You can’t talk about fitness in the 80’s without mentioning John Travolta. If girls didn’t fall in love with his super short shorts in Perfect then they definitely fell for his perfectly greased hair and bad boy character in Grease.
He is fully deserving of a spot on this list.
Arnold Schwarzenegger – Then
One of the most important figures in the world of bodybuilding and widely considered to be one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time, the Austrian born star started to gain worldwide attention at the young age of 18 after winning one of his first major competitions, the junior Mr. Europe contest in 1965. He won it again the following year at age 19. He proceeded to win many contests including five Mr. Universe victories and seven Mr. Olympia wins.
Apart from his fitness career, he also wrote a monthly column for Muscle & Fitness and Flex, two bodybuilding magazines.
Arnold Schwarzenegger – Now
What started as fitness fame resulted in major worldwide recognition for acting and the star quickly become one of Hollywood’s best action film celebrities. He had his breakthrough role in 1982 in Conan the Barbarian and shortly after he appeared in the Terminator movie franchise. As if a fitness and acting career weren’t satisfying enough, he also decided to become a politician and announced his candidacy in 2003 in a special recall election for the governor of California. He ended up serving as governor until 2011.
Schwarzenegger still stars in films today and is expected to return to the big screen in the upcoming Terminator movie in July 2019. And as for his fitness reputation? It still lives on and the fitness guru is honored by the Arnold Sports Festival, one of the best professional bodybuilding competitions which was named after him.
John Travolta – Now
He still is just as charming and talented as he was in the 80s. Although his acting career saw a decline in the 80’s, after starring in Pulp Fiction, his career enjoyed a revival shortly thereafter. He continued to land other major roles in films like Get Shorty, Broken Arrow Swordfish, and Hairspray.
He has received numerous nominations for his performances and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for his role in Get Shorty.
Jamie Lee Curtis – Then
In 1985, Jamie Lee Curtis starred alongside John Travolta in the film, Perfect. The film was based on a number of articles which appeared in Rolling Stone magazine in the late 1970s, chronicling the popularity of LA health clubs among single people.
While response to the film was mostly negative, it did bring Curtis more recognition and had Quentin Tarantino claiming that it was a greatly under-appreciated film.