The Universe Championships are annual worldwide bodybuilding events organised by the National Amateur Body-Builders' Association (NABBA). Originally promoted as the Mr. Universe contest, the event was expanded to include women's classes in 1968. Notable previous winners include bodybuilder, actor, and former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, and bodybuilder and actor Steve Reeves (1926–2000).
Beverley "Bev" Francis is an Australian gym owner and retired professional bodybuilder, powerlifter, and national shot put champion.
Sharon Leigh Bruneau is a model and retired professional Canadian female bodybuilder and fitness competitor.
Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s, when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.
Christa Bauch is a former professional female bodybuilder from Germany.
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.
Laura Cordelia Creavalle is a Guyanese-born Canadian/American professional female bodybuilder.
Serge Nubret was a French professional bodybuilder, actor and self published author. He won numerous bodybuilding competitions, including 1976 NABBA Mr. Universe (1976). Nubret was nicknamed "The Black Panther."
Robby Robinson is an American former professional bodybuilder. Known early in his career as Robin Robinson, he is also known as The Black Prince and Mr Lifestyle. He won various competitions including Mr America, IFBB Mr. World, Mr Universe, Masters Olympia, and other titles of the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (IFBB), and appeared in several films over a 27-year career as a professional bodybuilder, retiring from competition in 2001 at the age of 55.
Bertil Fox is a British former International Federation of BodyBuilders professional bodybuilder and convicted murderer. He was pardoned for that crime by the Governor General of Saint Kitts and Nevis on 4 August 2022.
Kay Baxter was a pioneer female bodybuilder.
Shelley Ann Beattie was a professional female bodybuilder and actress. Beattie's highest placement was the top three at the Ms. International and Ms. Olympia contests, the two most prestigious shows for female professional bodybuilders. She was one of the few deaf professional female bodybuilders in the world, making the cover of Deaf Life magazine twice in the 1990s. After her retirement, she joined the Grinder on America's Cup team, finishing second place in both 1994 and 1995. In 2008, she died by suicide.
Sue Gafner is a former professional female bodybuilder of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Dona Oliveira was a professional female bodybuilder from the United States. She competed from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s.
Betty Carmichael Pariso is an American professional female bodybuilder. She was the world's oldest active professional female bodybuilder while competing.
Lisa Cross is a professional British female bodybuilder.
Brigita Brezovac is a retired Slovenian professional bodybuilder.
Heather Marie Armbrust is an American professional female bodybuilder.
Debi Laszewski is an American retired professional female bodybuilder. She ranks as the 3rd best female bodybuilder in the IFBB Pro Women's Bodybuilding Ranking List.
Alina Popa is a Romanian-born professional female bodybuilder currently living in the USA.