Gladys Portugues is a famous 80s American bodybuilder, author of several books on bodybuilding and actress. She is also twice the wife of martial arts master, actor and director Jean-Claude Camille François Van Warenberg, better known to the public under the stage name Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Biography
Gladys was born in New York Manhattan on the last day of September 1957. At school, she was a little fond of sports, but she did not stand out in any achievements, and after receiving secondary education she went to study at Marymount College in New York.
And then one day, in her student years, Gladys Portuguez saw on TV the cult star of that time, Rachel McLeish, who dreamed of ballet since childhood, but became a bodybuilder and won the title of "Miss Olympia - 1982". From that moment on, everything was decided for Gladys once and for all, she chose destiny for herself and took up strength training.
Career
After graduating from college, Portugues seriously pursued her career in bodybuilding, she became a professional fitness model and began participating in various competitions, twice being in the top ten participants in Miss Olympia.
In 1985, Portuguese played herself in the documentary Pumping Iron 2: Women. And in 1986, Gladys first appeared in a feature film, playing a bodybuilder in The Next Morning. During these years, the actress and athlete was famous, one of the outstanding figures in fitness, performed under the pseudonym "Tigress" and constantly appearing on the covers of sports and glossy magazines.
In 1986, Gladys published her autobiography Hard Bodies, where she described her journey from an ordinary American girl to a bodybuilding icon. The second and final work in cinema was the role of Shladys in the 1987 horror film It's Alive III: Island of the Alive. But she still takes part in TV projects and shows on American television, including with the participation of her legendary husband.
Family and Children
In 1987, Gladys married Van Damme and on May 20 of the same year gave birth to his first child, a son named Chris. Three years later, in the fall of 1990, Bianca Bridget was born, who today is a famous actress and athlete, according to many fans, who has plugged her famous father into the belt with her creativity.
And in 1992, the couple divorced for the first time because of the scandalous personal life of Jean-Claude, who did not miss a single skirt. The fans of this beautiful sports couple certainly did not approve of the divorce, but the public quickly came to terms with the loss of one of the most spectacular images in show business - the pumped-up spouses Portuguese and Van Damme. But after a short time, the couple was able to surprise fans by getting married again in 1999.
In 2010, Claude began a whirlwind romance with the Ukrainian model Alena Kaverina, to whom he left Gladys. But in 2015, two months after the start of the divorce proceedings, the famous actor suddenly announced that he was returning to the bosom of the family, because he realized that he and Gladys still love each other.
