Iris Kyle

CompetitionRecord|Disqualified|2000 Ms. International August 22, 1974) is an 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).

Early life Iris Floyd Kyle 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. 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."

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."

2002–2005 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 2007, she again won both Ms. International and Ms. Olympia.

Iris rebounded at the 2008 Ms. Olympia by winning the show. Iris went on to win both 2009 Ms. International and 2009 Ms. Olympia titles in the same year. At the 2010 Ms. International, Iris won her fifth Ms. International, surpassing Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia's four Ms. International wins, becoming the most successful Ms. International champion ever. She has gone on to win the 2010 Ms. Olympia and 2011 Ms. International and 2011 Ms. Olympia. Iris went on to win the 2012 Ms. Olympia and regained her Ms. International title in 2013. In 2013, she won her ninth overall Ms. Olympia, making her the most successful female professional bodybuilder of all time. In 2014, she won her tenth overall Ms. Olympia title, breaking her own previous record of nine overall Ms. Olympia titles.

2015–2022 On September 25, 2015, in an interview with Dave Palumbo, Iris announced she will be coming out of retirement to compete at the 2016 Wings of Strength Rising Phoenix World Championships. Although she stated she wanted to compete at the 2016 Wings of Strength Rising Phoenix World Championships, Tim Gardner contacted her boyfriend, Hidetada Yamagishi and told him that she needed to qualify by either winning the 2016 Puerto Rico Pro, 2016 Toronto Pro Supershow, the 2016 Omaha Pro, the 2016 Chicago Pro, the 2016 Lenda Murray Pro AM, or the 2016 PBW Tampa Pro, or be one the top 7 IFBB female bodybuilder's to accumulative points implementing the IFBB Tier 4 point system. A follow-up call from her to Jim Manion’s office resulted in her being told that she does not have to qualify, as per International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness Professional League (IFBB Pro League) rules, which state that any former Olympia is automatically qualified to compete in any IFBB Pro League contest.

Both Tim Gardner and Jack Wood keep contacting Iris that she still needed to be approved by them and that meant to compete in another WOS show in order to qualify. She was later granted a special invite to the 2016 Rising Phoenix World Championships. Tim later contacted her on two separate occasions informing her that she can win the show based on her shape, not to worry about coming in with shredded glutes and she can come in soft. She also said that she was offered to do some work with them that she doesn't "agree with", but declined the offer. For the first time in her professional career, she got a coach, Patrick Tour, to prepare her for the 2016 Rising Phoenix World Championships. While Tim did later allow her a special invite to the 2016 Wings of Strength Rising Phoenix World Championships, she declined to compete, instead focusing on training her boyfriend, Hidetada Yamagishi, for the 2017 Arnold Classic Men's Physique and focusing on their business venture. In the Winter 2016 edition of Muscle Sport Magazine, Kyle, in an interview with Joe Pietaro, criticized the IFBB for its treatment of female bodybuilders and called for the creation of a union and ambassador for female bodybuilders.

At the 2019 Hidetada Yamagishi, Iris Kyle Japan Classic, Iris appeared as a guest poser, the most recent guest posing she did. In July 2020, Iris announced she was compete at the 2020 Ms. Olympia. IFBB professional bodybuilder Patrick Tuor has been coaching her for the upcoming 2020 Ms. Olympia. She co-promotes two shows in Japan with her ex-boyfriend, Hidetada Yamagishi. On July 29, 2022, in an interview with Hellchang on Physical World, she announced for the second time her retirement from professional bodybuilding.

She had previously been training partners with John Sherman and, since 2012, is currently training partners with Hidetada Yamagishi. She and Hidetada co-promote the NPC Worldwide Hidetada Yamagishi & Iris Kyle Japan Classic and another amateur bodybuilding show in Japan. In 2024, she has been coaching Alcione Barreto, IFBB Pro League professional bodybuilder, at her gym, the Powerhouse Gym Iris Kyle, Hidetada Yamagishi Las Vegas, Nevada, in preparation for the 2024 Ms. Olympia.

