# Corinna Everson

Corinna "Cory" Everson (née Kneuer; born January 4, 1958) is an American female bodybuilding champion and actress. Everson 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. She attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she was a multi-sport standout (gymnastics, track & field and badminton).

## Early career

While attending the University of Wisconsin–Madison, she 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.

## Bodybuilding career

Everson began to train seriously as a bodybuilder after her graduation, and made rapid progress. In the early years, she and her husband trained at Ernie's Gym on Sherman Avenue in Madison. She won the Ms. Olympia bodybuilding contest at her first participation and remained undefeated from 1984 to 1989 when she retired from competition.

### Contest history

* 1980 Ms. Mid America - 1st (tall and overall)
* 1980 American Couples - 3rd (with Jeff Everson)
* 1981 Ms. Midwest Open - 1st (tall & overall)
* 1981 Ms. Central USA - 1st (HW and overall)
* 1981 Couples America - 1st (with Jeff Everson)
* 1981 American Championships - 11th (MW)
* 1982 Ms. East Coast - 1st (MW)
* 1982 Bodybuilding Expo III - 2nd (MW)
* 1982 Bodybuilding Expo Couples - 2nd (with Jeff Everson)
* 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 (with Jeff Everson)
* 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

## 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, and in 2008 was inducted into the National Fitness Hall of Fame. In 2012, she was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.

## Film and television career

After retiring from competition, Everson turned to acting with her first major movie appearance being Double Impact (1991) alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme. She took a minor role in Natural Born Killers (1994). Then in Ballistic (1995), she reprised the evil musclewoman role, losing the final fight to Marjean Holden playing an undercover cop. Everson has made a number of guest appearances in television series, most notably playing Atalanta on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. She appeared in two episodes of The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. with her sister, Cameo Kneuer. In 1991, Everson appeared on To Tell The Truth game show. 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.

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1986 | The Morning After | Miss Olympia | |
| 1989 | The Girl from Outer Space | Lab Guard #1 | |
| 1991 | Double Impact | Kara | |
| 1994 | Natural Born Killers | TV Mallory Knox | |
| 1995 | Ballistic | Claudia | |
| 1996 | Felony | Sondra | |
| 1997 | Sacred Trust | Grace Larson | |
| 1999 | My Favorite Martian | SETI Guard | Uncredited |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1993 | The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. | Katrina Schwenke | Episodes: "No Man's Land" and "Steel Horses" |
| 1994 | Renegade | Aurora | Episode: "Muscle Beach" |
| 1994 | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Amazon Woman #1 | Episode: "Wall of Sound" |
| 1995-1998 | Hercules: The Legendary Journeys | Atalanta | Episodes: "Ares", "Let the Games Begin", "If I Had a Hammer" |
| 1996 | Goode Behavior | Unknown | Episode: "Goode Sport" |
| 1996 | Tarzan: The Epic Adventures | Mara | Episodes: "Tarzan's Return: Part 1" and "Part 2" |
| 1996 | Strange Luck | Physik Receptionist | Episode: "Wrong Number" |
| 1997 | Home Improvement | Herself | Episode: "Pump You Up" |
| 2005 | Charmed | Hulk Paige | Episode: "Hulkus Pocus" |

## Personal life

She married Jeff Everson in 1982. They divorced in 1996; however, she continues to use Everson as her stage name. In 1998, she married Dr. Steve Donia, a dentist; they have two children whom they adopted from Russia. She became 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.
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