You already know Jane Fonda has a fitness empire, but there are a slew of other celebrity exercise videos lurking out there—some which might surprise you. Give one a shot; at the very least, you’ll be entertained while you work out.
Thanks to her roles as Mrs. Potts, Jessica Fletcher, and Auntie Mame, Angela Lansbury earned Tony Awards, Golden Globes, a Grammy, and an honorary Oscar during her lifetime. She also starred in a workout video, released in 1988: Angela Lansbury’s Positive Moves: A Personal Plan for Fitness and Well-Being at Any Age.
Want abs like Mark Wahlberg? Well, as he points out in the video, you might not ever have them. But you can give it a shot with his 1993 video Form… Focus… Fitness.
Estelle Getty, a.k.a. Sophia from The Golden Girls, made a workout video. What else do you need to know?
Want the confidence to wear Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time” outfit? You can start with her workout videos. The singer and actress released her first video, CherFitness: A New Attitude, in 1991. It was a big hit, so in 1992, she released another one: CherFitness: Body Confidence.
When Regis Philbin passed away in 2020, it came as a bit of a surprise. Though he was just a month shy of his 89th birthday, he still looked amazing. And he let fans know—and experience—how he kept that youthful exuberance with this1993 gem, which is notable for its guest appearances alone (Kathie Lee and Gelman)!
Capitalizing on her Who’s the Boss fame, then-teen sensation Alyssa Milano filmed a 1988 workout video called Teen Steam. “It was during the time when they started to pull all funding out of schools for [physical education], so there was a need for it,” the actress said in 2015. Milano also sang the theme song for the video.
Dixie Carter, who famously played Julia Sugarbaker on Designing Women, can help you limber up with her Unworkout. Even if you’re not into her brand of yoga (check out “The Lion”), you have to admit that any type of exercise is more charming when accompanied by a Southern accent.
Uncle Miltie may have been one of the funniest comedians in Hollywood, but losing mobility and flexibility as you age is no laughing matter. That’s why he released this 1994 video that combines humor (kind of) with a low-impact workout.
Following the success of her remix album Shut Up and Dance, Paula Abdul made her Get Up and Dance workout video in 1995—and it was popular enough to be re-released as a DVD in 2005.
The early ’90s were a goldmine for celebrity workout videos. Step Up Workout with LaToya Jackson was released in 1993—and the four people who have reviewed the VHS tape on Amazon give it positively glowing reviews.
You may never have Fabio’s luscious locks, but if you follow along with his 1993 video, you could get his rippling muscles. OK, probably not.
The 1990 video Heather Locklear Presents Your Personal Workout was filmed after she found fame on T.J. Hooker and Dynasty, but before her turn as Amanda Woodward on Melrose Place. “I had never taken aerobics before and I was doing an aerobics video,” Locklear told Conan O’Brien in 2013. “They have a little earpiece in your ear, and they’re like, ‘Alright two to the right, two to the left.’”
Among Richard Simmons’ impressive lineup of workout videos is a gem called Richard Simmons and the Silver Foxes, geared, obviously, at fitness for seniors. His guinea pigs? Celebrity parents. Among the illustrious moms and dads to be featured were Sylvester Stallone and Farrah Fawcett’s moms and Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino’s dads. Watch Richard and a few of his Silver Foxes promote the new video on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986 above.
She could turn the world on with her 1994 low-impact workout, Every Woman’s Workout.
When you’re Zsa Zsa Gabor, you didn’t actually have to work out. You could just hire “two muscley friends” in tank tops to move your body around in various exercise positions for you while you purred “Dahhhhling.”
You might expect a video by a boxing champion to involve boxing, but you would be wrong. George Foreman’s workout is geared more toward the everyman and invites you to just Walk It Off With George. He adds a little jab here and there, and does something dubbed “the Foreman Shuffle,” but for the most part keeps it pretty low-key.
The former All in the Family star made a video in 1988 extolling the virtues of walking using the “Balboa Fitness Walking Technique,” a type of speedwalking.
The actress channeled her interest in spiritualism and metaphysics into this 1989 video, Shirley MacLaine’s Inner Workout. (Don’t miss Part 2.)
A version of this story ran in 2016; it has been updated for 2023.
Stacy Conradt
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