Gladys Portugues better known now for being the wife of action flick actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, but to many in the physique community she would be better known as a bodybuilder and for her exotic beauty.
Gladys said she saw Rachel McLish on television winning the Ms. Olympia title and was inspired to start her own bodybuilding and weight training regimen. Her best placings were 7th in the 1984 IFBB Ms. Olympia, and 8th the following year at the Olympia.
She was an exotic beauty who normally competed on a fitness as opposed to bodybuilding level, she did get ‘serious’ and finally was competitive at the Ms. Olympia level.
??? When Gladys Portugues competed, she always competed as a bodybuilder, not as a ‘fitness’ competitor. Fitness wasn’t introduced until 1985, and by that point, Gladys was in competitions that included the Ms. Olympia, not fitness.