Ondrea "Vickie" Victoria Gates (previously Ondrea Victoria Gates-Lewis born September 25, 1962) is a professional

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.

from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

.PROFILE
/ref>

Early life and education

Gates was born on September 9, 1962, in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, and raised in

Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, Oklahoma, Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in western Oklahoma, approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton metropolitan ar ...

, one of six children (four sisters, one brother). She was the middle child. In 1980, she graduated from Eisenhower High School. From 1982-1984, she attended

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

Bodybuilding career

Amateur

Gates competed in athletics and started lifting weights in college. In 1983, she competed in her first competition in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, which she won. She worked her way up through the amateur ranks, eventually earning her pro card in 1993 by winning the middleweight class at the NPC Nationals.

Professional

Gates's long string of high placings as a professional includes three consecutive

Ms. International The Ms. International female bodybuilding contest was considered to be the second-most prestigious competition for female bodybuilding, female bodybuilders (second only to the Ms. Olympia competition), from its inception in 1986 through to its fi ...

titles from 1999 to 2001. Those same years, she would also finish second at the Ms. Olympia on three occasions.

Retirement

In 2003, Gates retired from bodybuilder after coming in 7th at the 2003 Ms. Olympia.

Legacy

In 2010, Gates was inducted into the 2010

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 ...

Contest history

*1984 Tulsa Classic - 1st *1986 USA Championships - 4th (HW) *1989 NPC Junior USA Championships - 3rd (MW) *1989 IFBB North American Championship – 2nd (MW) *1990 NPC USA Championships – 10th (MW) *1991 NPC Junior USA Championships - 3rd (HW) *1991 IFBB North American Championship – 9th (HW) *1992 NPC Nationals – 3rd (MW) *1993 NPC USA Championships – 1st (MW) *1993 NPC Nationals – 1st (MW) *1994 IFBB Grand Prix Prague - 5th *1994 Jan Tana Classic - 4th *1995

- 11th *1995 Jan Tana Classic - 8th *1996

- 3rd *1996 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 5th *1996 Grand Prix Slovakia - 4th *1996 Grand Prix Prague - 4th *1997

- 2nd *1997 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 5th *1998

- 3rd *1998 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 3rd *1999

- 1st *1999 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 2nd *2000

- 1st (HW and overall) *2000 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 2nd (HW) *2001

- 1st (HW and overall) *2001 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 2nd (HW) *2002

- 3rd (HW) *2002 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 3rd (HW) *2003

- 4th (HW) *2003 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 7th (HW)

Personal life

She is a Christian. Her hobbies include reading the bible and shopping. She currently lives in

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...

, with her daughter Kindra. Since September 1999, she owns a gym called Strictly Fitness in

Irving, Texas Irving is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and is an Inner suburb, inner city suburb of Dallas. Irving is noted for its #Demographics, racial and ethnic diver ...

. She is a personal trainer. She also used to work for

Bally Total Fitness Bally Total Fitness was an American Health club, fitness club chain. At its 2007 peak, prior to the filing of the first of two Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code, Chapter 11 bankruptcies, Bally operated nearly 440 facilities located in 29 U. ...

. She has been previously married, and at that time she used the last name Gates-Lewis. In 1992, she would meet her then boyfriend,

Ronnie Coleman Ronald Dean Coleman (born May 13, 1964) is an American former professional bodybuilder who is widely regarded as the greatest Bodybuilding, bodybuilder of all time. Known as "The King", Coleman shares the all-time record for most Mr. Olympia ...

, an IFBB pro bodybuilder who went on to become an 8-time

Mr. Olympia Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest in the open division at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually and is sanct ...

, at a GNC store. She dated Ronnie Coleman for nearly seven years. She is currently single.Ronnie Coleman : Pro Bodybuilding Profile
/ref>Facebook profile
/ref>

References

External links

Official web site
, colspan = 3 align = center ,

, - , width = 30% align = center , Preceded by:

Yolanda Hughes Yolanda R. Hughes-Heying (born October 30, 1963) is an American professional female bodybuilding, female bodybuilder from the United States. Biography Yolanda Hughes-Heying (born Yolanda Hughes) was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on October 3 ...

, width = 40% align = center , First (1999) , width = 30% align = center , Succeeded by:
Herself , - , width = 30% align = center , Preceded by:
Herself , width = 40% align = center , Second (2000) , width = 30% align = center , Succeeded by:
Herself , - , width = 30% align = center , Preceded by:
Herself , width = 40% align = center , Third (2001) , width = 30% align = center , Succeeded by:
Yaxeni Oriquen {{DEFAULTSORT:Gates, Ondrea 1962 births Living people African-American Christians African-American bodybuilders American female bodybuilders Oklahoma State University alumni People from Dallas People from San Antonio People from Lawton, Oklahoma People from Arlington, Texas American professional bodybuilders Sportspeople from Arlington, Texas Sportspeople from Dallas Sportspeople from Lawton, Oklahoma Sportspeople from Oklahoma Sportspeople from San Antonio Sportspeople from Texas 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen 20th-century African-American people