Iris Kyle

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

She is currently the most successful, female or male, professional bodybuilder ever.

She has a total of twenty professional bodybuilding titles, with ten overall and two heavyweight Ms. Olympia titles (more Mr. and Ms. Olympia titles than anyone else) and seven overall and one heavyweight Ms. International titles (more Arnold Classic and Ms. International titles than anyone).

Iris Floyd Kyle was born on August 22, 1974 in Benton Harbor, Michigan, the fifth of six children.

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

She was an All-American in basketball, and received a number of athletic scholarship offers.

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.

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.

She walked into Bally Total Fitness and took out a membership.

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."

She became a voracious reader of the magazines FLEX, Muscle and Fitness, and Iron Man.

Iris recalls, "I remember the first time I saw a photograph of Lenda Murray in a magazine. I was in complete awe. I cut out that picture and placed it on my refrigerator and, from that point on, my goal was to develop a physique like hers."

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.

Her model for her physique was a combination of Lenda Murray and Bev Francis.

She won the contest, the 1994 Long Beach Muscle Classic.

From 1994 until turning pro, she was advised and coached by professional bodybuilder Patrick Lynn.

After coming in 2nd in the middleweight category at the 1994 NPC Ironmaiden Championships, she began using performance-enhancing substances.

Steve Wennerstrom, IFBB women's historian, wrote a photoreport in the Women's Physique World November / December 1996 issue called "Keep An Eye on Iris Kyle!".

In the report he focused on her 1996 NPC California overall and heavyweight title win.

He also wrote that "The 5-7, 144-pound Kyle showed a dazzling level of muscle definition to go with sound structural balance and a stage savvy that puts her physical qualities at the national level right now."

In 1996, NPC USA Championships, Iris came in second to Heather Foster in the heavyweight category.

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.

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.

At her pro debut at the 1999 Ms. International, she placed 15th.

As she passed Steve Wennerstrom back stage, she whispered to him, “THAT, will never happen again." She has had a series of high placings as a professional. 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. Steve Wennerstrom, IFBB women's historian, wrote in the November 1999 edition of Flex that her 2nd place at the 1999 IFBB Pro World was "a welcome one for the structurally impressive 5'7", 155-pound Kyle."

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."

This was Iris' worst placing since her professional debut at the 1999 Ms. International where she placed 15th place.

At the 2000 Ms International, Tazzie Colomb and Iris were both disqualified for diuretic use.

She won her first professional contest at the 2001 Ms. Olympia, winning the heavyweight title, but losing the overall Olympia title to Juliette Bergmann.

Looking back, Iris maintains, "I sincerely believe that I was the rightful 2001 Overall Ms. Olympia. I'm not saying Juliette didn't display a nice overall package; I'm just saying I believe my physique was better."

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.

In 2004, Iris won both the overall and heavyweight titles of Ms. International and went on to beat Murray and win the overall and heavyweight title of the 2004 Ms. Olympia.

In 2005, Iris skipped the Ms. International, and focused defending her Olympia title.

However, in 2005, the IFBB changed the rules and abolished the weight class system for Ms. Olympia, along with the new '20 percent rule' requesting "that female athletes in Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure decrease the amount of muscularity by a factor of 20%".

This allowed Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia to win both the 2005 Ms. International and dethrone Iris at the 2005 Ms. Olympia.

In 2006, Iris rebounded by regaining both her Ms. International and Ms. Olympia titles.

After the 2006 Ms. Olympia, she revealed that she consults with Victor Conte.

In 2007, she again won both Ms. International and Ms. Olympia.

There was controversy at the 2008 Ms. International due to placing Iris Kyle in a tie with Betty Viana-Adkins for 7th place.