André the giant was a true gentle giant. Although he had achieved tremendous success as a wrestler, he remained quiet and humble in all matters. His close friends like Arnold Schwarzenegger have revealed that he didn’t allow anyone to foot the bill when he ate out. In fact, he once picked Arnold up and placed him on the car as he quietly tried to pay the bill.

Born name

Andre Rene Roussimoff

nickname

André der Riese, Géant Ferré, Riesenmaschine, Jean Ferré, Monster Eiffelturm, Monster Roussimoff, Quebec, Le Géant Ferré

Alter

André the Giant was born on May 19, 1946.

Died

Roussimoff died in a Paris hotel room on January 27, 1993, at the age of 46. He had died of heart failure.

Sun sign

Trails

Place of birth

Molien, France

nationality

training

Despite being a good student, André the giant decided to drop out of school in the 8th grade, believing that the education was of no use to a farmhand.

occupation

Actor and professional wrestler

family

• Vater – Boris Roussimoff (Bauer)
• Mother – Mariann Roussimoff
• Siblings – Jacques Roussimoff (brother). In total he had 4 siblings.

Manager

unknown

To build

Big

Height

214,5 cm (7 ft 0¼ in)

weight

236 kg or 520 lbs

girlfriend/spouse

André the giant has dated

• Jean Christiansen – In the late 1970s, Andre was reported to be in a relationship with American citizen Jean Christiansen. Jean gave birth to their daughter Robin Christiansen in 1979.

race/ethnicity

White

He had Bulgarian ancestry on his father’s side, while he was of Polish descent on his mother’s side.

hair colour

dark brown

eye color

Green

sexual orientation

Just

distinguishing features

• Huge imposing body
• Very deep voice

brand promotion

In 1987, André became the giant in a TV commercial for honeycomb cereal .

Religion

His religious beliefs were never known.

Known for

• Its enormous size, due to which it was nicknamed “The Eighth Wonder of the World”.
• Its successful use in the popular wrestling promotion WWF. During his time with the WWF, he was able to win the WWF Tag Team Championship and the WWF World Heavyweight Champion.
• Cast in the role of Fezzik the Giant in the comedy-fantasy film The Princess Brides, adapted from William Goldman’s book of the same name

first movie

In 1967, he made his big screen debut in the French action-adventure film Casse-tête-Chinois for le Judoka .

First TV show

In addition to broadcasting his wrestling matches, André the Giant made his first appearance in the television series The Secret of Bigfoot. The Six Million Dollar Man in 1976.

Im Wrestling

• Finishing und Signature Moves
  • Scoop Slam
  • elbows drop
  • Butterfly suplex
  • Kneeling Belly to Belly Piledriver
  • Double Underhook Facebuster

Personal trainer

His exercise routine and diet plan are unknown.

André the giant favorite things

His favorite things are not known.

André the giant facts

1. When he was 12 years old, he was already 1.80 m tall. He also weighed 94 kg at the time.
2. After dropping out of school, he began working full-time on his father’s farm. According to his brother, he was in charge of jobs that could be done by three men.
3. He also completed an apprenticeship in woodworking. He later began working in a factory making engines for hay balers.
4. However, after not finding satisfaction in his jobs, he decided to move to Paris at the age of 17.
5. During his time in Paris, his immense size impressed a local promoter who believed he had huge potential. The promoter began training him in professional wrestling.
6. In his early days as a wrestler, he trained at night and worked as a mover during the day to cover his living expenses.
7. In 1966 he met Frank Valois, the Canadian promoter and wrestler. Valois would become his managing director and advisor.
8. After performing in Germany, Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand, he began wrestling in Japan in 1970. Under the stage name Monster Roussimoff, he appeared in the International Wrestling Enterprise.
9. While wrestling in Japan, he was first informed by the doctors that he was suffering from acromegaly caused by the excess growth hormones.
10. He was introduced to WWF founder Vince McMahon Sr. by his agent Valois. McMahon contacted him shortly thereafter and decided to bill him as André the Giant.
11. McMahon discouraged him from maneuvers like zso dropkick as he wanted to improve perception of his size. He also loaned him out to other wrestling promotions around the world so he wouldn’t get overexposed anywhere.
12. When he first started feuding with Hulk Hogan, he was actually the hero while Hogan was the villain. At the time, he was far more popular than Hogan.
13. His loss to Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania III, where he was trampled on by the American wrestler, helped establish Hogan as the next big star in wrestling.
14. It was falsely reported that no one, including WWF owner Vince McMahon, knew Andre was going to lose the match. The truth is that Andre had agreed to lose due to health reasons a while ago.
15. In 1974 he was entered in the Guinness Book of Records as the highest paid wrestler. He was reported to be making $400,000 a year in the early ’70s.
16. He was unofficially considered the world’s biggest drunk man when he consumed 119 cans (350ml) of beer containing $12 of liquid in 6 hours. It totaled over 41 liters of beer.
17. In 1989, he was arrested by the Linn County, Iowa, sheriff after roughing up local television camera crews. He was charged with assault.
18. At the time of his death he was in Paris to attend his father’s funeral. He had also extended his stay in France to celebrate his mother’s birthday.
19. In 2002 he was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. He was previously inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1993.
20. In 1965 he was to be drafted into the French army during peacetime. However, he was unable to join as they could not find shoes large enough for him, nor appropriately sized bunks. In fact, the trenches weren’t big enough to accommodate him.
21. He doesn’t have a social media account.