Dubbed ‘The Strongest Woman in the World’ during her lifetime, Katie Sandwina (1884–1952) astonished audiences with her feats of strength, all while balancing a career, family life, and activism.

Katie Sandwina: strong woman and circus rising star

Katie, born Catherine Brumbach, came from an Austrian circus family. Both her parents were known for their impressive physiques and regularly performed feats of strength. As the eldest daughter, she trained from a young age in acrobatics, trapeze, and weightlifting. Several of her sisters would also pursue athletic careers.

Katie’s father famously offered money to anyone who could defeat her in a wrestling match, but Katie never lost. She reportedly met her future husband, acrobat Max Heymann, after defeating him in one of these matches.

At the same time, other professional strong women made a name for themselves on the stage, such as  Vulcana,  Minerva or Athleta.

In 1902, Katie traveled to New York, where she allegedly outlifted the renowned strongman Eugene Sandow. According to the story, she hoisted over her head a weight that Sandow could only raise to his chest.

The strongest woman in the world: the lady Hercules

By 1905, Katie was a rising star on the international stage. She adopted the name Sandwina, a feminized version of Sandow, and began performing with her husband, effortlessly lifting him over her head. She sometimes did so in a “manual of arms” position, with Max playing the part of the rifle.

Katie’s act also included other breathtaking demonstrations: lifting three men at once, breaking chains, bending iron bars, juggling cannonballs, and lying on a bed of nails. Her performances were wildly successful, and she earned up to $1,500 a week.

During the 1920s, Siegmund Breitbart, who called himself “The Strongest Man in the World,” was said to cancel or postpone his shows if he happened to be performing in the same town as Katie for fear of being upstaged.

She was praised as “The World’s Strongest Woman,” “A Wonder of Female Strength,” and “The Lady Hercules.” Katie fascinated the public because she subverted traditional gender roles by being taller and stronger than her husband, while also embodying traditionally feminine traits like beauty and motherhood.

Katie gave birth to two sons, Theodore and Alfred—the former went on to become a boxer. Remarkably, she performed in two shows the night before giving birth to her first child.

Katie was also a passionate advocate for women’s suffrage. In 1912, she was named vice-president of the suffrage group formed within the Barnum & Bailey Circus. She soon earned the nickname Sandwina the Suffragette. Her activism countered a common argument against women’s voting rights, that only those physically strong enough to defend their rights deserved to vote.

Retirement: from weightlifting to running a tavern

Katie continued performing well into her fifties. After retiring from the stage, she remained in excellent shape and opened a neighborhood tavern in Ridgewood, New Jersey. The billboards outside still billed her as The Strongest Woman in the World.

Her husband did the cooking, her son worked the bar. Katie sometimes entertained patrons even into her sixties by bending iron bars, breaking chains, and lifting her husband, just as she had on stage. She had her own way of dealing with troublemakers too: a 1947 article recounts how she “floored the bruiser with one punch for the whole count and gave him a thorough lesson as she tossed him out.”

Katie Sandwina died of cancer in 1952.

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Further reading and bibliography about Katie Sandwina

Fair John D., “Kati Sandwina, ‘Hercules can be a lady’”

Hulls Tessa, “The Great Sandwina, Circus Strongwoman and restaurateur”

Simon Linda, The Greatest Shows on Earth A History of the Circus

Shapley Haley, Strong like her

Nédélec Marie, “Katie Sandwina ou un Sandow au féminin”

Tood Jane, “Center Ring: Katie Sandwina and the Construction of Celebrity”

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