Gladys Portugues is an American former bodybuilder, fitness model, actress and author.
Popular in her own right in the 80s and 90s, she is now most commonly known for being married to Hollywood star Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Personal Life & Family Background :
Gladys Elena Portugues Van Varenberg was born on September 30, 1957. Although some articles claim that she was born in Puerto Rico, the majority state that she was born in Manhattan, New York.
On January 3, 1987, Gladys married popular actor and fellow bodybuilder, Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Five months later in May 1987, she gave birth to their son, Kristopher Van Varenberg. Three years after that, she had their daughter, Bianca Bree.
Gladys and Jean Claud divorced in 1992 after Gladys discovered that Jean-Claude was having an affair with actress Darcy LaPier, whom he ended up marrying and having a child with following the divorce.
In 1999, Gladys and Jean-Claude remarried, after his marriage with LaPier broke down. The couple almost broke up again in 2015 with Gladys even going as far as filing divorce papers, but she halted the divorce a few months later & they remain together to this day.
Early Life & Education :
After graduating from The High School of Art and Design in 1977, Gladys attended Marymount Manhattan College, majoring in English. It was during college that she fell in love with bodybuilding, after seeing Rachel McLish win Ms. Olympia on television.
In her 20s, Gladys started competing in fitness competitions. Finding much success, she even twice placed in the top 10 for Ms. Olympia.
Job, Career, Salary & Net Worth :
Once she became recognized in the fitness and bodybuilding world, Gladys graced the cover of numerous fitness magazines, including Strength Training for Beauty, Flex, Shape and Muscle & Fitness.
Almost unheard of for fitness models, she also modeled for other beauty magazines like Vogue and Cosmopolitan.
In 1985, Gladys was featured in the documentary “Pumping Iron II: The Women.” The following year, she made her professional acting debut in the movie “The Morning After,” which also starred Jane Fonda and Jeff Bridges.
She also appeared in a few talk shows during the 1980s era.
Although she appeared in the 2011 reality series, “Jean-Claude Van Damme: Behind Closed Doors,” she has not appeared in a film since 1987.
The same year of her acting debut, Gladys co-authored the bodybuilding book, “Hard Bodies.” Two years later in 1988, she co-authored “Hard Bodies: Express Workout.”
Fun Facts, Height & Trivia :
Before finding success as a bodybuilder and fitness model, Gladys worked at the Better Bodies gym in New York. The gym was famous in the 80s and 90s as one of the first co-ed gyms that offered a gym experience other than aerobics for women. Gladys was one of the gym’s first hires.
Following in their parents’ footsteps, both Kristopher and Bianca are actors. Kristopher is also an aspiring writer and director, and Bianca is also heavily into martial arts. In 2016, Bianca recreated Jean-Claude’s famous “splits” picture, with the result going viral.
In her bodybuilding prime, Gladys was known as “The Tigress.”
Little is publicly known about her birth family, but she refers to Jean-Claude’s mom, Eliana, on her Instagram account as “my mother.”
