Betty Pariso

Betty Pariso
— Bodybuilder —

Betty Pariso posing at the 2001 Extravaganza Strength Contest
Personal info
Nickname The Kid
Born (1956-01-01) January 1, 1956[1]
Cynthiana, Kentucky, U.S.
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[2]
Weight In Season: 155–169.5 lb (70.3–76.9 kg)
Off-Season: 213–226 lb (97–103 kg)[2][3]
Professional career
Pro-debut IFBB Jan Tana Classic[4], 1996[4]
Best win IFBB Jan Tana Classic heavyweight and overall[4], 2001[4]
Predecessor Gayle Moher[4]
Successor Nancy Lewis[4]
Active Retired 2010[5]

Betty Carmichael Pariso (née Slade) is an American professional female bodybuilder. She was the world's oldest active female bodybuilder while competing.[6]

Biography

Betty Pariso (born Betty Slade) was born in 1956 in Cynthiana, Kentucky to Harold Coleman Slade and Dorothy Florence Slade. She has two sisters, Kay and Ann, and a brother, Terry. She grew up on a farm, enjoying a healthy and athletic lifestyle that included lots of volleyball and track. Her athletic prowess in the field even attracted the attention of university scouts. Ping-pong was also a fixture of her childhood. She grew up without television, but often visited her grandmother to enjoy her programs as a child. She became a part-time model and a minister's wife in her earlier years.

Bodybuilding career

Amateur

Betty started weight training in her early 30s to stay fit and add weight to what she thought was too much of a "stick figure" type of body. In 1988, she began competing in bodybuilding and was able to achieve pro card status at the 1996 NPC Nationals. This was a very high achievement for Pariso as by doing this she had become the oldest (at the age of 40) women to earn an IFBB Pro card.[7][4][5]

Professional

As a professional competitor, Betty's main goal was to win a pro show as the only competitor over the age of fifty. She became one of the most successful competitors in professional female bodybuilding by reaching the top six in almost every competition she has entered. In 2001, she won the heavyweight class at the Jan Tana Classic, which made this the first pro win of her career. There was no overall champion in that contest. She had to withdraw from the 2009 Ms. International due to a high fever. Later she went on to win her second pro title, the 2009 Tampa Bay Pro.[4]

Retirement

After the 2010 Phoenix Pro contest, Betty retired from bodybuilding at the age of 54.[5]

Legacy

In October 1996, Betty won the NPC Nationals and became the first woman in history at age 40 to earn her IFBB professional status. In 2006, she won the 2006 female athlete of the year at the Flex Awards for her outstanding achievement in the industry. In 2009, she achieved her goal of became the first female bodybuilder above the age of 50 years to win an IFBB professional competition, by winning the 2009 Tampa Bay Pro. She is currently IFBB's Athlete Representative in women's bodybuilding, where she has used her position to suggested a weight class system for the professional bodybuilders and a new division contest for women bodybuilders and fitness/figure competitors.[4][7][8][9]

In 2010, Betty received LifeTime Achievement Award at Europa Dallas. The rock band Pariso, formed in 2009, is named after Betty Pariso. She was the worlds oldest active female bodybuilder while competing.[6][10]

Contest history

Personal life

Betty currently lives in North Richland Hills, Texas. She has been remarried to Ed Pariso since the early 1990s. She has a daughter named Lacy Carmichael, and a son named Justin Carmichael, from her first marriage. She also has two grandchildren, James and Logan Carmichael.[7][11]

References

Jones, Dick. NPC Junior Nationals. Nebraska: Muscle Mag International (no. 151). January 1995. USPS 4601. (Lincoln, NE: Canusa Products/Foote & Davies, 1995.). Contest News Section: pages 222-224 cover NPC Junior Nationals.

External links

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