Mary Elizabeth Lado

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Mary Elizabeth Lado born September 16, 1978 in New Orleans, Louisiana is a profesional figure competitor. Lado was raised amid Spanish culture; her mother, Marianela, was born in Cuba and her father, Jose, in Spain. At 27, Mary is the oldest of three, and, along with her two brothers, Jose and Carlos. She still lives at her home state of Louisiana in a close-knit family. At an early age her parents encouraged her daughter to get involved in sports. In high school, Lado was on the volleyball, basketball, softball and track teams. This helped her in her education; she received a full scholarship to Chipola Junior College in Marianna, Florida as a pitcher, and then to Georgia Southwestern State University to play.

After graduation Lado toyed with weights to stay active, when she was encouraged by relatives to compete. In 2003, after six months of hard training, she entered her first NPC figure contest--the New Orleans Figure Championships--and won her height class. In 2004, she came in second in the NPC Junior Nationals in her height class and won the figure overall title at the Nationals, catapulting her into the pros. In 2005, Lado entered five pro figure contests, winning the Pittsburgh Pro Figure Championships and the California Pro Figure Championships. Her crowning achievement to date came at this year's Arnold Fitness Weekend--she became the only athlete besides Jenny Lynn to hold the Figure International title.