Ernestine “Ernie” Shepherd, a 77-year-old world-famous bodybuilder, will visit The University of Toledo to share her inspiring story Friday, Dec. 13.

She will speak at 2 p.m. in the Student Recreation Center Oak Room. A meet-and-greet will follow the free, public talk.

“Ernestine Shepherd, ‘Ernie,’ is a personal trainer, a professional model, a competitive bodybuilder, and happier and more fulfilled than she’s ever been in her life,” Chauncey Whitehead, health and fitness expert who works with her, said. “At 77, she enjoys walking and has run numerous marathons.

“She is always willing to help others achieve a healthier lifestyle,” he said. “Her mantra is ‘determined, dedicated to be fit.’”

The 5-foot-5-inch woman who weighs 130 is a fan of Sylvester Stallone’s “Rocky” movies.

“[Stallone] is my man, and I would love to meet him one day,” she said on her website, ernestineshepherd.net.

Winner of the “World’s Oldest Competitive Female Bodybuilder” from the Guinness Book of World Records in 2010 and 2011, Shepherd has been featured on “Good Morning America,” “Anderson Cooper 360,” “Inside Edition,” “The Mo’Nique Show” and “Ripley’s Believe it or Not!”

Shepherd’s appearance is sponsored by the Catharine S. Eberly Center for Women and the Student Recreation Center.

For more information on the event, contact Jeffery Witt, program manager with the Eberly Center for Women, at jeffery.witt@utoledo.edu or 419.530.8573. Click here to download a photo of Shepherd.