Cory Everson
Merely
looking at the woman who is one of the most successful
bodybuilders in history is perhaps the least effective
way of understanding her.
In an
age of specialization, Cory Everson is far more than
the spectacularly honed body that has appeared on more
than 200 magazine covers and hosted a daily exercise
television show, "Gotta Sweat with Cory
Everson" for seven years.
Mother,
wife, athlete, artist, actress, author, fitness
motivator, public speaker, role model--Everson seems
blessed with an abundance of talents and unlimited
energy.
Her
defining achievement is in bodybuilding, where she won
the premier title, Ms. Olympia, six times (1984 -
1989) before moving on to become a fitness authority
through books, television shows, home videos and
personal appearances. At the same time, she began an
acting career that has included featured roles in
movies and on several television series.
Far
less well known is Everson's love of art and design.
Born in Racine, WI., into a family devoted to both art
and sports, she attended the University of Wisconsin,
where she won the Big Ten pentathlon championships
four years in a row. She got into bodybuilding in
college by competing in pairs competitions.
She
also majored in interior design at Wisconsin and to
this day considers it one of her professions. Her home
in Los Angeles provides abundant evidence of her
talents, including vivid, playful murals of Western
scenes, painted floors and painted, three-dimensional
structures on the walls. A newly developed passion is
landscaping turning her own yard into a southwestern
mecca.
Cory
has been drawing and painting since she was very
young. "Art has been a sort of secret
satisfaction for a long time,". Today she works
in many media, including pencil, acrylics, oil and
water colors. She brings to her art some of the same
characteristics that made her an outstanding athlete:
fierce dedication, laser-like focus and a painstaking
attention to detail.
"I
like realistic art, ultra-realistic,. It's difficult
for me to appreciate abstract art. I want people who
see my work to be able to understand it. I really
enjoy being absorbed in my paintings. They take a long
time to create and a long time to finish. I don't stop
until I feel they're perfect."
Although
she has appeared in several movies and TV series, she
has placed her acting career largely on the back
burner. She prefers to concentrate instead on her
daily exercise activities and camp.
"Because
of the exercise regimes, people come to me and say,
'You saved my life; I stopped smoking; I lost
weight,'" Cory explains. "No one ever said
anything like that because I was in a movie or a TV
comedy."
The
opportunity to be an inspiration to young girls
prompted Cory to join the HealthSouth Sports Medicine
Council, whose athlete members appear in a traveling
roadshow called "Go For It!" that teaches
youngsters about nutrition, health, sports and
fitness. The sponsor, HealthSouth, is a national
health-care provider.
Council
members include Bo Jackson, Troy Aikman, Herschel
Walker, Jennifer Chandler, Dan Marino, Matt Bahre,
Doug Flutie, Mary Jo Fernandez and Nancy Lopez.
"The council was dominated by men, and I thought
the girls needed role models of their own sex,"
Cory explains. The show is expected to reach 3 million
children in 300 cities over 10 years.
"I
want to show that an athlete can be powerful and
sensitive, powerful and artistic,". She is
talking about her art, but also seems to be expressing
a broader mission. "I want to communicate
happiness".
By jerseygop.com
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