File:André_the_Giant_in_the_late_'80s_(close_crop).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
André the Giant
Sign in to saveAlso known as Andre the Giant, André René Roussimoff, Andre René Roussimoff, André Roussimoff, Andre Roussimoff, Andre Rene Roussimoff
French professional wrestler and actor (1946–1993)
Film & TV
Coulommiers, France
André René Roussimoff, known worldwide as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor who gained international fame due to his extraordinary size, the result of a medical condition known as acromegaly (gigantism). Born on May 19, 1946, in Coulommiers, France, he was nicknamed “The Eighth Wonder of the World” and became one of the most iconic figures in professional wrestling…
Known for
- Mr. McMahon — Andre The Giant (Archive Footage)2024
- Mr. McMahon — Self (archive footage)2024
- WWE Rivals — Andre the Giant2022
- The Claw — Himself2021
- Biography: WWE Legends — André the Giant (archive footage)2021
- WWE's Most Wanted Treasures — André the Giant (archive footage)2021
- You Cannot Kill David Arquette — Self (archive footage)2020
- The Best of WWE — Andre the Giant2020
- Andre the Giant — Self (archive footage)2018
- Randy Savage Unreleased: The Unseen Matches of The Macho Man2018
via TMDB
Key facts
- Born
- André René Roussimoff , ( 1946-05-19 ) 19 May 1946, Coulommiers , France
- Died
- 28 January 1993 (1993-01-28) (aged 46) , Paris , France
- Ring name s
- André Roussimoff, André the Giant, André the Giant Frenchman, The Ultimate Giant, Géant Ferré , Giant Machine , Jean Ferré , Monster Eiffel Tower , Monster Roussimoff, The Polish Giant
- Billed height
- 7 ft 4 in (224 cm)
- Billed weight
- 520 lb (236 kg)
- Billed from
- Grenoble in the French Alps
- Trained by
- Michel Saulnier
- Debut
- 25 January 1966
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- René
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- France
- Place of birth
- Coulommiers
- Place of death
- 8th arrondissement of Paris
- Occupation
- television actor
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Mass
- 235
- Official website
- www.andrethegiant.com
- Image
- André the Giant in the late '80s.jpg
- Height
- 2.24
- Number of children
- 4
Show 13 more facts
- Commons category
- André the Giant
- date of birth
- 1946-05-19
- date of death
- 1993-01-28
- medical condition
- acromegaly
- pseudonym
- André The Giant
- cause of death
- heart failure
- manner of death
- natural causes
- name in native language
- André Roussimoff
- birth name
- André René Roussimof
- place of burial
- Ellerbe
- start of work period
- 1964-00-00
- end of work period
- 1993-00-00
- web feed URL
- www.andrethegiant.com/feed
via Wikidata · CC0
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
André René Roussimoff ( French: [ɑ̃dʁe ʁəne ʁusimɔf]; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), known professionally as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Dubbed "the Eighth Wonder of the World", Roussimoff was known for his great size, which was a result of gigantism caused by excess human growth hormone.
Beginning his career in 1966, Roussimoff relocated to North America in 1971. From 1973 to the mid-1980s, Roussimoff was booked by World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) promoter Vincent J. McMahon as a roving "special attraction" who wrestled for promotions throughout the United States, as well as in Japan for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. During the 1980s wrestling boom, Roussimoff became a mainstay of the WWWF (by then renamed the World Wrestling Federation), being paired with the villainous manager Bobby Heenan and feuding with Hulk Hogan. The two headlined WrestleMania III in 1987, and in 1988, he defeated Hogan to win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, his sole major world heavyweight championship, on the first episode of The Main Event. As his WWF career wound down after WrestleMania VI in 1990, Roussimoff wrestled primarily for All Japan Pro-Wrestling, usually alongside Giant Baba, until his sudden death.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “André the Giant” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.