What Andre The Giants Final Year Was Really Like

"The Eighth Wonder of the World," Andre the Giant, is one of the most recognizable talents in the history of professional wrestling due to his massive size, iconic matches that helped establish what would become the WWE of today, and for the many urban legends surrounding his tragic life. Andre René Roussimoff was a French professional wrestler who grew to become one of the largest stars within the ring, both physically, standing at over seven feet tall, and in terms of legendary status. Andre the Giant is a pop culture iconic for those who aren't even familiar with wrestling for his roles across media, most famously, in "The Princess Bride."

Andre the Giant is also the reason the WWE Hall of Fame exists, and was the first-ever inductee upon its creation; he was that integral to the growth of the company. Despite how important he was for the industry, Andre struggled greatly throughout his life until it came to an untimely end at the age of just 46. Born with a condition called acromegaly, or "giantism," the icon would suffer from chronic pain that he attempted to medicate away with copious amounts of alcohol, and most everything in his life had to be custom-made in his later years to accommodate his massive size.

He retired from professional wrestling entirely in December 1992, and it was only a month later he would tragically pass in his sleep while visiting family in his home country of France. Despite literally living larger-than-life and having iconic matches still renowned today, such as his bout with Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 3, the final years of Andre's life were as tragic as his death. From his acromegaly, to his alcohol habits, to the lack of relationship with is only daughter, Andre the Giant's final years on Earth were rather tragic.

The man who would become known in wrestling history as Andre the Giant was born in Coulommiers, Seine-et-Marne on May 19, 1946. He showed signs of "gigantism" at birth, weighing 13 pounds. By the time he was 12 years old, Andre was 6'3". He worked on his father's farm, strong enough to do the jobs of multiple men, as well as an apprenticeship in woodworking and in a factory, but none of the jobs satisfied him. At age 18, Andre moved to Paris to begin his wrestling career.

He trained under promoter Robert Lageat and made his TV debut in France in 1966 against Le Petit Prince. He won his first championship, the FFCP World Heavyweight Championship, in 1968. He worked in Japan in 1970 and moved to North America to compete in Canada in 1971. He debuted for the World Wide Wrestling Federation, the WWWF, operated by Vincent J. McMahon at the time, as a touring "special attraction" in various promotions across the country in 1973. When McMahon sold the company to his son, Vincent K. McMahon, Andre signed with the WWWF (soon to be WWF), but was still able to work in Japan.

It was the elder McMahon who initially began billing him as "Andre the Giant" and portrayed him as an immovable monster and discouraged him from using moves like dropkicks to play up to his massive size, though Andre could execute the moves in his earlier years. While Andre's massive height and presence in the ring helped him become a star in the wrestling world and around the globe, the disease that caused it had him suffering greatly throughout his life.

Andre the Giant suffered from a disease he wasn't aware of until later in life known as acromegaly, or "giantism." Acromegaly is a rare endocrine disorder where the body produces an excessive amount of growth hormones, leading to abnormal growth of bones, cartilage, organs, and other tissues. The disease is so rare that scientists estimate only about three to 14 people out of every 100,000 are diagnosed with a form of acromegaly. While the disease is most often diagnosed in middle-aged adults, symptoms can appear at any age. The disease is classified as "giantism" rather than acromegaly when it occurs in children. Despite his massive size throughout his childhood and teenage years, Andre wasn't diagnosed until after he broke his ankle in 1981.

Andre's case could have been treated even when he was diagnosed at age 24, but he chose not to receive any medical help for the rare pituitary gland condition, caused by a brain tumor, for fear it would interfere with his wrestling career. Andre knew he would die at a young age due to the disease, and suffered from chronic pain throughout his life because of it. His joints would weaken and he would be in such poor health toward the end of his career that his matches had to be choreographed around his condition.

Notably, former WWE star and current AEW employee Big Show (Paul Wight) was diagnosed with the condition, but he underwent brain surgery in 1991 to remove the pituitary gland tumor. Giant Gonzalez also suffered from acromegaly and died in September 2010 due to diabetes caused by the disease.

Andre's final years within the squared circle were painful due to his condition, but he didn't retire from action fully until a month prior to his death. Toward the end, his matches were even more carefully choreographed than a usual wrestling match, as he was in such poor health. Even his legendary match with rival Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 3 in 1987, the match where Hogan body slammed Andre, was carefully blocked to avoid injury to Andre.

