Bev Francis
Encyclopedia
Bev Francis is a retired powerlifter
and female bodybuilder
from Australia
, where she was a national shot put champion. She is also a writer, body building judge and owns a gym in Syosset, New York, in the United States where she now lives.
.
In 1982 she won the Australian national shot put
championships.
She is best known for her career as a professional bodybuilder. In 1985 gained notoriety through her role in the movie Pumping Iron II: The Women
directed by George Butler, who was drawn to Francis for her reputation as "history's strongest woman". The film casts her in a controversial role within the ongoing debate over femininity and female muscularity, with her naturally massive size and muscular development challenging preconceived notions about the limits of female bodybuilding
.
After years of attempting to meet the femininity standards of the contests, including using such beauty techniques as getting a nose job, lightening her hair, and slimming down her physique, she still failed to win first at the major competitions. However, she soon figured out how to make her physique more symmetrical while maintaining the size built from her powerlifting background (the three powerlifts are basics in bodybuilding training and bodybuilders with backgrounds as champion powerlifters tend to have tremendous size and density for their frames) and won the World Championship in 1987. She continued to tinker with her physique, which led to a disappointing 1990 Ms. Olympia
. After her physique was criticized as not having the fullness or muscularity compared to winner Lenda Murray
and some other top placers, Francis decided to get as massive as symmetrically possible for the 1991 Olympia. That contest became a fitting close to Francis' bodybuilding career.
Her first contest, the Caesar's World Cup, was created for the movie. Her last contest was altered for television, spread over two days to accommodate ESPN's live telecast. Almost all the women came in considerably larger than the previous year, stunning not just the ESPN viewers who weren't hardcore bodybuilding fans, but some bodybuilding fans. Francis, wide, thick and ripped, built a big lead after the two rounds of prejudging. Normally, the night show is mostly just for that—show. Unless a bodybuilding contest is very close or a competitor completely blows a posing routine, there's not much that changes after the night show routines. But Francis shockingly lost her lead and finished second to Lenda Murray
, who was an amazing 11 pounds bigger than the previous year herself.
, Bev Francis Powerhouse Gym. She is also a judge for the International Federation of BodyBuilders
(IFBB).
in 2000.
She is the International Powerlifting Federation
Hall of Fame inductee for 1987.
Powerlifting
Powerlifting is a strength sport. It resembles the sport of Olympic weightlifting, as both disciplines involve lifting weights in three attempts. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as 'odd lifts' which followed the same three attempt format but used a wide variety of events akin to Strongman...
and female bodybuilder
Female bodybuilding
Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.-Beginnings:...
from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where she was a national shot put champion. She is also a writer, body building judge and owns a gym in Syosset, New York, in the United States where she now lives.
Early life and education
Francis was born 15 February 1955 in Geelong, Australia. She went to the University of MelbourneUniversity of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
.
Bodybuilding career
Her list of athletic achievements includes breaking more than 40 powerlifting records, and winning six powerlifting world championships. She was the first woman to officially bench press over 300 pounds. After that, a picture of her appeared in several bodybuilding magazines around the world, doing what's called a most muscular pose or "the crab" while wearing a bikini. Her mountainous trapezius muscles, huge arms and bulging pecs beneath her breasts arrested those who saw the photo. While she wasn't ripped, there was enough definition to delianate the muscles and the fact that she possessed far more muscular size than the most muscular female bodybuilders at the time raised the question, "What would she look like on a bodybuilding stage?"In 1982 she won the Australian national shot put
Shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....
championships.
She is best known for her career as a professional bodybuilder. In 1985 gained notoriety through her role in the movie Pumping Iron II: The Women
Pumping Iron II: The Women
Pumping Iron II: The Women is a documentary film about female bodybuilding, focusing on several women as they prepare for and compete in the 1983 Caesars World Cup....
directed by George Butler, who was drawn to Francis for her reputation as "history's strongest woman". The film casts her in a controversial role within the ongoing debate over femininity and female muscularity, with her naturally massive size and muscular development challenging preconceived notions about the limits of female bodybuilding
Bodybuilding
Bodybuilding is a form of body modification involving intensive muscle hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. In competitive and professional bodybuilding, bodybuilders display their physiques to a panel of judges, who assign points based on their...
.
