Iris Floyd Kyle (born Mildred Carter;[25] August 22, 1974) is an African-Indian American professional female bodybuilder.

Her early athletic endeavors included running cross country, basketball (point guard), softball (shortstop) and volleyball.

Kyle attended Benton Harbor High School and continued her education at Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi, on a basketball scholarship, majoring in business administration and minoring in accounting.

[32][34][35][27] Iris claims the reason she got into bodybuilding was when she and her family moved to Orange County, California, and being surrounded by fit, healthy-looking people, she thought she could obtain a similar highly trained, sculpted physique.

Eventually she got a job teaching aerobics and later a sales manager at Bally Total Fitness, which is when she started lifting weights.

"I distinctly remember being a bit overwhelmed with the facilities and the seemingly endless variety of training equipment, but I knew at that exact moment ... without feeling even the slightest doubt ... that I could develop the kind of physique I wanted."

One day, a local promoter named Butch Dennis was in her gym and, after sizing her up, suggested she enter a competition he was hosting in 8 weeks, the Long Beach Muscle Classic.

In July 1998, at the NPC USA Championships in Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, she edged out Foster by one point in the final tally after having shared first place judging votes with her to go on and win the heavyweight, overall, and IFBB pro card at the age of 23 years old and 150 lb (68 kg).

[32][36][37][38][39][20] Iris began to distance herself from friends and family and to become very isolated, stating that she found this the best way to make gains.

With the exception of the 1999 and 2008 Ms. Internationals, Iris has always placed in the top six in every IFBB pro bodybuilding competition in which she competed.

He also wrote that "Combining some of the qualities of Yolanda Hughes and Lenda Murray, with calves better than both, the 27-year-old health-club manager needs only to add some styling to her general appearance to put a shiny finish on her physical armament."

"[32][42] [43] In 2002, Lenda Murray returned from retirement to reclaim her Ms. Olympia title in 2002 and 2003, with Iris coming in second both times behind her idol.

After the 2008 Ms. International, in an interview on an episode of the Pro Bodybuilding Weekly Radio talk program, when asked about why there was bumps on Iris' shoulders and glutes, which she later admitted where "noticeable site injections", she said that "when you in the sport and you decide to take it to the league level you know those things take place".

Later in that same episode, according to head IFBB judge, Sandy Ranalli, she stated that Iris was placed 7th due to "distortions" in her shoulders and glutes that the other competitors didn't have.

[49] On September 25, 2015, in an interview with Dave Palumbo, Iris announced she will be coming out of retirement to compete at the 2016 Wings of Strength Rising Phoenix World Championships.

Both Tim Gardner and Jack Wood keep contacting Iris that she still needed to be approved by them and that meant to compete in another WOS show in order to qualify.

For the first time in her professional career, she got a coach, Patrick Tour, to prepare her for the 2016 Rising Phoenix World Championships.

[51][52] In September 2016, in an interview with Nevada Public Radio, Iris agreed with Jeff O'Connell's, editor of bodybuilding.com, assessment that performance-enhancing substances are quite prevalent in bodybuilding, especially at the Olympia level.

However, she stressed that while IFBB professional female bodybuilders use performance-enhancing substances, it also requires hard work and genetics.

[34][51] On July 29, 2022, in an interview with Hellchang on Physical World, she announced for the second time her retirement from professional bodybuilding.

[71] In an interview with RX Muscle Girls Inc. (with hosts Colette Nelson and Krissy Chin), she revealed that she was invited back for another appearance on Wipeout due to the popularity of her episode but declined, citing the possibility of another injury and the lack of respect she received from the hosts.

Since July 1998, Iris has been an advanced personal trainer who runs her own online training and nutritional business, Healthier by Choice.

[86] Since October 7, 2022, her net worth is estimated to be $9 million dollars, making her the wealthiest female bodybuilder on earth.

[52] Despite having described her political views as liberal,[90] she voted for fellow bodybuilding icon Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, during his bid for Governor of California.