Rachel McLish

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.