Rasa von Werder
Encyclopedia
Rasa von Werder is a former stripper and female bodybuilder
, and founder of her own church.
, the state capital of Baden-Wurttemburg in West Germany
. Her family had fled from Lithuania
to escape the Communist take-over. In June 1949, Rasa and her family moved to the United States
and when she was eight years old they settled on a farm in New Jersey
.
, giving over 1,000 sermons in burlesque theaters and nightclubs. By the early 70's Kellie was becoming well known nationally with articles about her in national and local Media; Washington Post, Washington Star
, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Daily News, and many other US newspapers.
Her travels to Canada and a single trip to the UK resulted in many media articles about this unique personality in international publications; UK (TidBits, SHE Magazine) Germany (Express, Stern, TV Zeitung), Canada (Montreal Star
, Journal de Montreal, Toronto Sun
, Ottawa Citizen
) as well as articles in the Italian, Dutch and Spanish media. Her most famous appearance would have to be in 1988, when she appeared on The Morton Downey Jr Show.
Kellie later changed the emphasis of her mission to the return of Matriarchy
and the Feminine Divine. The high point of her ministry was the preaching of the Our Lady of Fatima
message http://www.cmri.org/message.htm, with the aim of bringing about the conversion of Russia
, in front of the White House
on June 16, 1978, and reported next day in the Washington Post.
and Playboy, and on TV. Her first major article was a six page spread in the July Esquire. Even Playboys May 1977 decision to use photos of Kellie's bikini falling off while lifting weights helped to garner attention for the concept of female bodybuilding. She also posed with Arnold Schwarzenneger. Television appearances included Mike Douglas 1975, To Tell the Truth
1975, Real People
1979, and Tom Snyder
, promoting the concept.
Kellie participated successfully in various events sponsored by the IFBB
and WBBG http://wbbgintl.com/ in the seventies:
It is difficult to pinpoint when the modern era began, but 1980 can be seen as a very important year in which the National Physique Committee
(NPC) held the first women's Nationals, and the first Ms. Olympia
took place. This 1980 Miss Olympia, in which Kellie took part as a competitor, was at the same time Kellie's last public involvement with bodybuilding competition. There was recognition for Kellie for her early advocacy of female bodybuilding in the official 1980 Miss Olympia Program which stated:
Everts trained hard for the 1981 competition but was barred from entering the Caesar's Palace Boardwalk Regency IFBB
competition in Atlantic City. Kellie arrived and picketed them in a white bikini, speaking for 30 minutes on a radio show.
Kellie's last move in bodybuilding came in 1981 with the publication by Leitner Enterprises of "The Ultimate Woman", a female bodybuilding book advertised for a week on the Phil Donohue Show, and for which she appeared with Lisa Lyon
on the Tom Snyder Show that same year.
On February 2, 2007 the WBBG (World Body Building Guild)http://wbbgintl.com/ gave recognition to her role as an early advocate with the award of "Progenitor" of Female Bodybuilding and in August 2007 inducted her into their Hall of Fame.http://wbbgintl.com/page6.html
Today Everts lives on a 50 acres (202,343 m²) farm complete with 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) island on the Susquehanna River near Binghamton, NY.
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:...
, and founder of her own church.
Early life
Everts was born on July 16, 1945 in Calv near StuttgartStuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, the state capital of Baden-Wurttemburg in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. Her family had fled from Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
to escape the Communist take-over. In June 1949, Rasa and her family moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and when she was eight years old they settled on a farm in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
"The Stripper for God"
Everts came up in 1973 with the idea that a woman in the adult trade, a stripper, could also be a minister. As a stripper Kellie attracted attention but it was the combination of stripper and evangelical religious conviction which led to the creation of the "Stripper for God".Media coverage
Everts attracted considerable publicity and traveled the United States and CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, giving over 1,000 sermons in burlesque theaters and nightclubs. By the early 70's Kellie was becoming well known nationally with articles about her in national and local Media; Washington Post, Washington Star
Washington Star
The Washington Star, previously known as the Washington Star-News and the Washington Evening Star, was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C. between 1852 and 1981. For most of that time, it was the city's newspaper of record, and the longtime home to columnist Mary McGrory and...
, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Daily News, and many other US newspapers.
Her travels to Canada and a single trip to the UK resulted in many media articles about this unique personality in international publications; UK (TidBits, SHE Magazine) Germany (Express, Stern, TV Zeitung), Canada (Montreal Star
Montreal Star
The Montreal Star was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It folded in 1979 following an eight-month pressmen's strike....
, Journal de Montreal, Toronto Sun
Toronto Sun
The Toronto Sun is an English-language daily tabloid newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its daily Sunshine Girl feature and for what it sees as a populist conservative editorial stance.-History:...
, Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa Citizen
The Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper had a 2008 weekly circulation of 900,197.- History :...
