Probably the first woman to open my eyes (and the world's eyes) to the fact that a woman can be fit, muscled and still very hot was Rachel McLish.

Rachel McLish was born Raquel Livia Elizondo on June 21, 1955 in Harlingen, Texas.

She is a female bodybuilding champion (the first IFBB Ms. Olympia) , actress and author.

Rachel attended Pan American University and there she met her first husband, John McLish.

She burst onto the bodybuilding scene and won the 1980 US Bodybuilding Championship, placed second at the 1980 Frank Zane Invitational and won the 1980 IFBB Ms. Olympia. This was followed up by a 2nd place finish at the 1981 IFBB Ms. Olympia, another 1st place victory at the 1982 Pro World Championship and another win at 1982 IFBB Ms. Olympia. In 1983 she came in 3rd at the Caesars World Cup and in 1984 she placed 2nd at the IFBB Ms. Olympia.

In 1985, Pumping Iron II: The Women, a short documentary about the competitive female bodybuilding scene during the early 1980's came out. It showed the controversy between Carla Dunlap, Bev Francis, and Rachel McLish as far as female body types in competition. Rachel did not come off in a very favorable light to a lot of people.

Despite that, Rachel continued to be in the public eye with roles in the movies Getting Physical (1984), Aces: Iron Eagle III (1992) and Raven Hawk (1996). B-movies to say the least. In 1983, she appeared in the video for Herb Alpert's song ''RED HOT''. You can see that video on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nuAIP08y9A

Rachel wrote two books Flex Appeal (1984) and Perfect Parts (1987) that made the New York Times bestseller list. In 1999, Rachel was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame along with two other female fitness and bodybuilding stars, Carla Dunlap and Cory Everson.

Rachel looks amazing today at almost 50 years old. Most of the pictures below were taken in 2007 and 2008. She is truly a testament to what a fitness lifestyle can do.