OLYMPIC MEDALLIST, ACTOR AND MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER CATHY RIGBY TO SPEAK AT HOLLINS UNIVERSITY
ROANOKE, Va. (February 27, 2001)--Cathy Rigby, a 1968 Olympic gold medal gymnast, recovered anorexic and Broadway actor, will be speaking at Hollins University March 8. The general public is invited to attend this free event.
Rigby is most famous for her career as a gymnast in which she earned 12 international medals, including eight gold medals. At the age of 15, she earned the highest scores at the 1968 Olympic games in Mexico City. Rigby's popularity and the public's interest in the sport have brought some consequences. As Rigby's body matured during her athletic career, fans and commentators voiced their disappointment, and her coach told her to lose weight. In an effort to please, Rigby turned to binging and purging and became anorexic and bulimic. She was hospitalized twice and nearly died.
During this time, Rigby retired from gymnastics, married, began a family and became a commentator for ABC Sports. As Rigby's health still challenged her, she ended her relationship with her husband, left ABC to seek medical attention and then began a new career as an actress and singer. Years later, Rigby would be recognized during ABC's Wide World of Sports 25th anniversary celebration as one of "America's Most Influential Women in Sports."
Rigby's life-changing move into acting was welcomed with critical acclaim and in her debut role as Dorothy in Broadway's The Wizard of Oz was a said to be a "genuine theatrical talent" by Variety. Rigby has since appeared in many television programs, and starred in such plays as Meet Me In Saint Louis, South Pacific and Peter Pan. While on a US tour, Rigby recently received rave reviews as Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun. She has also headlined in Las Vegas, winning the George M. Cohan Award for Best Specialty Act. In 1994, Rigby and her husband became the executive producers of McCoy/Rigby Series at the La Mirada Theater for the Performing Arts in La Mirada, CA, where they produced many first class theatre productions.
Today as a highly motivating speaker, Rigby also serves as a national spokesperson for American Harvest and FasTrak Fitness and as a charity worker. Popular among college crowds and corporate audiences, she discusses the importance of conscientious nutrition and "balancing wellness." She and her story of many achievements have toured the United States talking about the issues surrounding eating disorders among teens.
Rigby will speak at 7:00 p.m., March 8, in Talmadge Recital Hall. Her presentation is the second in a series of lectures sponsored by the General Speakers Fund and co-sponsored by Hollins' Women's Center. The series will conclude April 17 with a lecture by Judy Shepard, mother of hate-crime victim Matthew Shepard and human rights activist.
Hollins is a distinguished national liberal arts university, founded in 1842 as Virginia's first chartered women's college. Coed graduate programs were established in 1958. Hollins emphasizes a broad liberal arts curriculum that offers strong career preparation, superior teaching, and extensive study abroad and internship opportunities. Hollins University has long been recognized for the hundreds of well-known writers it has produced -- among them Annie Dillard, Lee Smith, Margaret Wise Brown, Madison Smartt Bell, Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey, Jill McCorkle, and Henry Taylor. Hollins is included in Barron's Best Buys in College Education and is on U.S. News and World Report's "Great Colleges at a Great Prices" list.
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Contact:Rachel Brittin, publicity coordinator - 540.362.6451[email protected]
Jean Holzinger, director of public relations -- 540.362-7471[email protected]
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