Lisa Robin Lyon (May 13, 1953 – September 8, 2023) was an American
female bodybuilder
Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s, when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions. and photo model who is regarded as one of female bodybuilding's pioneers.
Biography
Born in Los Angeles, California, on May 13, 1953,
Lyon studied art at the
University of California at Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the Ca ...
. There she became accomplished in the Japanese art of fencing,
kendo
is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords ( shinai) as well as protective armor ( bōgu). It began as samurai warriors' customary swordsmanship ex ...
, but found herself lacking sufficient upper body strength so she began weight training. This eventually led her into bodybuilding.
Lyon entered and won the first
International Federation of BodyBuilders
The International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation (IFBB) is an international professional sports governing body for bodybuilding and fitness. Headquartered in Las Rozas de Madrid, it oversees many of the sport's major international events, ...
Women's World Pro Bodybuilding Championship in Los Angeles on June 16, 1979. This was the only bodybuilding competition of her career. She appeared in many magazines and on television talk shows, promoting bodybuilding for women. She also wrote a book on weight training for women titled ''Lisa Lyon's Body Magic'' (), which was published in 1981.
Her stats as taken in October 1980: bust 37A, waist 24", hips 35", height 5' 4", weight 120 lbs, hair color brunette. At the time, she could
deadlift
The deadlift is a strength training exercise in which a weight-loaded barbell is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, with the torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting ...
225 pounds,
bench press
The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...
120 pounds, and
squat 265 pounds.
Although Lyon is often cited as the first female bodybuilder to appear in ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' (in October 1980),
she was actually predated by stripper and bodybuilder
Kellie Everts, who appeared in a May 1977 pictorial called "Humping Iron".
Lyon modeled for
Helmut Newton
Helmut Newton (né Neustädter; 31 October 192023 January 2004) was a German-Australian photographer. The ''The New York Times, New York Times'' described him as a "prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically ch ...
, American fine art photographer
Joel-Peter Witkin
Joel-Peter Witkin (born September 13, 1939) is an American photographer who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His work often deals with themes such as death, corpses (and sometimes dismembered portions thereof), often featuring ornately decorated ...
, and American fine art photographer and boyfriend
Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Michael Mapplethorpe ( ; November 4, 1946 – March 9, 1989) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female Nude (art), n ...
(between 1980 and 1983, Mapplethorpe created over 150 photographs of her, resulting in the 1983 book ''Lady: Lisa Lyon''),
and
Marcus Leatherdale, who published two pictures of her in his first catalogue book at the Molotov art gallery. Lyon's work with Mapplethorpe was notable owing to Mapplethorpe's depiction of her body as simultaneously traditionally feminine and strong in a conventionally masculine sense.
Lyon 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 ...
in 2000 for being "... a one-woman media-relations activist on behalf of the sport...'' and ''Elevating bodybuilding to the level of fine art. "
Lyon also had a short acting career: She played
* Mathilde in ''
Three Crowns of the Sailor
''Three Crowns of the Sailor'' () is a 1982 French fabulist film with surrealist and oneiric flourishes written and directed by Chilean director Raúl Ruiz.
Plot
The film opens in black and white with the motiveless murder of a professor by ...
,'' 1982;
* Pilar Jones in the bodybuilding movie ''Getting Physical, 1984; and
* Cimmaron in ''
Vamp'', a low-budget 1986 film starring
Grace Jones
Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...
.
In creating the Marvel Comics character
Elektra,
Frank Miller
Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book artist, comic book writer, and screenwriter known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'', for which he created the character Elektra, and ...
initially used Lyon as a basis for the character's appearance.
Lisa Lyon died from
stomach cancer
Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...
at her home in Westlake Village, California on September 8, 2023, at the age of 70.
Personal life
She was married to French singer
Bernard Lavilliers
Bernard Oulion (; born 7 October 1946 in Saint-Étienne), known professionally as Bernard Lavilliers (), is a French singer-songwriter and actor.
Discography Albums
Studio albums
* ''Premiers pas...'' (1968)
* ''Les poètes'' (1972)
* ''Le Sté ...
from 1982 to 1983.
References
External links
IFBB Hall of Fame profileLisa Lyon: The Life of the Women's Bodybuilding Pioneer*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyon, Lisa
1953 births
2023 deaths
American female bodybuilders
American professional bodybuilders
21st-century American women
Sportspeople from Los Angeles
Deaths from stomach cancer in California
20th-century American sportswomen