Quick Facts
Biography
Corinna "Cory" Everson (née Kneuer) (born January 4, 1958) is an American female bodybuilding champion and actress. Cory won the Ms. Olympia contest six years in a row from 1984 to 1989.
Education
Corinna Kneuer was born in Racine, Wisconsin and attended high school in Deerfield, Illinois. Cory attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she was a multi-sport standout (gymnastics, track & field and badminton).
Personal life
While attending the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Cory met Jeff Everson, a competitive bodybuilder who worked there as a strength coach. They married in 1982. While they were married, the Eversons built a successful mail-order clothing business called Sampson and Delilah.
Everson, who adopted a Russian child, is active with Nightlight Christian Adoptions, an adoption agency that brings orphans from Russia and Belarus to the US to stay with families looking to adopt a child.
Bodybuilding career
Corinna Everson began to train seriously as a bodybuilder after her graduation, and made rapid progress. In the early years, she and Jeff trained at Ernie's Gym on Sherman Avenue in Madison.
Contest history
- 1980 Ms. Mid America - 1st (Tall and Overall)
- 1980 American Couples - 3rd
- 1981 Ms. Midwest Open - 1st (Tall & Overall)
- 1981 Ms. Central USA - 1st (HW and Overall)
- 1981 Couples America - 1st
- 1981 American Championships - 11th (MW)
- 1982 Ms. East Coast - 1st (MW)
- 1982 Bodybuilding Expo III - 2nd (MW)
- 1982 Bodybuilding Expo Couples - 2nd
- 1982 AFWB American Championships - 5th (HW)
- 1982 IFBB North American - 1st (MW and Overall)
- 1982 IFBB North American Mixed Pairs - 1st
- 1983 Bodybuilding Expo IV - 1st (MW and Overall)
- 1983 Bodybuilding Expo Mixed Pairs - 1st
- 1983 U.S. Bodybuilding Championships Couples - 1st
- 1983 AFWB American Championships - 8th (HW)
- 1983 NPC Nationals - 2nd (HW)
- 1984 American Women's Championships - 1st (HW and Overall)
- 1984 NPC Nationals - 1st (HW and Overall)
- 1984 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st
- 1985 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st
- 1986 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st
- 1987 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st
- 1988 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st
- 1989 IFBB Ms. Olympia - 1st
Everson is unique in having never lost a Ms. Olympia contest.
Awards and honors
In January 1999, Everson was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame, as part of the inaugural group. She was inducted into the Muscle Beach Venice Body Building Hall of Fame on September 5, 2005.
At the 2007 Arnold Classic she became the first woman to be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2008, Everson was inducted into the National Fitness Hall of Fame.
Film and television career
After retiring from competition, Everson began acting. Her first major movie appearance was in Double Impact (1991) alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme. In it she plays Kara, a bone-crushing assassin working for the main villain whose attempts at lesbian seduction are rebuffed by Alonna Shaw and which ultimately leads to her downfall. This film involves a number of brutal fight scenes. Later in the movie her character is killed by the hero towards the end of the film. She took a minor role in Natural Born Killers (1994). Then in Ballistic (1995), (known in some countries as Fist of Justice) she reprised the evil musclewoman role with bravado. However, she lost the final epic fight to Marjean Holden playing an undercover cop.
Everson has made a number of TV guest appearances, most notably playing Atalanta on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. In 1991 Everson appeared on To Tell The Truth Game Show. She appeared in two episodes of The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. with her sister, Cameo Kneuer.
Everson was the original host of the fitness show BodyShaping, which she also produced. She also hosted her own exercise show on ESPN, Cory Everson's Gotta Sweat, for seven years.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 1996 | Felony | Sondra | |
| 1995 | Ballistic | Claudia | |
| 1994 | Natural Born Killers | TV Mallory | |
| 1991 | Double Impact | Kara | |
| 1986 | The Morning After | Miss Olympia |
Television work
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Charmed | Hulk Paige | Episode: "Hulkus Pocus" |
| 1998 | Hercules: The Legendary Journeys | Atalanta | Episode: "If I Had a Hammer" |
| 1997 | Home Improvement | Herself | Episode: "Pump You Up" |
| 1996 | Hercules: The Legendary Journeys | Atalanta | Episode: "Let the Games Begin" |
| Goode Behavior | Episode: "Goode Sport" | ||
| Tarzan: The Epic Adventures | Mara | Episodes: "Tarzan's Return: Part 1" and "Part 2" | |
| Strange Luck | Physik Receptionist | Episode: "Wrong Number" | |
| 1995 | Hercules: The Legendary Journeys | Atalanta | Episode: "Ares" |
| 1994 | Renegade | Aurora | Episode: "Muscle Beach" |
| Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Amazon Woman #1 | Episode: "Wall of Sound" | |
| 1993 | The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. | Katrina Schwenke | Episodes: "No Man's Land" and "Steel Horses" |
Family
Cory and Jeff Everson divorced in 1996; however, she kept 'Everson' as her stage name. She married Dr. Steve Donia, a cosmetic dentist, in 1998; they have two children that they adopted from Russia. Everson's sister, Cameo Kneuer, is a two-time Ms. National Fitness champion and a mainstay of the TV game series Knights and Warriors.
Books authored
- Strength Training for Beauty Volume 3 - Number 1Runner's World Magazine Company (1986)
- Superflex: Ms. Olympia's Guide to Building a Strong & Sexy Body Contemporary Books (1987) ISBN 0-8092-4865-4 with Jeff Everson
- Back in Shape Houghton Mifflin Company (1991) ISBN 0-395-56272-4 with Stephen Hochschuler
- Cory Everson's Workout Perigee Trade (1991) ISBN 0-399-51684-0 with Jeff Everson
- Cory Everson's Fat-Free & Fit Perigee Trade (1994) ISBN 0-399-51858-4 with Carole Jacobs
- Cory Everson's Lifebalance Perigee Trade (1998) ISBN 0-399-52444-4