Top 11 Fitness Celebrities of the 80s

The 1980s was a hilarious time in fitness — we didn’t have sleek, edited IG videos. Instead, the 80s was stuck with VHS tapes, fitness television shows, and other corny blasts from the past. Still, they shaped the fitness industry into what it is today, and many of them still carry influence in 2021. After all, for the real ones, fitness is a lifestyle, not a fad. Here are our favorite fitness celebs from the flashiest era ever.

1. Jane Fonda

The star of Grace and Frankie was the ultimate “it” girl back in the 1980s. In 1982, she released Jane Fonda’s Workout, an exercise video that went absolutely viral. After selling millions of copies, she followed up with over 20 more workout videos, making her series one of the highest-selling successes of all time. Along with her activist work, this makes Jane one of our top models.

2. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Nobody can deny it — The Terminator is and has always been the face of fitness in the 80s. Starting since the 1970s, this hulking bodybuilder’s accomplishments are too long to list. His workout video, Shape Up With Arnold, skyrocketed him to commercial success, and his book Arnold’s Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding is still a reference for bodybuilding today.

3. Heather Locklear

Heather, like some of the other gals on this list, started as an actress, but after she was approached about fitness videos, she produced her own and had filmed Personal Training Sessions, which featured her in trend-setting leotards.

4. Suzanne Somers

Just like Fonda, Suzanne discovered the world of fitness only after she started acting. Her claim to fame isn’t a video series, but a product. Somers coined the first ThighMaster, a product that she still endorses and that still experiences success in modern times. Along with this accessory, she wrote many books on anti-aging, health, and hormone replacement after cancer.