Body image and judging criteria
Her career is also illustrative of the struggle with engaging in the sport for personal goals as opposed to for the satisfaction of the judges, who were required to judge female bodybuilders on a vague and subjective criteria of femininity. While her 1983 debut in the made-for-the-movie competition, received much attention for pushing the sport in a more muscular direction, when she placed 8th, her loss led her to spend years changing her look in an attempt to meet this subjective criteria.After years of attempting to meet the femininity standards of the contests, including using such beauty techniques as getting a nose job, lightening her hair, and slimming down her physique, she still failed to win first at the major competitions. However, she soon figured out how to make her physique more symmetrical while maintaining the size built from her powerlifting background (the three powerlifts are basics in bodybuilding training and bodybuilders with backgrounds as champion powerlifters tend to have tremendous size and density for their frames) and won the World Championship in 1987. She continued to tinker with her physique, which led to a disappointing 1990 Ms. Olympia
Ms. Olympia
Ms. Olympia is the title given to the winner of the women's bodybuilding portion of Joe Weider's Olympia Weekend - an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation of BodyBuilders . It was first held in 1980, and since 2000 it has been held at the same...
. After her physique was criticized as not having the fullness or muscularity compared to winner Lenda Murray
Lenda Murray
Lenda Murray is a champion female bodybuilder from the United States. She is an eight-time winner of the Ms. Olympia title, the highest achievement in professional female bodybuilding.-Early life and education:...
and some other top placers, Francis decided to get as massive as symmetrically possible for the 1991 Olympia. That contest became a fitting close to Francis' bodybuilding career.
Her first contest, the Caesar's World Cup, was created for the movie. Her last contest was altered for television, spread over two days to accommodate ESPN's live telecast. Almost all the women came in considerably larger than the previous year, stunning not just the ESPN viewers who weren't hardcore bodybuilding fans, but some bodybuilding fans. Francis, wide, thick and ripped, built a big lead after the two rounds of prejudging. Normally, the night show is mostly just for that—show. Unless a bodybuilding contest is very close or a competitor completely blows a posing routine, there's not much that changes after the night show routines. But Francis shockingly lost her lead and finished second to Lenda Murray
Lenda Murray
Lenda Murray is a champion female bodybuilder from the United States. She is an eight-time winner of the Ms. Olympia title, the highest achievement in professional female bodybuilding.-Early life and education:...
, who was an amazing 11 pounds bigger than the previous year herself.
Contest history (bodybuilding)
- 1983 Caesars World Cup – 8th
- 1984 IFBB Grand Prix Las Vegas – 8th
- 1986 LA Pro Championship – 3rd
- 1986 Ms. InternationalMs. InternationalMs. International is a contest of professional female bodybuilding, organized by the International Federation of BodyBuilders . "The Ms. International" is generally considered to be the second-most prestigious competition for female bodybuilders . It was first held in 1986, and has been held...
– 3rd - 1986 International Federation of BodyBuildersInternational Federation of BodyBuildersThe International Federation of BodyBuilders is a competitive bodybuilding organization founded in 1946 by brothers Ben and Joe Weider and is the highest level of competitive bodybuilding in the world. Currently, the IFBB consists of seven different sub-divisions for different competitors ,...
: Ms. OlympiaMs. OlympiaMs. Olympia is the title given to the winner of the women's bodybuilding portion of Joe Weider's Olympia Weekend - an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation of BodyBuilders . It was first held in 1980, and since 2000 it has been held at the same...
– 10th - 1987 Pro World Championship – 1st
- 1987 International Federation of BodyBuilders: Ms. Olympia – 3rd
- 1988 International Federation of BodyBuilders: Ms. Olympia – 3rd
- 1989 International Federation of BodyBuilders: Ms. Olympia – 3rd
- 1990 International Federation of BodyBuilders: Ms. Olympia – 2nd
- 1991 International Federation of BodyBuilders: Ms. Olympia – 2nd
Post-competition career
Francis owns her own gym in Syosset, New YorkSyosset, New York
Syosset is a hamlet in Nassau County, New York, in the northeastern section of Town of Oyster Bay near the North Shore of Long Island. The population was 18,829 at the 2010 census...
, Bev Francis Powerhouse Gym. She is also a judge for the International Federation of BodyBuilders
International Federation of BodyBuilders
The International Federation of BodyBuilders is a competitive bodybuilding organization founded in 1946 by brothers Ben and Joe Weider and is the highest level of competitive bodybuilding in the world. Currently, the IFBB consists of seven different sub-divisions for different competitors ,...
(IFBB).
Honors
Francis was inducted into the IFBB Hall of FameIFBB Hall of Fame
The IFBB Hall of Fame was established in 1999 to honor outstanding athletes and officials in the sport of bodybuilding.-1999:*Carla Dunlap*Cory Everson*John Grimek*Lee Haney*Rachel McLish*Sergio Oliva*Reg Park*Bill Pearl*Steve Reeves...
in 2000.
She is the International Powerlifting Federation
International Powerlifting Federation
The International Powerlifting Federation is an international governing body for the sport of powerlifting as recognized by the General Association of International Sports Federations as well as the International Olympic Committee via inclusion into the World Games.The IPF was founded in 1971, and...
Hall of Fame inductee for 1987.