Robin “Hellga” Coleman (born March 30, 1973) is an American actress and athlete whose resume is equal parts stagecraft and strength sport—built from figure competition, rowing, professional strongwoman, and female bodybuilding.
Coleman gained her widest mainstream exposure as one of the featured performers on NBC’s American Gladiatorsrevival, where she was selected as one of the initial six women for the series and competed under the name “Hellga.”
Her film debut came in 2009 in Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail, in which she played Big Sal. She has also worked in television, including appearances connected to Days of Our Lives and V.I.P., and has turned up across entertainment programming with guest spots on shows such as Last Call with Carson Daly, Tabatha’s Salon Takeover, and Access Hollywood. Beyond on-camera roles, she has also done acting and stunt work for video game projects.
On the performance side, Coleman is trained in the Meisner Method and at The Groundlings (improvisational comedy), and she is a member of SAG and AFTRA—credentials that underline how seriously she’s approached the craft, even while maintaining a parallel life in elite athletics.
That athletic background is substantial. In 2001, she competed in the inaugural World’s Strongest Woman event in Zambia and placed third. Earlier, after about a year and a half of focused training, she entered her first bodybuilding show—California’s Border States—in 1997, winning first in the novice division and taking second in the open heavyweight class. In 2006, she began competing in figure, including at the Tournament of Champions in Anaheim.
Her training extends beyond lifting platforms: she has also trained in boxing, mixed martial arts, and professional wrestling, working with a range of coaches and figures tied to strength sport and combat training. Off the gym floor, she’s also a competitive rower affiliated with the Lions Rowing Club and the California Yacht Club in Marina del Rey. She rows multiple boat classes—club 8s and 4s as well as quad, double, and single sculls—and her single shell is named Equanimity, a fitting title for someone whose career blends intensity with control.
Selected credits
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Days of Our Lives — Tanya
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Madea Goes to Jail — Big Sal
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American Gladiators (2008) — Hellga
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Attack of the Show — Hellga
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The Insider — Hellga
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Deal or No Deal — Hellga
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Ultimate Revenge — Featured
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V.I.P. — Polaris
