Gladys Portugues (also known as “Tigress”) was born on September 30, 1957 in Manhattan, New York. She is a former American bodybuilder who was quite successful. Twice she was in the top 10 of the most important bodybuilding competitions in the world – Ms. Olympia. She is also a fitness model and author. She was also an actress and appeared in several film productions in the late 1980s.
However, she is best known for being the wife of the legend of martial arts cinema – Jean-Claude Van Damme. The couple have two children: Kris Van Damme (born 1987) and Bianka Van Damme (born 1990). The relationship with the star of “Bloody Sport” (1988) and “Kickboxer” (1989) is not easy.
The couple’s relationship hung by a thread several times, fortunately they survived, although it was not easy. In 2011, they decided to let cameras into their lives. They starred together in the documentary series “Jean-Claude Van Damme: Behind The Closed Doors”.
Gladys Portugues, one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time.
She attended a private college on the Upper East Side – Marymount Manhattan College. It was a prestigious school which at the time became known for hosting young wealthy women. One of her most popular students was Patricia Nixon Cox, the older daughter of the President of the United States – Richard Nixon.
Schools were attended by the children of politicians and famous personalities, future actors, actresses and people from show business.
In 1980, she saw the first historic competition of Ms. Olympia, held at the Sheraton Hotel in Philadelphia. The tournament was won by Rachel McLish, who inspired Gladys Portugues to train hard. It was then that she decided to go into bodybuilding. Success came quickly, she performed twice on Ms. Olympia. She was offered a job in modeling, and in 1985 she starred in the sequel to the legendary movie Bodybuilders (1977), its female counterpart, Pumping Iron: The Women. She has appeared on numerous
magazine covers and is considered one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time.
Career and relationship with Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Gladys was more and more successful and more and more recognized in the world of bodybuilding. In 1986 she published the book “Hard Bodies” which she wrote with the author of many training books Joyce L. Vedral. At the same time, she began her acting adventure in a small role in Sidney Lumet’s “The Next Day” (1986) with an all-star cast: Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges and Raul Julia Her career did not last long as during the same period she met aspiring actor Jean-Claude Van Damme and became pregnant.
Van Damme divorced a year after marrying his second spouse Cynthia Derderian, and a year later, in 1987, he stood on a wedding carpet from Portugues. Moments later, his career took off and he achieved worldwide success with the film “Bloody Sport” (1988). As it quickly turned out, living with a movie star is not easy. In 1992, they divorced due to the actor’s affair with Darcy LaPier.
Second wedding with Belgian and divorce papers.
Jean-Claude Van Damme took his fourth wedding, this time with the aforementioned Darcy LaPier in 1994, and a year later Nicholas Van Damme was born. Unfortunately, this actor’s
relationship was also not successful. Admittedly, the couple survived Van Damme’s romance with singer Kylie Mingoue from the very beginning, but it did not last long. They divorced in 1997, after which the actor began dating again with the mother of his first son and daughter. The couple decided to get married again in 1999. They’ve been together ever since, but it seems the relationship can be turbulent after all. In 2015, Portugues re-filed for divorce. Fortunately, she withdrew them, and Van Damme confirmed that they made up their minds and their family is as strong as ever.
