Advertisement

Nancy Benoit

Advertisement

Nancy Benoit Famous memorial

Original Name
Nancy Elizabeth Toffoloni
Birth
Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, USA
Death
22 Jun 2007 (aged 43)
Fayetteville, Fayette County, Georgia, USA
Burial
Cremated, Ashes given to family or friend Add to Map
Memorial ID
View Source
Professional Wrestling Figure, Murder Victim. She gained recognition in the profession of wrestling starting in the mid-1980s. Her unofficial debut into the world of wrestling was in June of 1984 as a model on the cover of "Wrestling All Stars" magazine, with the photographer being George Napolitano. During this time, she met Kevin Sullivan and the couple married in 1985. This was her second marriage. She made her in-ring debut on July 7, 1984 in Lakeland, Florida under the professional ring name "Fallen Angel", who was a member of Sullivan's "Satanist" stable. In professional wrestling, a stable is a group of wrestlers within a promotion who have a common element for entertainment. On August 3, 1985, she wrestled Debbie Combs in Hawaii for NWA Polynesian Wrestling, in which she lost by disqualification. By 1989, she was appearing in Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling (WCW) where in a publicity stunt, she played the role, Robin Green, a nerdy, giggly fan of Rick Steiner. She convinced Steiner to let her stand ringside alongside Missy Hyatt in the Steiner Brothers match against Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin as another incarnation of The Fabulous Freebirds. "Robin's" interference caused the Steiners to lose the match. She changed her professional name to "Woman" and managed the tag team of called Doom, which was Ron Simmons and Butch Reed. By 1990, she was managing another stable, The Four Horsemen, particularly Ric Flair, whom she interfered in his matches many times in order for him to keep the world heavyweight title. She left WCW to work with her husband in smaller promotions. They went to ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) in 1993 where she became "Woman" once again and managed Sullivan and The Tazmaniac. Sullivan left to become a booker at WCW while she remained at ECW. By 1996, she was back in WCW, working alongside the late Miss Elizabeth (Elizabeth Hulette) as a manager of The Four Horsemen. Chris Benoit was one of the members of this incarnation of the Horsemen, and replaced Brian Pillman in a feud against Sullivan and Benoit. As a publicity stunt, she was billed as having an affair that Benoit flaunted to Sullivan. The on-screen affair turned into a real-life one, and she divorced Sullivan in 1997, and she and Benoit eventually married. After the birth of a son, her involvement with wrestling declined, although she did manage her husband's career from their home. On June 25, 2007, she, her husband and son were found dead in their home. After an investigation, the district attorney announced in July that she and her seven-year-old son were murdered by her husband before her husband committed suicide. Shortly, after her death, Larry Flynt's "Hustle" magazine published in the March of 2008 edition nude photographs of her from her days as a model taken 23 years earlier. This led to her family suing "Hustle" and her name kept in the newspaper until 2012. Her death and trial led to several books including "Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror that Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport" by Steven Johnson, Heath McCoy, Irvin Muchnick, and Greg Oliver in 2007, "Chris and Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling's Cocktail of Death" by Irvin Muchnick in 2009, and "The Exploitation of Nancy: Benoit vs Hustler" by Daniel Best in 2015.
Professional Wrestling Figure, Murder Victim. She gained recognition in the profession of wrestling starting in the mid-1980s. Her unofficial debut into the world of wrestling was in June of 1984 as a model on the cover of "Wrestling All Stars" magazine, with the photographer being George Napolitano. During this time, she met Kevin Sullivan and the couple married in 1985. This was her second marriage. She made her in-ring debut on July 7, 1984 in Lakeland, Florida under the professional ring name "Fallen Angel", who was a member of Sullivan's "Satanist" stable. In professional wrestling, a stable is a group of wrestlers within a promotion who have a common element for entertainment. On August 3, 1985, she wrestled Debbie Combs in Hawaii for NWA Polynesian Wrestling, in which she lost by disqualification. By 1989, she was appearing in Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling (WCW) where in a publicity stunt, she played the role, Robin Green, a nerdy, giggly fan of Rick Steiner. She convinced Steiner to let her stand ringside alongside Missy Hyatt in the Steiner Brothers match against Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin as another incarnation of The Fabulous Freebirds. "Robin's" interference caused the Steiners to lose the match. She changed her professional name to "Woman" and managed the tag team of called Doom, which was Ron Simmons and Butch Reed. By 1990, she was managing another stable, The Four Horsemen, particularly Ric Flair, whom she interfered in his matches many times in order for him to keep the world heavyweight title. She left WCW to work with her husband in smaller promotions. They went to ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) in 1993 where she became "Woman" once again and managed Sullivan and The Tazmaniac. Sullivan left to become a booker at WCW while she remained at ECW. By 1996, she was back in WCW, working alongside the late Miss Elizabeth (Elizabeth Hulette) as a manager of The Four Horsemen. Chris Benoit was one of the members of this incarnation of the Horsemen, and replaced Brian Pillman in a feud against Sullivan and Benoit. As a publicity stunt, she was billed as having an affair that Benoit flaunted to Sullivan. The on-screen affair turned into a real-life one, and she divorced Sullivan in 1997, and she and Benoit eventually married. After the birth of a son, her involvement with wrestling declined, although she did manage her husband's career from their home. On June 25, 2007, she, her husband and son were found dead in their home. After an investigation, the district attorney announced in July that she and her seven-year-old son were murdered by her husband before her husband committed suicide. Shortly, after her death, Larry Flynt's "Hustle" magazine published in the March of 2008 edition nude photographs of her from her days as a model taken 23 years earlier. This led to her family suing "Hustle" and her name kept in the newspaper until 2012. Her death and trial led to several books including "Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror that Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport" by Steven Johnson, Heath McCoy, Irvin Muchnick, and Greg Oliver in 2007, "Chris and Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling's Cocktail of Death" by Irvin Muchnick in 2009, and "The Exploitation of Nancy: Benoit vs Hustler" by Daniel Best in 2015.

Bio by: Donna Di Giacomo



Advertisement

Advertisement

How famous was Nancy Benoit ?

Current rating: 3.91667 out of 5 stars

228 votes

Sign-in to cast your vote.

  • Maintained by: Find a Grave
  • Originally Created by: Donna Di Giacomo
  • Added: Jun 25, 2007
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20104167/nancy-benoit: accessed ), memorial page for Nancy Benoit (17 May 1964–22 Jun 2007), Find a Grave Memorial ID 20104167; Cremated, Ashes given to family or friend; Maintained by Find a Grave.