André René Roussimoff (May 19, 1946 – January 27, 1993), best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride. His size was a result of acromegaly, and led to him being called "The Eighth Wonder of the World".
In the World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE), Roussimoff was a one-time WWF Champion and a one-time WWF World Tag Team Champion. In 1993, André was the inaugural inductee into the WWF Hall of Fame.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

At age 17, Roussimoff moved to Paris and was taught the art of professional wrestling by a local promoter who knew there would be money in Roussimoff's future. He trained at night and worked as a mover during the day to pay living expenses. Roussimoff was billed as "Géant Ferré", taken from the name of a mythical French giant,and began wrestling in Paris and nearby areas. Canadian promoter and wrestler Frank Valois met Roussimoff in 1966, becoming his business manager and adviser. Roussimoff began making a name for himself wrestling in the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa.
He made his Japanese debut in 1970, billed as "Monster Roussimoff", wrestling for the International Wrestling Enterprise. Wrestling as both a singles and tag team competitor, he quickly won the company's tag team championship alongside Michael Nador. During his time in Japan, doctors first informed Roussimoff that he suffered from acromegaly.
Roussimoff next moved to Montreal, Canada, where he became an immediate success, regularly selling out the Montreal Forum. However, promoters eventually ran out of plausible opponents for him and, as the novelty of his size wore off, the gate receipts dwindled. Roussimoff wrestled numerous times in 1972 for Verne Gagne's American Wrestling Association (AWA) as a special attraction until Valois appealed to Vince McMahon, Sr., founder of the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) for advice. McMahon suggested several changes. He felt Roussimoff should be portrayed as a large, immovable monster. To enhance his size, McMahon discouraged Roussimoff from performing maneuvers such as dropkicks. He also began billing Roussimoff as "André the Giant" and set up a travel-intensive schedule, loaning him to wrestling associations around the world, to keep him from becoming over-exposed in any area. Promoters had to guarantee André a certain amount of money, as well as pay McMahon's WWF a booking fee.