Andre would often be placed in tag teams as his career wound down, keeping him protected even more. He'd team alongside the likes of Haku and Giant Baba. His last match in WWF was on a house show in Detroit in May 1991, where Andre competed in a 17-man battle royal for the Intercontinental Championship. His last major televised appearance in WWF came at SummerSlam 1991. Andre was on crutches at ringside, in the corner of the Bushwhackers as they took on the Natural Disasters. Andre made his final WWF appearance after SummerSlam at a house show in Paris in October 1991 in Davey Boy Smith's corner, once again using crutches.

Andre would spend the rest of his career as "André el Gigante" in All Japan Pro Wrestling and Universal Wrestling Association in Mexico. He toured with AJPW three times a year, from 1990 to 1992, in a tag team with Giant Baba. His final televised appearance in the United States was for WCW during Clash of Champions XX in September 1992, where he was briefly interviewed. His final match occurred a month before his death, on December 4, 1992, where he teamed with Giant Baba and Rusher Kimura to score a win in AJPW.

Andre turned to the bottle to help alleviate some of his pain due to his condition, but due to his massive size and the way acromegaly effected his liver function, he was able to drink a now-legendary amount of alcohol. Many of his friends within the industry have told stories about their time drinking with Andre and the epic levels of booze he could put down.

Hulk Hogan once revealed that his in-ring nemesis and real life friend once downed 108 beers during a layover at the Tampa airport. Hogan said when Andre held a 12-ounce beer in his hand, you couldn't even see it. "The Hulkster" told another story about buying Andre a case, or 12 bottles, of a strong, French white wine for Andre's birthday. The pair left a hotel, along with the wine, to drive to another location, and by the time Andre needed to stop, he had drank all 12 bottles in three hours.

His "Princess Bride" co-star Cary Elwes told Vanity Fair that Andre would sometimes drink what he called "The American," or a concoction of liquor poured into a pitcher, akin to a Long Island Iced Tea, though Elwes said it tasted like jet fuel, but to Andre, it was like chugging water. Fellow co-star Mandy Patinkin once joined in to go drinking with the pair, and found out that Andre had a $40,000 bar tab at his hotel by the time they were done filming.

Elwes also confirmed that Andre could drink 100 beers in one sitting. Andre's unofficial record for beer, told by Mike Graham and confirmed by "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was 156 beers, or 14.6 gallons. That's debatable, however, as magazine The Modern Drunkard reported that Andre's record was 119 standard 12-ounce beer bottles in a six hour period.

Andre lived in chronic pain, having chosen to not to undergo brain surgery to treat his acromegaly at age 24. Andre used alcohol to cope instead of pain pills, thinking the drink was the lesser of two evils. Ted DiBiase noted in an interview with CBS Sports that Andre hated pills and medication because he saw what it was doing to other guys in the locker room. Andre's joints couldn't handle his weight as he got older, and he was in constant, ever-worsening pain in his knees, back, and neck, and the bumps he was constantly taking in the ring wouldn't help things.

He had to undergo back surgery for the debilitating pain in 1987. He had just finished filming "The Princess Bride" and wasn't eager to go back to WWE due to his suffering. Vince McMahon offered to pay for his surgery and open his own home for Andre's rehabilitation to get the giant to return to the company ahead of WrestleMania 3. An urban legend surrounding the surgery said that the anesthesiologist was unsure of how much sedative to administer Andre, due to his size, and based it around his alcohol consumption after Andre reportedly said it took two liters of vodka just to make him feel "warm" inside.

Late hardcore legend Terry Funk spoke to the LA Times about the surgery on Andre's weakened spine, one where surgeons in England had to construct oversized tools to use on the giant. Funk said Andre was already in a great deal of pain at the time. He had shown Funk x-rays of his knee surgeries, and Funk told the Times doctors had taken "chunks" of bone.

While there are differing reports as to whether or not Andre the Giant was actually ever married, he did have a close relationship with a woman named Jean Christensen, whom he met through the wrestling business, as she might have worked in the public relations department of WWE. Not much is known about Christensen or details of her relationship with Andre, and she died in 2008. The pair did have a daughter, Robin Christensen-Roussimoff. Christensen-Roussimoff was born in France, but was primarily raised by her mother in the United States.

