Andre the Giant Jean Christensen is one of the most searched topics among the wrestling history fans who are interested in the private life of one of the most public ones that ever has existed in the wrestling entertainment industry. Jean Christensen is someone they want to know, how she met Andre the Giant, what their relationship was like, and what the only child they fathered was like.
This article is an honest, complete and human portrait of Andre the Giant Jean Christensen, from background to career, Jean and Andre, birth of their daughter Robin, the legal wrangling that ensued, Jean as a single mom, and the legacy she left behind. For anyone who has ever Googled Andre the Giant Jean Christensen, all the answers are here.
Table of Contents
Jean Christensen, who was he?
Jean Christensen was an American model and professional wrestling publicist who became forever linked to one of the most famous names in sports history. Born in 1934 in Minnesota, United States, she grew up in a family whose roots were in Denmark, who had strong values of honesty, discipline and strong personal character. In 2008 she died at the age of 74.
She was 5 feet 7 inches, and taller than most women of her time. That was just one of the many things that caught her eye about Andre the Giant, a giant who stood taller than just about anyone on earth. In a later interview, she said that she enjoyed the fact that Andre made even a tall woman, like herself, feel small.
Jean started her career as a model before becoming a publicist in professional wrestling. But she eventually joined WWF as a publicist to handle media relations and public communications for wrestling events throughout the country. That career path brought her into direct daily contact with the biggest names in the wrestling world in the 1970s, among them the man who would become the focus of the story of her life: Andre Rene Roussimoff or “Andre the Giant”.
The Andre the Giant Jean Christensen story isn’t a love story. It’s a complicated, honest story of two people who briefly connected and without planning, formed a life together and lived through the legal wrangling, the distance and the personal hardship that ensued. Jean took it all in stride.
Here are some key facts from the Quick Reference Table: Andre the Giant Jean Christensen.
| Category | Details |
| Relationship Status | Jean Christensen was never married to André René Roussimoff (Andre the Giant). |
| Andre’s Marital Status | Andre the Giant was never married to Jean Christensen. |
| Child | Jean Christensen had one daughter, Robin Christensen-Roussimoff. |
| Daughter’s Birth | Robin Christensen-Roussimoff was born on March 16, 1979, in Paris, France. |
| Inheritance | Robin was named the sole beneficiary of Andre the Giant’s estate, which was placed in a trust until she reached 30 years of age. |
Andre the Giant Jean Christensen: How They Met in 1974
The Jean Christensen story of Andre the Giant starts in 1974, when they were in each other’s universe of pro wrestling.
Jean was a publicist for WWF wrestling shows. She had to do press events, backstage and be in arenas where the wrestlers, managers and media were assembled. By this time, Andre the Giant was already a big man in the wrestling world. He was a professional wrestler, gaining a reputation on the wrestling circuit of Europe, Japan, Canada and the United States in the late 1960’s. He was so physically large that he couldn’t be ignored in any room he walked into.
Jean remembered the first time she met him in a 1990s TV interview, on A Current Affair. She expressed it without sentimentality. She stated that initially it did not light up. He was just a person she kept stumbling upon in her job. A familiarity grew as their professional careers continued to intersect at events and travel over time. She put into her own words: eventually, yes, there was that nod-nod-winky-winky.
They had come to know each other through being in the same vicinity and frequent contact, but not through any dramatic romantic start. They were both professionals in an intense, travel-driven and constant wrestling entertainment realm. This common ground, understanding of the pressures of the industry, and increased time together over the course of events and venues helped establish a true personal connection.
The essence of the Andre the Giant Jean Christensen story is this simple human fact—and it is a truth universal that applies to all of humanity—that two working people met in a working place, became human to each other, and began a relationship that they did not know how it would turn out.
Andre the Giant Jean Christensen: The Relationship
Andre the Giant and Jean Christensen’s relationship continued into the mid to late 1970s. It wasn’t a typical partnership. Andre’s wrestling schedule was hectic and kept him traveling a lot. Played in the United States, Japan, France and several international wrestling federations such as the World Wrestling Federation, All Japan Pro Wrestling and Mexico’s Universal Wrestling Association. He had little time for his family to be settled to a normal routine as he was on the road most of the time.
