Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest in the open division at Joe Weider'sOlympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually and is sanctioned by the IFBB Professional League. Joe Weider created the contest to enable the amateur Mr. Universe winners to continue competing and to earn money. The first Mr. Olympia was held on September 18, 1965, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York City, with Larry Scott winning his first of two straight titles. The equivalent female title is Ms. Olympia.
Larry Dee Scott, nicknamed "The Legend" and "The Golden Boy," was an American IFBB professional bodybuilder. He won the inaugural 1965 Mr. Olympia competition and defended the crown at the 1966 Mr. Olympia contest before retiring. He also won the Mr. America title in 1962 and the Mr. Universe title in 1964. With his Olympia victory in 1965, Scott became the first man to win the three major titles of his era. A student of Vince Gironda, he became best known for his arm development, particularly his impressive and unusually long biceps. He was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 1999.
Samir Bannout is a Lebanese former professional bodybuilder and commentator. Nicknamed 'The Lion of Lebanon', he won the 1983 Mr. Olympia, defeating Mohamed Makkawy and Lee Haney. He is the first Middle Eastern bodybuilder to win a Mr. Olympia title.
Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s, when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.
Jason Isaac Cutler, known professionally as Jay Cutler, is an American retired professional bodybuilder. An IFBB Pro League bodybuilder, Cutler is a four-time Mr. Olympia winner, having won in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010; and a six-time runner-up, the most in history. He also won consecutive Arnold Classic titles in 2002, 2003, and 2004. During his career, he was known for his rivalry with Ronnie Coleman. In 2021, he was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.
Iris Floyd Kyle is an African-Indian American professional female bodybuilder. She is currently the most successful, female or male, professional bodybuilder ever. She has a total of twenty professional bodybuilding titles, with ten overall and two heavyweight Ms. Olympia titles and seven overall and one heavyweight Ms. International titles.
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.
Lee Andrew McCutcheon , known professionally as Lee Priest, is a competitive bodybuilder. He is a former International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) professional bodybuilder and a current National Amateur Body-Builders' Association (NABBA) professional athlete.
Darrem Charles is an actively competing IFBB professional bodybuilder.
Albert "Al" Beckles is a former IFBB pro bodybuilder and Mr. Universe. He was a three-time New York City ‘Night of Champions’ winner. He was celebrated for being competitive at the top level in his fifties. He is the oldest professional male bodybuilder to win the overall of an International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness Professional League contest at the age of 60 years old.
Professional bodybuilding or pro bodybuilding can refer to bodybuilding for an income and/or possessing qualifications such as an IFBB Pro, IFBB Elite Pro or Wabba International Pro Card.
Michael Kefalianos, first name also spelt Michalis and Mihalis, is a Greek bodybuilder with Greek and Australian dual citizenship who is an International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) professional bodybuilder. He is widely considered to be the best Greek bodybuilder. In 2009 at the IFBB Australian Pro Grand Prix he placed fourth and became the first Greek bodybuilder to ever qualify for the Mr. Olympia competition, which is held in Las Vegas once a year in September. He has since competed in more than 35 professional bodybuilding shows, with his career highlight the 2012 Mr. Europe win in Madrid, Spain.
Monique Jones is an American professional female bodybuilder.
Alina Evelina Popa Molinari is a Romanian-born former professional female bodybuilder currently living in the USA.
Bodybuilding in the United States traces its early history to the 1860s when it was based on the east coast. By the 1940s, it had arrived in Hawaii. In the same period, the country was involved with the early internationalization of the sport. The sport had a golden age during the 1960s and 1970s when much of the activity was taking place on the west coast. Bodybuilding for women began to take off during the 1970s. A number of changes took place in the 1980s.
Helle Trevino is a United States–based Danish professional female bodybuilder and the title winner of the 2017 and the 2019 Rising Phoenix World Championships.
Colette Nelson is a former American professional female bodybuilder and nurse practitioner.
Joanna Clare Dawson Thomas was a British professional female bodybuilder. She was the younger sister of British professional female bodybuilder Nicola Shaw. She was the youngest British female bodybuilder to win IFBB pro card, at the age of 21.
Mikhail Volinkin is an Uzbekistani first IFBB professional bodybuilder and winner of Arnold Amateuer Classics 2018 overall in heavyweight category.
Jake Wood is owner of the Olympia Fitness and Performance Weekend, Wings of Strength, LLC, Muscle & Fitness, Flex, Hers Magazine and Digital Muscle.
