Lisa Lyon

Photo - Lisa Lyon, 1981 ? Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Used by permission.

Author, performance artist, photographer's muse, and first World Women's Bodybuilding Champion Lisa Lyon died peacefully at her home in Westlake Village, Calif., surrounded by family, her closest friend Jay Schwartz, and her beloved stuffed animals, after a battle with cancer. She was 70.

The youngest child of Roslyn Robin Lyon and Leonard Lyon, Lisa spent her early years in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, where she studied various forms of dance, including ballet, jazz and flamenco. While pursuing art and film criticism at UCLA, she joined the all-male kendo martial arts team. "For the first time, I was not being treated as a woman and I was not being treated as weak," she recalled.

Her work with the kendo team convinced her that she needed to gain strength, as did meeting Arnold Schwarzenegger, who impressed her with his devotion to fitness. She joined Gold's Gym, often dubbed the "mecca of bodybuilding," where Mr. Olympia Franco Columbu and other top bodybuilders helped supervise her training. Schwarzenegger was astonished at her progress, offered guidance, and took a series of publicity photos with her. (In the most famous of these shots, Arnold sits atop Lisa's shoulders, dwarfing his 5-foot-4-inch, 120-pound friend.)

In 1979, Lisa won the first Women's World Pro Bodybuilding Championship presented by the International Federation of Bodybuilding & Fitness. Although she declined to defend her title the next year-and, indeed, chose not to compete again-she performed at bodybuilding events across the United States and Europe. An advocate for women's health and empowerment, she appeared in countless publications and on numerous talk shows. She co-authored "Lisa Lyon's Body Magic" (Bantam, 1981), a strength-training manual for women, and in 2000 was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame.

In 1980, Lisa became friends with controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. They collaborated on what became nearly 200 images featuring Lisa in images both exotic and erotic. The first of these were seen in ArtForum and led to the publication of a book, "Lady: Lisa Lyon" (Viking, 1983). She also posed for celebrated lensmen Helmet Newton, Marcus Leatherdale, Joel-Peter Witkin, Paul Harris, and Antonio Lopez. In addition, she was the physical inspiration for writer-artist Frank Miller's conception of the Marvel Comics character Elektra. Lisa also had a short film career, appearing in "Three Crowns of the Sailor," the bodybuilding-themed "Getting Physical," "Vamp" with Grace Jones, and the prize-winning video "Lisa Lyon: A Portrait of Power."

"To me, power has nothing to do with domination, being stronger than anyone else, or having a better body than anyone else," she declared. "I feel the best use of power is to transcend your own limitations and become the best person you can be-on every level."

Lisa's family is forever grateful to her best friend and brother-by-heart, Jay Schwartz, for the unconditional love and devotion he has shown Lisa and her husband Alan Deglin, who predeceased her in 2020. Lisa is survived by her cousins Stephen (Constance) Robin, Bonnie (Vytas) Robin-Vergeer, Rochelle Robin, Jennifer (Randy) Wooster, Jaclyn (Aaron) Schatzow, Darryl Kulwin, Hillary Durstein, Sherri (Arnold) Nelson, Michele Ceazan-Fleischi, and Anthony (Annie) Ceazan. Her caregivers were Cristine Foxen, Mila Arenas, Carmencita Guiang, and Marife Kaszas.

Donations may be made to the Lisa Lyon Fund at StandUpToCancer.org/LisaLyon, which benefits cancer research and treatment.