Raquel Livia Elizondo McLish (born 21 June 1955) is an American female bodybuilding champion, actress, and author.
When she graduated from college, she and the health club manager formed a partnership and founded the Sport Palace Association in Harlingen.
In 1980, she won the inaugural United States Championships, as well as beating Auby Paulick to win that year’s first-ever IFBB Ms. Olympia contest.
These breakthrough victories, together with her visual appeal, brought women’s bodybuilding a further rush of media attention, which had been jump-started into action by Lisa Lyon.
[1][2] In a competitive career that spanned only four years, McLish proved a resilient force, never placing lower than third in any contest she entered.
[1] McLish was featured in the 1985 documentary Pumping Iron II: The Women, which focused on her participation in the 1983 Caesar’s World Cup.
[9] McLish has authored two books on weight training for women that made the New York Times bestseller list – Flex Appeal, by Rachel, and Perfect Parts.
While attending Pan American University, she met John P. McLish, whom she married on February 3, 1979.