On 1 June 2019, at the Toronto Pro Supershow, a Women’s Physique competitor from Michigan finished eleventh.
Her name was Andrea Shaw. It was her first show as a professional. She had earned her pro card in Physique the year before, finishing second at the 2018 NPC Nationals. She did not go back. Five weeks later she stood on a bodybuilding stage for the first time, at the Wings of Strength Chicago Pro, and placed second.
On 25 September 2026, in Las Vegas, she won her seventh Ms. Olympia.
Fifteen shows, one loss
Her first professional win came at the Omaha Pro on 18 July 2020. Here is everything she has entered since, straight from her record in the NPC archive:
| Year | Rising Phoenix | Ms. Olympia |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1st | 1st |
| 2021 | 1st | 1st |
| 2022 | 1st | 1st |
| 2023 | 1st | 1st |
| 2024 | 2nd | 1st |
| 2025 | 1st | 1st |
| 2026 | 1st | 1st |
Add Omaha, and that is fifteen shows with fourteen wins. One woman has beaten her since July 2020: Angela Yeo, at the 2024 Rising Phoenix. Seven weeks later, at the 2024 Ms. Olympia, Shaw won again.
She has also never lost a Ms. Olympia. She has entered seven and won seven.
Why she left Physique
She has explained the move more than once. The clearest version is the one Fitness Volt quotes:
“My legs, in particular, were just too big. I tried over time to make them smaller, but nothing worked. Getting into bodybuilding [division] allowed me to create a better balance by further developing my upper body rather than reducing my legs.”
She stopped trying to shrink herself to fit a division, and built instead. The record above is what came of it.
She has also spoken about the division she moved into, and why it matters beyond her. She told Generation Iron in 2022:
“Because without Women’s Bodybuilding there are no other female divisions. None.”
Thirteen, in a Detroit gym
The number that matters now is eight.
When Andrea Shaw was thirteen, her mother trained at a Powerhouse Gym in the Detroit area. So did Lenda Murray, who would win eight Ms. Olympia titles. According to her Wikipedia biography, which cites the Detroit Free Press, that was the first time Shaw saw her. At the time, she never thought she would be good enough to compete.
Lenda Murray has eight Ms. Olympia titles. Andrea Shaw now has seven, one ahead of Cory Everson. Only Murray and Iris Kyle, with ten, have more.
Kyle has already told her what to do about that. On the Olympia stage in 2025, after her sixth, Shaw told the crowd:
“Iris gave me orders. She said ‘You break the record’ and I said ‘Yes, ma’am.’ We’ll take it one prep at a time, one boot camp at a time. Right now, I’m going to enjoy six.”
Now she can enjoy seven. The next one would tie the woman she watched train when she was thirteen.
Where it started
Before Physique there was a detour. According to her Wikipedia biography, she entered two Figure shows in 2008, placing third and fourth, then stepped away from competing for eight years. She studied exercise science at Wayne State University in between.
So the woman who has not lost a Ms. Olympia started in Figure, walked away for eight years, came back in Physique, placed eleventh at her first pro show, and moved divisions within five weeks. Every step of it is on the record, and every step of it is on her page.
Sources
- Professional record: NPC News Online contest archive, Andrea Shaw
- 2026 Ms. Olympia: Generation Iron, Fitness Volt
- On leaving Physique: Fitness Volt profile
- “Iris gave me orders”: Fitness Volt, October 2025
- On women’s bodybuilding: Generation Iron, 5 Jan 2022
- Early life and Lenda Murray: Wikipedia, citing the Detroit Free Press (15 Feb 2021)
