Joanna Thomas

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Joanna Thomas is a professional female bodybuilder, now living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Joanna was born on December 12, 1976 in Truro, Cornwall, England. She became interested in bodybuilding at age 14 when she saw a bodybuilding magazine that belonged to a college student who was staying with her family. She began serious bodybuilding training at 17, with the goal of winning the British championship. In 1997, at age 20, she finished third in the championship finals. In that contest, her sister Nicola became the first lightweight to win the overall title and pro card (Nicola retired without competing as a professional). Joanna won the British championship in 1998, becoming the youngest women ever to win a pro card in England.

At that point, Joanna felt that her physique needed substantial improvement before she could compete successfully as a professional, so she did not compete again until 2001. She entered the 2001 Jan Tana Classic and won the lightweight class; this qualified her for the Ms. Olympia.

In 2005, Joanna was featured in a one-hour documentary on The Learning Channel called Supersize She. The show followed her training leading up to the 2004 Ms. Olympia contest.

In the documentary there was some discussion of her use of anabolic steroids. While she did not disclaim her usage, she emphasized her years of hard work. Her parents, in an emotional moment, suggested that any steroid use on the part of their daughter was "necessary" in order to be competetive.

Thomas supplements her income by doing glamour and nude modelling on the Internet, where she bills herself as "The Buff Barbie".