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Charmion, The Victorian Era Lady Bodybuilder Pioneer With The Strip Tease Trapeze Act
A young woman named Laverie Vallee became one of the most famous performers in the world more than a century ago due to her skill and body positivity
The Victorian Era was known for its emphasis on the purity of women and the importance they were supposed to place on the sanctity of domestic life and motherhood. While many observed such societal norms it doesn’t mean that included everyone. One notable outlier was a young woman who performed under the name of Charmion. She was not only an early bodybuilder, but also performed a trapeze act that was audacious for the time because she removed her clothing. It was so compelling that famous inventor Thomas Edison filmed her performance well before moving pictures came into vogue.
Laverie Vallee was born in Sacramento, California in 1875. She gravitated to gymnastics at an early age and was already publicly performing at her hometown Oak Park Pavilion by 1894. A local journalist writing up her performance after seeing her display incredible muscle control on the rings helped her get her first big break, booking appearances in cities around California — often under the name of Lavevi Charmion.
