If you haven’t heard of professional personal trainer and television personality Jillian Michaels you must be living under a rock! When she was in grade school she was 5′ 2″ and weighed around 175 lbs., suffering from verbal abuse by other children in her grade eight class. She experienced a traumatic childhood, including her parents divorces shortly before grade eight. She was born Jillian Leigh McKarus on February 18, 1974 in Los Angeles, California.
She attended California State University, Northridge, and became a bartender and waitress to support her schooling. Since 1993 she has obtained personal training certificates from National Exercise & Sports Trainers Association & The Aerobics and Fitness Association of America and is Kettlebell Concepts certified. Micahels also has a nutrition and wellness consultant certificate with the American Fitness Professionals and Associates. Her technique is a no nonsense approach to nutrition and fitness using a mix of weight training, plyometrics, kickboxing, yoga and Pilates.
Most of you may have first been introduced to Jillian Michaels on NBC’s original reality series The Biggest Loser. Her first episode aired back in October 2004 and has helped many people stop making excuses and getting results with their fitness goals! She left the show in 2006 and worked on the The Biggest Loser (Australian TV series) for the 2006-2007 season. She later returned to the US version of the show from 2007 – 2011, and later made her final appearance from 2013-2014.
She debuted a show in January 2012 on NBC called Losing It With Jillian that helped families get on track over a one week period by visiting their homes and workplaces. The show lasted eight episodes.
Jillian Michaels talks about her sexuality, “Let’s just say I believe in healthy love. If I fall in love with a woman, that’s awesome. If I fall in love with a man, that’s awesome. As long as you fall in love…it’s like organic food. I only eat healthy food, and I only want healthy love!”
Jillian Michales and her partner Heidi Rhoades adopted their then-two-year-old daughter from Haiti, and Rhoades gave birth to their son in the same month, May 2012.
Check out one of her workout moves here:
