Professional wrestler and actor André the Giant stood nearly seven feet tall and weighed over 500 pounds. You’ve probably heard stories about him, although many of the best known tales are showbiz embellishments to further his wrestling career. Yet the true facts of André Roussimoff’s life were amazing enough without any embellishment at all. For example, he left home at an early age and kept growing until his own family didn’t recognize him.
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When Andre turned 14, he left home to seek employment and opportunities outside the boundaries of his rural farm community in France. At 19, he visited his parents for the first time, having already broken into the professional wrestling business. According to a 1981 Sports Illustrated profile, André had grown so dramatically in the interim, stretching to nearly 7 feet tall, that his parents did not recognize the stranger who knocked on their door. As André explained his career choice, they realized they had even seen him wrestle on television under his alias, Jean Ferré, without ever knowing they had been watching their own son.
Read more fun facts about André the Giant at Mental Floss.
(Image credit: Brandonseigler)
Source: neatorama