Gladys Portugues

Last updated
Gladys Portugues
Born
Gladys Portugues

(1957-09-30) September 30, 1957 (age 66)
Occupations
Years active1980–present
Spouses
(m. 1987;div. 1992)
(m. 1999)
Children2

Gladys Portugues (born September 30, 1957) is an American former professional female bodybuilder and actress. As a bodybuilder, she twice placed in the top 10 in the Ms. Olympia contest. She is married to Belgian actor and martial artist Jean-Claude van Damme.

Contents

Personal life

Born of Puerto Rican parents, Portugues has said that she was inspired to start her own bodybuilding and weight training regimen while attending Marymount Manhattan College, when she saw Rachel McLish on television winning the Ms. Olympia title.[ citation needed ]

In 1987, at the age of thirty, Portugues married Belgian martial artist and actor Jean-Claude van Varenberg. [1] The couple divorced in 1992, but remarried in 1999. They have two children: Kristopher van Varenberg (b. 1987) and Bianca Brigitte (b. 1990). [2] Her husband is professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1985 Pumping Iron II: The Women HerselfCinecom International Films
1986 The Morning After Bodybuilder20th Century Fox
1987 It's Alive III: Island of the Alive WaitressLarco Productions Inc.

TV

YearTitleEpisodesRole
2011 Behind Closed Doors 1 season (8 episodes)Herself

Books

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Claude Van Damme</span> Belgian actor, martial artist, director (born 1960)

Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg, known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist, actor, filmmaker, fight choreographer, and environmentalist. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the age of ten his father enrolled him in martial arts classes, which led Van Damme to compete in several karate and kickboxing competitions. With the desire of becoming an actor, he moved to the United States in 1982, where he did odd jobs and worked on several films, until he got his break as the lead in the martial arts film Bloodsport (1988).

<i>Bloodsport</i> (film) 1988 American martial arts film by Newt Arnold

Bloodsport is a 1988 American martial arts sports action film directed by Newt Arnold and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Leah Ayres, Forest Whitaker, Donald Gibb, Roy Chiao and Bolo Yeung. The film centers on Frank Dux, a United States Army Captain and ninjutsu practitioner, who competes in an underground full-contact martial arts tournament called the Kumite in Hong Kong. Based on Dux's real-life claims the movie was marketed as a true story. It was one of Van Damme's first lead roles and showcased his abilities, launching his career as a mainstream action star.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bev Francis</span> Australian bodybuilder and powerlifter

Beverley "Bev" Francis is an Australian gym owner and retired professional bodybuilder, powerlifter, and national shot put champion.

<i>No Retreat, No Surrender</i> 1986 martial arts film by Corey Yuen

No Retreat, No Surrender is a 1985 martial arts film directed by Corey Yuen in his American film directorial debut. It is the first title in the No Retreat, No Surrender franchise, whose plot lines and characters are mostly unrelated. It stars Kurt McKinney, with a supporting cast of Jean-Claude Van Damme, J.W. Fails, Kathie Sileno, and Tai-chung Kim. The film was released in Italy on October 20, 1985, and in the United States on May 2, 1986. McKinney performs as Jason Stillwell, an American teenager who learns martial arts from the spirit of Bruce Lee. Stillwell uses these lessons to defend his martial arts dojo against Soviet martial artist Ivan Kraschinsky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolo Yeung</span> Hong Kong actor

Yeung Sze, better known as Bolo Yeung, is a Hong Kong former competitive bodybuilder, martial artist and a martial arts film actor. He is globally known for his performances as Bolo in Enter the Dragon, and the dominant Chong Li in Bloodsport as well as other numerous appearances and long career in Hong Kong martial arts films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corinna Everson</span> American bodybuilder (born 1958)

Corinna "Cory" Everson is an American female bodybuilding champion and actress. Everson won the Ms. Olympia contest six years in a row from 1984 to 1989.

<i>Hard Target</i> 1993 film by John Woo

Hard Target is a 1993 action film directed by Hong Kong film director John Woo in his U.S. debut. The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as Chance Boudreaux, an out-of-work homeless Cajun merchant seaman and former United States Force Recon Marine who saves a young woman named Natasha Binder from a gang of thugs in New Orleans. Chance learns that Binder is searching for her missing father, and agrees to aid Binder in her search. They soon learn that Binder's father has died at the hands of hunt organisers Emil Fouchon and Pik van Cleef, a ruthless businessman and his right-hand mercenary, who arrange the hunting of homeless men as a form of recreational sport. The screenplay was written by Pfarrer and is based on the 1932 film adaptation of Richard Connell's 1924 short story "The Most Dangerous Game".

Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s, when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iris Kyle</span> American bodybuilder (born 1974)

Iris Floyd Kyle is an African-Indian American professional female bodybuilder. She is currently the most successful female professional bodybuilder ever with seventeen titles including ten overall Ms. Olympia wins and seven overall Ms. International wins. In 2013, she was ranked as the best female bodybuilder in the IFBB Pro Women's Bodybuilding Ranking List.

<i>Muscle & Fitness</i> American fitness magazine

Muscle & Fitness is an American fitness and bodybuilding magazine founded in 1935 by Canadian entrepreneur Joe Weider. It was originally published under the title Your Physique, before being renamed to Muscle Builder in 1954, and acquiring its current name in 1980. There is also a companion magazine called Muscle and Fitness Hers, oriented toward women.

<i>Pumping Iron II: The Women</i> 1985 film by George Butler

Pumping Iron II: The Women is a 1985 documentary film about female bodybuilding, focusing on several women as they prepare for and compete in the 1983 Caesars World Cup.

<i>Lionheart</i> (1990 film) 1990 film directed by Sheldon Lettich

Lionheart is a 1990 American martial arts film directed by Sheldon Lettich, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Deborah Rennard, Harrison Page and Lisa Pelikan and Brian Thompson. It also features the acting debut of Ashley Johnson. Van Damme plays a French Foreign Legionnaire stationed in Africa, who must desert to the United States and enter the underground fighting circuit to raise money for his murdered brother's family.

Sue Gafner is a former professional female bodybuilder of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Anja Langer is a German former professional female bodybuilder of the late 1980s. Her career peaked in 1988 when she placed second at the 1988 Ms. Olympia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darcy LaPier</span> American actress and model

Darcy Lynn LaPier is an American former actress and model.

Jean-Claude Van Damme is a Belgian martial artist and actor.

<i>The Shepherd: Border Patrol</i> 2008 American film

The Shepherd: Border Patrol is a 2008 American action film directed by Isaac Florentine. It stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, with a supporting cast of Natalie J. Robb, Stephen Lord, Gary McDonald, Scott Adkins and Van Damme's real life daughter Bianca Van Varenberg. The film was released on direct-to-DVD in the United States on March 4, 2008.

<i>Assassination Games</i> 2011 American film

Assassination Games is a 2011 American action thriller film directed by Ernie Barbarash and starring Jean-Claude van Damme and Scott Adkins with Ivan Kaye as their main antagonist. The film was released in the United States on July 29, 2011.

<i>Six Bullets</i> 2012 American film

Six Bullets is a 2012 American action film directed by Ernie Barbarash, produced by Brad Krevoy and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Joe Flanigan, Anna-Louise Plowman, and Charlotte Beaumont. The film was released on direct-to-video in the United States on September 11, 2012.

Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls is an American professional female bodybuilding champion, fitness, and figure competitor.

References