Jean knew this is what life was like. She was in a similar line of work. She was familiar with the work of Andre from the inside. That being said, the relationships he formed out of his career across the distance could be a challenge to keep alive.
Jean thought at one time in their relationship that Andre was infertile. She claimed that she was told this before they became physically intimate. Her pregnancy news came as a surprise to her belief. They had been living in France when she found out she was pregnant and connected with Andre’s European wrestling obligations.
Jean was born in Paris, France on March 16, 1979. They gave her the name of Robin. The birth of Robin is the beginning of a personal and family story, one that would have legal, financial, and emotional ramifications for the years to come, that marks the transition of the relationship between the Andre the Giant Jean Christensen from being personal to family.
Jean and Andre’s relationship soured soon after their daughter, Robin, was born. Of course, this was due to the stress placed on the relationship by Andre’s grueling career as well as the unplanned pregnancy and the stresses of being a young mother. They separated. So Jean chose to come back to the USA and raise Robin in Seattle, Washington.
The tribute to the life of Andre the Giant Jean Christensen
A chapter of the Andre the Giant Jean Christensen story that was certainly challenging was the paternity dispute that came after the birth of Robin.
At first, Andre didn’t accept Robin as his daughter. Jean went to court to have her child legally recognized as the father’s, and to receive financial support for Robin’s upbringing. A DNA paternity test was done and Andre was conclusively identified as Robin’s biological father.
The court mandated Andre pay child support starting at $750 a month, and then increasing to $1,000 a month. In the A Current Affair interview, Jean admitted that it was not Andre who was against these payments. The opposition was from his managers and entourage, individuals around him professionally and who had vested interests in holding his money, she said. Jean said Andre wanted to be “linked in with his daughter. He was surrounded by people who set obstacles in his way.
The details is something that has altered my perception of the Jean Christensen and Andre the Giant thing. Andre is depicted in the public story as an uninvolved, absent father. Jean’s own testimony refutes that simplicity. She attributed much of the distance to the business machinery surrounding Andre instead of Andre’s personal wishes.
The legal process created Robin’s rights as Andre’s daughter, and provided Jean the financial base she needed to raise her in Seattle. It also caused Jean and Andre to have a conflict which impacted on Robin’s relationship with her father during her childhood.
Jean Christensen: Life as a Single Mother in Seattle
Once the court case was over, Jean directed all her efforts towards what was most important: to raise Robin in a stable, grounded, private environment in Seattle, Washington.
She gave her name, Christensen-Roussimoff, to Robin. This choice demonstrated both aspects of Robin’s identity: her mother’s heritage and her father’s French identity. Even after the relationship between Jean and André was over, Jean did not wipe him of Robin’s memory. She saved their names as a reminder of their origin, which was Robin.
Jean made sure to keep the spotlight off Robin’s childhood. She knew what it was like to be involved with a superstar. She didn’t want to raise Robin as a celebrity child that’s exposed to the public. She wanted her to develop into a person, to have privacy and normalcy to get to know herself.
She succeeded. Robin then went on to talk about how her childhood had been stable and nurturing. The serene, thoughtful personality that was Robin in the adult interviews and at conventions came from the calm, thoughtful atmosphere Jean fostered in Seattle throughout Robin’s childhood and teen years.
During this time Andre tried to keep a phone relationship with Robin, but this often caused conflicts between Jean and Andre. Jean and Andre didn’t want Robin spending too much time around the wrestling world and, naturally, Robin was reluctant to go to Andre’s without her mother. At about the age of ten, Robin was offered to come and live with Andre. Robin declined. She wasn’t well acquainted with him enough to leave behind her mom and her life in Seattle.
According to Robin, she never met her father in person for more than five times throughout her childhood. The first was a blood test so as to establish their familial bond. She remembered him from two or three times at the arenas. Though their relationship was constrained by geography and circumstance, it was a love that was real. Andre was fond of his daughter. The way he lived his life hindered him from being able to express that love in a consistent and present manner.