Competition history 1994 National Physique Committee (NPC) Long Beach Muscle Classic – 1st 1994 NPC Ironmaiden Championships – 2nd (Middleweight) 1996 NPC Orange County Muscle Classic – 1st (Heavyweight (HW) & Overall (OA)) 1996 NPC California – 1st (HW & OA) 1996 NPC USA Championships – 2nd 1997 NPC USA Championships – 3rd (HW) 1997 NPC Nationals – 4th (HW) 1998 NPC USA Championships – 1st (HW & OA) 1999 International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Ms. International – 15th 1999 IFBB Pro World Championship – 2nd 1999 IFBB Ms. Olympia – 4th 2000 IFBB Ms. International – 3rd (HW; later disqualified) 2000 IFBB Ms. Olympia – 5th (HW) 2001 IFBB Ms. International – 2nd (HW) 2001 IFBB Ms. Olympia – 1st (HW) 2002 IFBB Ms. International – 2nd (HW) 2002 IFBB Ms. Olympia – 2nd (HW) 2002 IFBB General Nutrition Centers Show of Strength – 2nd (HW) 2003 IFBB Ms. Olympia – 2nd (HW) 2004 IFBB Ms. International – 1st (HW & OA) 2004 IFBB Ms. Olympia – 1st (HW & OA) 2005 IFBB Professional League (IFBB) Ms. Olympia – 2nd 2006 IFBB Ms. International – 1st 2006 IFBB Ms. Olympia – 1st 2007 IFBB Ms. International – 1st 2007 IFBB Ms. Olympia – 1st 2008 IFBB Ms. International – 7th 2008 IFBB Ms. Olympia – 1st 2009 IFBB Ms. International – 1st 2009 IFBB Ms. Olympia – 1st 2010 IFBB Ms. International – 1st 2010 IFBB Ms. Olympia – 1st 2011 IFBB Ms. International – 1st 2011 IFBB Ms. Olympia – 1st 2012 IFBB Ms. Olympia – 1st 2013 IFBB Ms. International – 1st 2013 IFBB Ms. Olympia – 1st 2014 IFBB Ms. Olympia – 1st During the episode, she suffered an accident on a water slide in which several of her ribs were broken. She was also constantly referred to as "he" by one of the show's hosts. In an interview with RX Muscle Girls Inc. (with hosts Colette Nelson and Krissy Chin), she revealed that she was invited back for another appearance on Wipeout due to the popularity of her episode but declined, citing the possibility of another injury and the lack of respect she received from the hosts.

Iris appeared in the trailer for the unfinished film A:B - We are Sisyphos and was supposed to play the character "Dina" in the film. She appeared in the 2013 bodybuilding documentary ASF25 – A Documentary. She and her ex-boyfriend, Hidetada Yamagishi, appeared as themselves in the 2017 bodybuilding documentary film Generation Iron 2. She also appeared in the 2017 music video by Katy Perry titled Katy Perry Feat. Nicki Minaj: Swish Swish.

Footage of her was used in the following television episodes: Bodybuilders (On the Inside), Gender Benders (Taboo), and Episode 160 (Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel), along with footage of her appearing in the documentaries Hooked: Muscle Women and Twisted Sisters.

Business Since July 1998, Iris has been an advanced personal trainer who runs her own online training and nutritional business, Healthier by Choice. Since 2007, she has been sponsored by Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning. Since September 2011, she has been a promoter of the company Visalus. Since 2013, she has been the co-owner of Bodi Cafe, a premier supplement, nutritional company, and smoothie cafe in the City Athletic Club in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since 2021, she has been the co-owner of Powerhouse Gym Iris Kyle, Hidetada Yamagishi Las Vegas, Nevada. She is also sponsored by PNP Perfect Nutrition and Urban Ice Botanicals and brand ambassador of Gaspari Nutrition. Since October 7, 2022, her net worth is estimated to be $9 million, making her the wealthiest female bodybuilder on earth.

Real estate Iris is a real estate agent with ERA Realty. She has previously been a resident of Cypress, Texas; Glen Flora, Texas; Fullerton, California; Huntington Beach, California (where she is the co-owner of the "No Mercy" Gym); Henderson, Nevada; Houston, Texas; Las Vegas, Nevada; Tustin, California, and Westminster, California. She is a Baptist and routinely thanks God after winning competitions. She always starts her day off with a prayer and a reading from the Bible. Sunday is her rest day and she attends church at least every other Sunday.

Iris' current boyfriend is Marc Goldstein who is a finance executive. She had previously been in a 7-year relationship with her training and business partner Hidetada Yamagishi, along with previously dating bodybuilder John J. Sherman. Despite having described her political views as liberal, she voted for fellow bodybuilding icon Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, during his bid for Governor of California. She is fluent in German and Spanish.