Monica Brant (born October 26, 1970) is an IFBB professional figure competitor and a former fitness competitor. Brant won the 1998 Ms. Fitness Olympia. She first appeared on the cover of Muscle & Fitness in November 1994 and has, according to her website, appeared on over 100 international magazine covers.
She was born in Fort Hood, Texas and raised on a 20-acre (81,000 m) ranch in a small town outside of San Antonio called Castroville. Her mother is a professional horse training business. By the time she was 14, she was giving riding lessons and training horses on her own with occasional advice from her mom. Along with volleyball and track in high school, she competed in many events: western pleasure, barrels and pole bending, English pleasure, dressage, and Hunter/Jumper.
After Monica graduated, her love of horses took her to a fine arts college in Fulton, Missouri, where she studied basics and equestrian science for her first year. Unable to return for further studies in Missouri, Brant took classes at San Antonio College in Texas, and gave riding lessons at nearby stables. She also did promotional work for Budweiser, waitressed, and competed in bikini contests for extra funds.