) as well as articles in the Italian, Dutch and Spanish media. Her most famous appearance would have to be in 1988, when she appeared on The Morton Downey Jr Show.
Kellie later changed the emphasis of her mission to the return of Matriarchy
Matriarchy
A matriarchy is a society in which females, especially mothers, have the central roles of political leadership and moral authority. It is also sometimes called a gynocratic or gynocentric society....
and the Feminine Divine. The high point of her ministry was the preaching of the Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fátima is a famous title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary as she appeared in apparitions reported by three shepherd children at Fátima in Portugal. These occurred on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917, starting on May 13...
message http://www.cmri.org/message.htm, with the aim of bringing about the conversion of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, in front of the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
on June 16, 1978, and reported next day in the Washington Post.
Bodybuilding
In the dawn of modern female bodybuilding, Kellie became a vocal advocate of the concept of female bodybuilding with appearances in print, EsquireEsquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
and Playboy, and on TV. Her first major article was a six page spread in the July Esquire. Even Playboys May 1977 decision to use photos of Kellie's bikini falling off while lifting weights helped to garner attention for the concept of female bodybuilding. She also posed with Arnold Schwarzenneger. Television appearances included Mike Douglas 1975, To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth is an American television panel game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks and in syndication...
1975, Real People
Real People
Real People is an NBC reality television series that aired from 1979 to 1984, on Wednesday and then Sunday nights. Its initial episodes aired live in the Eastern and Central Time Zones.-Synopsis:...
1979, and Tom Snyder
Tom Snyder
Thomas James "Tom" Snyder was an American television personality, news anchor and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows The Tomorrow Show, on the NBC television network in the 1970s and 1980s, and The Late Late Show, on the CBS Television Network in the 1990s...
, promoting the concept.
Kellie participated successfully in various events sponsored by the IFBB
IFBB
IFBB can refer to:* Independent Family Brewers of Britain* International Federation of BodyBuilders...
and WBBG http://wbbgintl.com/ in the seventies:
- Ms Nude Universe 1967, featured in Playboy Feb. 1968
- Ms Body Beautiful USA 1973 2nd Place, World Body Building Guild, New York
- Ms Body Beautiful USA 1974 1st Place , World Body Building Guild, New York
- IFBB Ms Americana 2nd place & Best Body, 1972, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York
- IFBB Ms. Americana 1973 , CA . ‘Most Voluptuous’ Trophy, Contest Promoted by Reg & Shari Lewis.
- IFBB Ms. Americana 1974, 2nd Place Trophy and Best Body Trophy, Felt Forum, New York
It is difficult to pinpoint when the modern era began, but 1980 can be seen as a very important year in which the National Physique Committee
National Physique Committee
The National Physique Committee is the largest amateur bodybuilding organization in the United States. Amateur bodybuilders compete in various competitions from local to national competitions sanctioned by the NPC...
(NPC) held the first women's Nationals, and the first 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...
took place. This 1980 Miss Olympia, in which Kellie took part as a competitor, was at the same time Kellie's last public involvement with bodybuilding competition. There was recognition for Kellie for her early advocacy of female bodybuilding in the official 1980 Miss Olympia Program which stated:
- She may well be called the "herald" of women's bodybuilding as she exhibited her weightlifting prowess for national magazines and television shows as early as 1975.
Everts trained hard for the 1981 competition but was barred from entering the Caesar's Palace Boardwalk Regency IFBB
IFBB
IFBB can refer to:* Independent Family Brewers of Britain* International Federation of BodyBuilders...
competition in Atlantic City. Kellie arrived and picketed them in a white bikini, speaking for 30 minutes on a radio show.
Kellie's last move in bodybuilding came in 1981 with the publication by Leitner Enterprises of "The Ultimate Woman", a female bodybuilding book advertised for a week on the Phil Donohue Show, and for which she appeared with Lisa Lyon
Lisa Lyon
Lisa Lyon is a female bodybuilder from the United States. Her stats as taken on October 1980: She stands at 5'3" and weighs only 105 pounds, but she can dead-lift 225 pounds, bench-press 120 pounds, and squat 265 pounds; two and a half times her own weight....
on the Tom Snyder Show that same year.
On February 2, 2007 the WBBG (World Body Building Guild)http://wbbgintl.com/ gave recognition to her role as an early advocate with the award of "Progenitor" of Female Bodybuilding and in August 2007 inducted her into their Hall of Fame.http://wbbgintl.com/page6.html
Rasa von Werder
On May 24, 2004, Kellie, under her present name Rasa von Werder or Guru Rasa of the Church of MotherGod, started the Woman Thou Art God Website http://www.womanthouartgod.com/home.php . She has since developed an Internet presence to pursue her religious mission and authored six books on the subject of Matriarchy and Spirituality.Today Everts lives on a 50 acres (202,343 m²) farm complete with 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) island on the Susquehanna River near Binghamton, NY.