Biography
Michelle Bonev (the stage name of Dragomira Boneva Ianeva) is an Italian filmmaker, actress, director, screenwriter, author, fashion model, TV host, film and television producer, Philanthropist, Certified Menopause Coaching Specialist, Certified 3D Functional Movement Coach, Founder of Michelle Bonev Method™, and Creator of 3D Functional Yoga for Menopause Support and DAILY 6.
Michelle was born in Bulgaria in 1971, during the Communist era.
The phrase that most faithfully reflects Michelle’s worldview is, “I’m not what happened to me. I’m what I chose to be.” More than a personal motto, it reflects a lived principle, starting with the very first act of self-definition: her name.
Her given name is Dragomira, but she later changed it to her stage name, Michelle, once she became a model and TV star in Italy.
In her words, Dragomira reminds her of a painful childhood in Bulgaria, mistreated by her mother, abandoned by her father, and pushed down by the Communist regime. Michelle, on the other hand, represents her decision every day: she does not collapse under fear and pain. She rises in her power and chooses the life she wants to live.
Michelle has always described herself as the main character of her life story, its author, not its victim, building an extraordinary life shaped by plot twists and turning points.
In 1990, three months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, which marked the end of the Communist regime, at the age of 18, with only twenty dollars in her pocket, she moved to Italy, where she became a model, a writer, an actress, a screenwriter, a movie and television producer, and an award-winning filmmaker, admired by millions across Europe.
On December 16, 2003, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Italy's largest publishing house, published her autobiographical novel Alberi senza radici (Trees Without Roots), which she presented at the Mondadori flagship bookstore near the Trevi Fountain in Rome.
Soon after, she became a top actress on Rai Uno, Italy's main public TV network. For 5 years in a row, she starred as the lead in the most-watched TV series and consistently won the ratings. Her audience grew to more than 11 million viewers, then expanded across Europe.
On September 3, 2010, at the 67th Venice International Film Festival, she received the “Action for Women” Special Award as the director and producer of her autobiographical movie, Goodbye Mama.
Although she achieved all the dreams she once chased, she was not happy. She felt trapped in what she calls a golden cage. She learned firsthand that the patriarchal system she lived in demanded compromises and sacrifices from women on the way to building a successful career.
On October 10, 2013, at the peak of her success, she made a decision that stunned the public: she left her career as an actress and filmmaker and publicly shared the compromises she had been forced to accept in order to develop her talent and grow professionally.
She believed her audience deserved the truth, and she walked away standing tall. In her own words: “No dream is worth my dignity as a woman. Enough is enough!”
The first chapter of her life story ended. The second chapter began. She was 42.
Michelle embarked on a path of personal growth and self-awareness that led her to philanthropy.
On December 12, 2013, she founded L'Associazione Michelle Bonev (the Michelle Bonev Association), a nonprofit with the motto “No Human Being Deserves to Remain Invisible!”
Its mission is to promote human rights while helping people and communities living in extreme poverty and social hardship, the Forgotten Ones, the most vulnerable.
On December 12, 2019, she established the Amatar Foundation, a nonprofit with the motto “Women empowerment to humanize the world!”
Its purpose is to promote human development based on fundamental human values and universal responsibility.
In August 2025, Menopause hit her hard, and she felt like she was already late. Her DEXA scan showed advanced osteopenia, with osteoporosis knocking at the door. She was 54.
It felt like a slap she didn't see coming. She never thought this could happen to her. She had always been athletic. She made healthy choices. Yet her bones were crumbling, and she was scared.
The truth, she says, was simple: “I knew nothing about Menopause, and even less about Perimenopause.”
Her symptoms were brutal: hot flashes, joint pain, weight gain, a bloated belly, brain fog, depression, hair and bone loss, poor sleep, mood swings, heart palpitations… just to name a few.
And no one could help her, not even her doctors. They kept saying: “You're just aging. Welcome to your new normal.”
She knew she had to find a solution herself, before Menopause could break her bones and make her life miserable. That became another major turn in her story.
The second chapter of her life story ended. The third chapter began: the chapter of Menopause.
Michelle went from award-winning filmmaker to Certified Menopause Coaching Specialist. She built a 3-Step Plan to thrive in Menopause, and in just 2 weeks she felt like herself again: smart nutrition, Movement, and a Pro-Age mindset.
Then came the next slap. As soon as she started lifting heavy and doing impact work to build muscle and bone density, she got injured, back pain, knee pain. She could barely walk.
She learned the hard way that bone density movement protocols require preparation: joints and ligaments first. Menopause had made her whole body stiff and weak. She had lost strength, flexibility, and balance almost overnight.
And still, she did not quit.
She has said it plainly, more than once, because she needed to hear it as much as anyone: “I'm not giving up.”
She turned breakdown into breakthrough, again.
That is when she discovered 3D Functional Movement and learned to train the body as 1 Connected Neuromusculoskeletal System across all 3 planes of motion—forward and back, side to side, and rotational. Her body immediately recognized this way of moving as natural.
She became certified as a 3D Functional Movement Coach through Gray Institute®, and within a few weeks, she regained authorship of her body. The pain in her knees and back was gone.
She was ready to lift heavy and do impact work with progression, without injury and pain. For her, the result was undeniable: 3D Functional Movement worked.
She went deeper with her studies, earning 9 certifications and specializations through Gray Institute®, including 3DMAPS®, CAFS—Certification in Applied Functional Science®, Functional Yoga System, and Female Chain Reaction®.
For Michelle, the principle is clear: the human body moves as 1 Connected Neuromusculoskeletal System across all 3 planes of motion. Functional Movement uses meaningful Tasks, authentic Drivers, Chain Reaction biomechanics, Proprioceptors, and the real forces of life—Gravity, Ground Reaction Force, Mass, and Momentum—to prepare the body for real-life Movement.
This knowledge became part of the professional foundation she later integrated with her lived experience in Menopause to create her own Method.
She calls that knowledge more than a win. She calls it lifesaving.
3D Functional Movement helped her shut the door on osteoporosis and start rebuilding bone density.
And because of everything she studied and put into practice, the brutal Menopause symptoms are gone.
That is when another realization landed: the information and evidence-based solutions she had learned were never “hers.” They belonged to the women who were still suffering, confused, and dismissed.
Michelle’s position is clear: no woman should have to face this alone. Her guiding line is: “Menopause is inevitable. Pain is not. With an evidence-based plan and the right support, women can thrive in Menopause, not just survive.”
And because Menopause is not only a new chapter, but the most critical one, she believes a woman's body needs a smarter strategy. Giving women that strategy became the purpose of her life.
So Michelle founded The Michelle Bonev Method™, with the motto: “Start with success. Build upon success. Progress with success.”
The Method is a governing, principle-based 3D Functional Movement system created for Menopause Support. The Method responds to changes a woman may experience in Joint comfort, muscle function, connective tissue, Pelvic Core function, Balance, recovery, and Movement confidence. It meets the body she lives in today and uses her Current Successful Progression to guide the path from Joint Motion, Mobility, and Stability toward Functional Strength, progressive Strength Training, greater Load, and controlled Impact.
Through her Method, she created 3D Functional Yoga and DAILY 6 for Menopause Support
Today, Michelle teaches 3D Functional Yoga and DAILY 6 by Michelle Bonev Method™ for Menopause Support, giving women a clear place to begin, a progression they can control, and Movement practices they can return to.