Who Was the Man at the Center of this Story? Andre the Giant
The story of Andre the Giant Jean Christensen is a complicated one that relies on a clear picture of Andre Rene Roussimoff.
Andre was born in Grenoble, France on May 19, 1946. His childhood was spent in the little village of Molien, in the French countryside. He had a rare hormonal disorder known as acromegaly, which is due to excessive growth hormone production. This condition was to cause his outstanding physical dimensions – he reached a height of 7 feet 4 and more than 500 pounds at his best.
His wrestling career lasted from the late 1960’s until the early 1990’s. He played internationally and was one of the most famous athletes in the world. He was known for his large size and his wrestling persona, Andre the Giant. He was dubbed “The Eighth Wonder of the World” by promoter Vince McMahon Sr.
In addition to his wrestling career he also gained wider recognition for his acting – in the fantasy movie The Princess Bride (1987) he appeared as Fezzik. Robin remembered that her mother brought her to see the movie, but didn’t tell her that her father was in the movie. Robin was deeply touched by seeing her father in his role as a gentle giant on the big screen.
Andre also had the opportunity to appear with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Wilt Chamberlain in the 1983 movie Conan the Destroyer, further solidifying his role beyond wrestling in entertainment.
His condition gradually weakened from the late 1980s, due to his worsening acromegaly. The same reason for his fame brought him growing physical discomfort, restricted his activities and wrestling skills. He passed away at his father’s funeral on January 26th, 1993 in a hotel room in Paris. Death was attributed to congestive heart failure. His age was 46.
When her father passed away, Robin was about 14 years old.
How the Giants became the Giants
Andre’s death was a major chapter in the story of Andre Jean Christensen, known as Jean “Andre” Christensen, the “Andre” Jean Christensen case and its legal and financial consequences.
In his will, Andre left all of his assets to Robin. At the time of his death he was estimated to have a net worth of about $5 million. But, Andre laid out the inheritance carefully. He knew Jean had a grudge against him and apparently worried she was going to control the money, so he set up a trust to give her the money when she reached 30, in 2009.
Jean nurtured Robin through her teen and adult years without that inheritance. She went on to create her own life in Seattle without ever being a part of the public attention that surrounded Andre throughout his career and death, and the continued evolution of his legend in the wrestling world.
Jean Christensen passed away in 2008 at the age of 74. She died before Robin was able to inherit from Andre’s estate in 2009. Her whole life she has created an earth-bound life for herself and her daughter without leveraging her ties to one of the world’s most prolific sports stars.
Following her mother’s death, Robin began to assume the more public role of her father’s legacy. In 2018, she was featured in the HBO documentary, Andre the Giant, in which she shared her personal memories and perspective on the man she knew as dad, not a wrestling icon. She appeared at the Hollywood premiere of the documentary, saw fans at conventions and was involved in projects associated with her dad’s image and likeness.
Robin also appears to have ties to Titan Championship Wrestling as per her Instagram account as she has been seen making several mentions of the lineage.
Conclusion
The Jean Christensen and Andre the Giant story is not a story of glamour, celebrity romance or wrestling legend mythology. It tells of the Minnesotan woman who had a career in a male-dominated profession, who met one of the most physically amazing men in history, who made an unlikely connection, carried to term a child that was never meant for her, who defied legal opinion and a court order to assert her motherhood and secure her daughter’s rights, and who raised the daughter with dignity and privacy in Seattle throughout the rest of her life, without fanfare, but with true maternal love.
Jean Christensen never wrote a memoir. She never provided any extensive interviews on the relationship with Andre. She didn’t exploit his legend for her own benefit. She raised Robin, provided her with a consistent identity, known as Christensen-Roussimoff, and kept her away from the chaos of the wrestling world when she was a kid and watched her develop into a thoughtful and grace-filled adult who deals with her father’s complicated legacy.
