André Wikipedia

While Roussimoff was growing up in the 1950s, the Irish playwright Samuel Beckett was one of several adults who sometimes drove local children to school, including Roussimoff and his siblings. Roussimoff spent years working on his father’s farm in Molien, where, according to his brother Jacques, he could perform the work of three men. When he was 14, Rousimoff decided against further schooling and joined the workforce, believing what he learned was sufficient for a career as a farmhand. André René Roussimoff was born on 19 May 1946 in Coulommiers, Seine-et-Marne, to immigrants, Boris Roussimoff and Mariann Roussimoff Stoeff (née Marasjek); his father was Bulgarian and his mother was Polish.
He appeared in an interview segment with Captain Lou Albano and put over the UWF. Instead, Roussimoff made an interview appearance for Herb Abrams’ fledgling Universal Wrestling Federation on 11 October in Reseda, California. He wrestled one more time with Haku, teaming up to face Demolition on a house show in Honolulu on 10 April, Roussimoff was knocked out of the ring and The Colossal Connection lost via count-out. During the late summer and autumn of 1989, Roussimoff engaged in a brief feud, consisting almost entirely of house shows (non-televised events), and one televised match on 28 October 1989, at Madison Square Garden with then-WWF Intercontinental Champion Ultimate Warrior. In 1989, Roussimoff and the returning Big John Studd briefly reprised their feud, beginning at WrestleMania V, when Studd was the referee in the match with Roberts, this time with Studd as a face and Roussimoff as the heel. Concurrent with the developing feud with the Mega Powers, Roussimoff was placed in a feud with Jim Duggan, which began after Duggan knocked out Roussimoff with a two-by-four board during a television taping.
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. 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. 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. Beginning his career in 1966, Roussimoff relocated to North America in 1971.

Professional wrestling career

Afterward, Roussimoff and Hogan’s feud died down after a steel cage match held at WrestleFest on 31 July 1988, in Milwaukee. After winning, Roussimoff « sold » the title to DiBiase; the transaction was declared invalid by then-WWF president Jack Tunney and the title was declared vacant. Contrary to popular belief, it was not the first time that Hogan had successfully body-slammed him in a WWF match. In reality, he agreed to lose the match sometime before, mostly for health reasons. Speaking on behalf of his new protégé, Heenan accused Hogan of being Roussimoff’s friend only so he would not have to defend his title against him.

Alliance with Bobby Heenan and Ted DiBiase (1987–

Since Roussimoff could not easily go shopping due to his fame and size, he was known to spend hours watching and purchasing items from the shopping channel QVC. While there were custom-made chairs and a few other modifications in his home to accommodate his size, tales that everything in his home was custom-made for a large man are said to be exaggerated. When he was not on the road, he loved spending time at the ranch, where he tended to his cattle, played with his dogs, and entertained friends. After his death, Christensen spoke positively about her father and became a guardian of his image and legacy.

• During the late summer and autumn of 1989, Roussimoff engaged in a brief feud, consisting almost entirely of house shows (non-televised events), and one televised match on 28 October 1989, at Madison Square Garden with then-WWF Intercontinental Champion Ultimate Warrior.
• On April 17, 2026, Christensen appeared alongside Nick Hogan at the WWE Hall of Fame, when their respective fathers’ WrestleMania III match was inducted as an Immortal Moment.
• Instead, Roussimoff made an interview appearance for Herb Abrams’ fledgling Universal Wrestling Federation on 11 October in Reseda, California.
• Roussimoff made numerous appearances as himself in video games, starting with WWF WrestleMania.
• During his time in Japan, doctors first informed Roussimoff that he suffered from acromegaly.

All Japan Pro Wrestling; Universal Wrestling Association (1990–

Around this time, Roussimoff requested a leave of absence to tend to his health, since the effects from his acromegaly were beginning to take their toll, as well as to tour Japan. After WrestleMania 2, Roussimoff continued his feud with Studd and King Kong Bundy. In 1984, Studd took the feud to a new level when he and partner Ken Patera knocked out Roussimoff during a televised tag-team match and proceeded to cut off his hair. Roussimoff feuded with Big John Studd over which of the two men was the « true giant » of wrestling.

He earned an annual salary of approximately $400,000 (equivalent to $2,611,000 in 2025) at that time. He appeared most notably as Fezzik, his own favorite role, in the 1987 film The Princess Bride. That same year, he also made an appearance in Micki & Maude (billed as André Rousimmoff). He had an uncredited appearance in the 1984 film Conan the Destroyer as Dagoth, the resurrected horned giant god who is killed by Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Roussimoff branched out into acting in the 1970s and 1980s, after a 1967 French boxing film, making his USA acting debut playing a Sasquatch (« Bigfoot ») in a two-part episode aired in 1976 on the television series The Six Million Dollar Man. Roussimoff made his final tour with AJPW from October to December 1992; he wrestled what became the final match of his career on 4 December 1992, teaming with Giant Baba and Rusher Kimura to defeat Haruka Eigen, Masanobu Fuchi, and Motoshi Okuma.

• He toured with AJPW three times per year, from 1990 to 1992, usually teaming with Giant Baba in tag-team matches.
• Christensen had regular contact with her father, but saw him only five times in her life.
• 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.
• Afterward, Roussimoff and Hogan’s feud died down after a steel cage match held at WrestleFest on 31 July 1988, in Milwaukee.
• After WrestleMania VI, Roussimoff spent the rest of his in-ring career in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and Mexico’s Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), where he performed under the name « André el Gigante ».
• At WrestleMania IV, Roussimoff and Hulk Hogan fought to a double disqualification in a WWF title tournament match (with the idea in the storyline saying that Roussimoff was again working on DiBiase’s behalf in giving DiBiase a clearer path in the tournament).
• During the next few weeks, Roberts frequently walked to ringside carrying his snake in its bag during Roussimoff’s matches, causing the latter to run from the ring in fright.

Touring special attraction (1973–

In January 2005, WWE released André The Giant, a DVD focusing on the life and career of Roussimoff. Roussimoff made numerous appearances as himself in video games, starting with WWF WrestleMania. Upon his death in Paris, his family in France held a funeral for him, intending to bury him near his father.
The feud continued in Japan in 1982 and 1983 with their roles reversed and with Antonio Inoki also involved. Promoters eventually ran out of plausible opponents for him and, as the novelty of his size wore off, the gate receipts dwindled. During his time in Japan, doctors first informed Roussimoff that he suffered from acromegaly. Wrestling as both a singles and tag team competitor, he quickly was made the IWA World sweetsino Tag Team Champion alongside Michael Nador. He made his TV debut that year on French national television against Le Petit Prince. At the age of 18, Roussimoff moved to Paris and was taught professional wrestling by a local promoter, Robert Lageat, who recognized the earning potential of Roussimoff’s size.
In a short interview with Lanny Poffo, André stated that the movie meant so much to him that he made his wrestling pals watch an advance copy of the VHS with him over and over again while supplying dinner, drinks, and sweetly asking each time, « Did you like my performance? ». He appeared in other television shows, including The Greatest American Hero, B. J. Roussimoff made a couple of guest appearances for Herb Abrams’ Universal Wrestling Federation, in 1991, feuding with Big John Studd, though he never had a match in the promotion. He toured with AJPW three times per year, from 1990 to 1992, usually teaming with Giant Baba in tag-team matches.