold Sports Festival, also known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival, is an annual multi-sport event consisting of professional bodybuilding (''Arn ...

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 National Fitness Hall of Fame is an American hall of fame for notable fitness professionals. It includes notable figures involved in fitness instruction, training, education, fitness management and product development. The mission is to recognize ...

. In 2012, she was inducted into the

International Sports Hall of Fame The International Sports Hall of Fame (ISHOF) is a section 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 2012 by Dr. Robert M. Goldman to honor exceptional athletes and sporting figures for their accomplishments and dedication to furthering ...

Film and television career

After retiring from competition, Everson turned to acting with her first major movie appearance being ''

Double Impact ''Double Impact'' is a 1991 American action film written and directed by Sheldon Lettich, and written, produced by and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chad and Alex Wagner. The film marks Van Damme's third collaboration with director Sheldon ...

'' (1991) alongside

Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian martial artist and actor. Born and raised in Brussels, his father enrolled him in a Shotokan karate schoo ...

. She took a minor role in ''

Natural Born Killers ''Natural Born Killers'' is a 1994 American romantic crime action film directed by Oliver Stone and starring Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones, and Tom Sizemore. The film tells the story of two victims ...

'' (1994). Then in ''Ballistic'' (1995), she reprised the evil musclewoman role, losing the final fight to

Marjean Holden Marjean Holden (born Margaret Jean Holden; November 3, 1964)Givens, Linda Holden (2009). Holden On To Family Roots: A Granddaughter's Family and Genealogy Search'. Xlibris. p. 44. . is an American actress, stuntwoman, martial artist, author ...

playing an undercover cop. Everson has made a number of guest appearances in television series, most notably playing

Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...

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 Fox from August 27, 199 ...

'' with her sister, Cameo Kneuer. In 1991, Everson appeared on ''

To Tell The Truth ''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...

'' 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 ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

, ''Cory Everson's Gotta Sweat'', for seven years.

Film

Television

Personal life

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

Knights and Warriors ''Knights and Warriors'' is an American competition television program that premiered in syndication on September 19, 1992. The program aired on weekends for one season, with episodes airing until September 11, 1993. The show was a production o ...

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 Company ( ; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, and reference works. The company is based in the Boston Financial District. It was formerly known as the Houghto ...

(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 Everson
fitness filmography at

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

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Carla Dunlap Carla Dunlap-Kaan (born October 22, 1954) is a professional American female bodybuilding champion. Early life and education Dunlap was born in 1954, in Newark, New Jersey. She started competing in sports with gymnastics at age 10. She later co ...

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Lenda Murray Lenda Murray (born 22 February 1962) is an American professional female bodybuilding champion. Early life and education Murray was born in 1962 in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of Darcelious and Louvelle Murray. She began participating in or ...

{{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 American professional bodybuilders Sportspeople from Racine, Wisconsin 21st-century American actresses 20th-century American sportswomen 20th-century American actresses