The Andre the Giant Jean Christensen story concludes in the same manner as Jean’s life ended: quietly, privately and without fanfare in 2008. Jean’s work was carried on by Robin. She inherited her father’s assets in 2009. In 2018 she was featured in the HBO documentary. She goes to conventions, meets her fans and is the living link between Andre the Giant’s greatness and the troubled human being Jean Christensen was in 1974.
If you look up Andre the Giant Jean Christensen and read the whole story, you don’t get wrestling history, you get the story. You meet a woman who has done one of the most difficult things a human being can do: raise a kid with dignity and love when he/she had all the reasons to be bitter. This is the full Andre the Giant Jean Christensen response.
Frequently Asked Questions FAQs
Q1: Who was Jean Christensen?
Jean Christensen was an American model and WWF publicist born in Minnesota in 1934. She met Andre the Giant in 1974 through their shared work in the professional wrestling industry. She became the mother of Andre’s only biological child, Robin Christensen-Roussimoff. She passed away in 2008 at the age of 74.
Q2: Did Andre the Giant and Jean Christensen get married?
No, Andre the Giant and Jean Christensen were not married. Jean was incorrectly described in some sources as the wife of Andre, but they were a romantic couple until they had their daughter Robin in 1979. They did not file U.S. marriage license.
Q3: How did Andre the Giant and Jean Christensen get together?
They crossed paths in 1974 in the professional wrestling scene. Jean was a WWF Publicist. Andre was a well-known wrestler around the world. They met on many occasions at events and during their travels until a mutual personal friendship was formed.
Q4: Was Andre the Giant Robin’s dad?
At first, Robin was not recognized by Andre as his daughter. Jean undertook a legal paternity case. A DNA test proved Andre to be Robin’s true father. After the court’s decision, Andre has started paying child support.
Q5: How much child support did Andre pay Jean Christensen?
The court ordered Andre to pay $750 per month in child support, which later increased to $1,000 per month. Jean noted in interviews that the resistance to payments came primarily from Andre’s managers and entourage rather than from Andre himself.
Q6: Where did Jean Christensen raise Robin?
Jean raised Robin in Seattle, Washington, United States. She created a private, stable home environment away from the wrestling world’s spotlight and media attention.
Q7: How many times did Robin meet Andre the Giant?
Robin met her father in person approximately five times during her entire childhood. She recalled seeing him two or three times at arenas. Their first meeting involved a blood test to confirm paternity.
Q8: Who is Robin Christensen-Roussimoff?
Robin Christensen-Roussimoff is the only biological child of Andre the Giant and Jean Christensen. She was born on March 16, 1979, in Paris, France. She stands 6 feet tall. She lives in Seattle, Washington, and serves as the guardian of her father’s legacy. She appeared in the 2018 HBO documentary Andre the Giant and attended the documentary’s Hollywood premiere.
Q9: What did Robin inherit from Andre the Giant?
Andre named Robin as the sole beneficiary of his estate in his will. His estimated net worth at death was approximately $5 million. The estate was placed in a trust that Robin could not access until she turned 30, in 2009. Andre took this step out of concern that Jean might control the funds.
Q10: When did Jean Christensen die?
Jean Christensen died in 2008 at the age of 74. She did not live to see Robin gain access to Andre’s estate in 2009.
Q11: What condition caused Andre the Giant’s death?
Andre the Giant died from congestive heart failure on January 26, 1993, in Paris, France. His death was linked to acromegaly, a rare hormonal disorder caused by excess growth hormone production that drove his extraordinary physical size throughout his life.
Q12: What film did Jean Christensen’s daughter appear in connected to Andre?
Robin appeared in the 2018 HBO documentary Andre the Giant. She also worked as a consultant on a film adaptation of the book Andre the Giant: Closer to Heaven (2015). Jean’s influence in raising Robin to appreciate her father’s legacy despite their limited relationship shows clearly in Robin’s adult commitment to preserving it.
Q13: What was Andre the Giant’s net worth?
Andre the Giant’s estimated net worth at his death in 1993 was approximately $5 million. This wealth came from his decades-long wrestling career across multiple international organizations and his acting work in films including The Princess Bride and Conan the Destroyer.