Due to his strained relationship with her mother, Andre barely saw his daughter, and she recalled only ever seeing him around five times. She told CBS Sports that two or three of those meetings were at arena when the WWF was in town and the others were in court. Christensen-Roussimoff didn't watch her father's matches on TV growing up and still doesn't today, because she said it brings up mixed emotions. Jackie McAuley, Andre's good friend, said it was one his biggest regrets that he didn't get to spend more time with his daughter. He once arranged to have her visit him at his ranch in North Carolina, but plans fell through. Andre and his daughter regularly spoke on the phone and he paid child support. The last time they spoke was Christmas 1992, shortly before Andre's passing.

Andre took care of his daughter even in death, having set up a trust for her in his will. Anytime Andre the Giant's name or likeness is used in merchandise, she has the final say and gets royalties through a relationship with WWE. Christensen-Roussimoff also still has some of her father's belongings, including the WWE Hall of Fame ring meant for him.

Andre the Giant died of congestive heart failure at age 46 after an apparent heart attack in his sleep, likely due to his untreated acromegaly. He passed in his sleep the morning of January 28, 1993 in a hotel in Paris, where he was visiting to attend the funeral of his father. Andre had extended his stay to be with his mother on her birthday, but was found in the afternoon by his chauffeur and hotel management just 12 days after he buried his father. He had visited with friends the night before going back to his hotel room.

In his will, Andre specified he wanted to be cremated and "disposed of" within 48 hours of his death. Following his passing, French crematoriums couldn't handle how large his body was and he was flown back to the United States and was cremated two weeks after passing. His body was accompanied back to the states by longtime friend Jackie Bernard, who lived on Andre's ranch with her husband to help take care of the property while Andre was on the road. 

His ashes weighed 17 pounds and were scattered at his beloved ranch in Ellerbe, North Carolina, which he left to his daughter, his only beneficiary. His ashes were spread by friend and former referee Frenchy Bernard while riding on horseback. Hulk Hogan delivered Andre's eulogy at the service on the ranch. Andre's stateside funeral was attended by "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Vince McMahon, Mae Young, and more, and a family ceremony was held in France.

One of Andre the Giant's biggest legacies outside of the ring are the movies that fans still enjoy today. "The Princess Bride" was released in 1987 and is still enjoyed across the globe today, with Andre's character of the loveable giant Fezzik a fan-favorite. He was the inspiration for a film over 10 years later, five after his death, called "My Giant," which was written by his friend Billy Crystal, who Andre met while filming "The Princess Bride."

His image was also the inspiration behind many things, including the Obey brand icon. The idea originated from wheat paste posters that an artist created based on a photo of Andre he found in the newspaper. "Andre the Giant Has a Posse" is the street art campaign that artist Shepard Fairey created back in 1989. It's something distributed around the graffiti artist and skater communities that includes stickers featuring Andre's likeness alongside the campaign name and Andre's height and weight, all in black and white. He is also technically a character in "Street Fighter." Capcom's character Hugo, known as Andore in he "Final Fight" series, is based off Andre.

There have also been many specials and biographies, both written and televised, about Andre, including a Showtime documentary "Waiting for Andre," a semi-fictional movie about the friendship between Andre and playwright Samuel Beckett. A graphic novel "Andre the Giant: The Life and The Legend" was released about the star in 2014. Most recently, HBO aired a documentary called "Andre the Giant," which drew many stars, as well as his daughter, to the red carpet to honor Andre's legacy in April 2018.

Outside of his legendary matches, Andre the Giant's biggest legacy in WWE is the creation of the company's Hall of Fame. It was created in 1993 following his death, and he was announced as the sole inductee that first year about two months after his passing. Ceremonies would be held to honor inductees for the next few years, but the Hall of Fame inductions went on hiatus for eight years until the ceremony in 2004 was scheduled to coincide with WrestleMania, establishing the tradition we have today. As of 2024, there have been 245 inductees into the Hall of Fame, with 131 wrestlers being honored individually.

While Andre's death may have inspired the Hall of Fame, he is more directly linked to another tradition in WWE, as it bears his name. The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal is held every year around WrestleMania, or sometimes even on the pre-show before the biggest night in wrestling. Hulk Hogan announced the establishment of the match in March 2014. The winner of the battle royal receives the Andre the Giant Memorial Trophy, made in Andre's likeness. The most recent winner was Bronson Reed in 2024 ahead of WrestleMania 40.