Rūta Bunkutė

Rūta Bunkutė was born in Alytus, and moved to Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, at age sixteen. She has two sisters and a brother. She attended Vilnius Ozas Sport Secondary School. She graduated with two Science Degrees: Bachelor of Engineering (BSc) and Master of Science (MSc) in Construction engineering (Highway engineering), from Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU). She earned a second Master of Science (MSc) Degree in 2010 from the Aston University, Birmingham, United Kingdom as a specialist in engineering management.

In 1998, she joined bodybuilding club MAVI in Vilnius where she trained for seven years. Her first competition as fitness competitor were in 2003 in Lithuania where she placed third. The following two years, Rūta competed in nine more competitions, alternating between the Fitness and Figure divisions and competed in the World Fitness Federation (WFF) World Championships in 2004 and 2005, where placed second and third in Fitness and Figure divisions. In 2006 Ruta relocated to the United Kingdom and currently lives in La Jolla, California.

Rūta Bunkutė started ballet when she was seven, then moved on to national round dancing and gymnastics. Her competitive career started at age seven and continued through secondary school as a gymnast, she dropped out of dance classes due to tight schedule in gymnastics. She stopped competing in gymnastics as a result of a serious head injury in 1997, which caused her to start strength and weight training as an alternative.

Rūta Bunkutė (born November 28, 1979 in Alytus, Lithuania) is a current IFBB/NPC Amateur fitness and figure competitor from Lithuania.