Education
Combes attended Saint St. Petersburg College Preparatory School, and then went to the University of South Florida in Tampa.
Combes attended Saint St. Petersburg College Preparatory School, and then went to the University of South Florida in Tampa.
Born on October 19, 1953, in New York, New York, Combes moved to Tampa, Florida in 1966 at age 13. As a teenager she played many sports, including fencing, sailing, archery, canoeing, horseback riding, water skiing, and tennis. In the late 1970s, she began lifting weights to rehab injuries to both knees suffered while playing rugby.
Soon, she became involved in the fledgling sport of women's bodybuilding.
Combes made a dramatic national television appearance that year on the National Broadcasting Company series Real People. After the airing of a taped segment about female bodybuilding in which she had been featured, Combes carried host Skip Stephenson onto stage in front of the studio audience.
Combes competed in three professional shows, retiring after a sixth-place finish at the 1982 Mississippi Olympia. Combes authored Winning Women"s Bodybuilding () in 1983.
Laura was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 2002.
Laura Combes was found dead in her apartment in Odessa, Florida on October 4, 1989, from acute alcohol poisoning. 1979 Mississippi Brandon Physique – 4th 1979 Mississippi Florida – 5th 1979 Mississippi
Suncoast Body Beautiful – 2nd 1979 IFBB Best In The World – 6th 1979 Mississippi
Tampa Physique – 1st 1979 Mississippi West Florida – 1st 1979 Mississippi
Northwest Florida – 1st America – 1st 1980 Non-Player Character United States of America Championship – 7th 1980 Non-Player Character Nationals – 1st (Overall) 1981 Pro World Championship – 6th 1981 IFBB Mississippi Olympia – 4th 1982 IFBB Mississippi
Olympia – 6th.