Jean Christensen: Everything About André the Giant’s Former Partner

Jean Christensen entered André the Giant’s life during the early 1970s, when the French wrestler was becoming a major attraction across North America.

Their relationship produced André’s only child, Robin Christensen-Roussimoff, in 1979. Jean subsequently raised Robin primarily in the United States.

Although some online profiles call Jean André’s wife, the couple never legally married. “Former partner” is the more accurate description of their relationship.

Jean also had her own connection to professional wrestling. Published accounts describe her as a model who later worked in publicity for the wrestling business.

Her life remained largely outside the spotlight, yet her place in André’s story is significant. Here is what documented accounts reveal about Jean, André, and their daughter.

Jean Christensen’s Quick Information

Who Was Jean Christensen?

Jean Christensen was an American wrestling publicist whose relationship with André René Roussimoff connected her permanently to one of wrestling’s most recognizable performers.

Published profiles also identify her as a former model. Her publicity work placed her inside the wrestling business rather than among spectators following it from outside.

Jean met André around 1972 or 1973. At that stage, he was moving between wrestling territories under a demanding international schedule.

The relationship was relatively brief, but it led to the birth of their daughter, Robin Christensen-Roussimoff, in 1979.

Jean became Robin’s primary parent. She raised her in the United States while André continued traveling between American, European, and Japanese wrestling promotions.

Her Work in Wrestling

Christensen worked in public relations during an era when professional wrestling relied on regional promoters, local television, newspaper coverage, and live-event advertising.

Publicists helped promoters attract attention to upcoming cards and their featured performers. André was especially valuable because his appearances could turn an ordinary event into a major attraction.

Her position gave Jean direct access to the people working behind the curtain. That professional setting reportedly led to her first encounter with André.

The wrestling business of the 1970s operated through separate territories rather than one dominant nationwide company. Performers regularly moved between cities and promoters.

Jean therefore met André during one of the busiest stages of his career. His work required constant travel and allowed little opportunity for a settled domestic routine.

Her Earlier Modeling Career

Before her publicity work, Jean was described in published biographical accounts as a model during the early 1970s.

That experience would have given her familiarity with promotional photography, media presentation, and the image-focused side of entertainment work.

Her modeling career did not produce a widely documented collection of magazine covers, national advertisements, or agency campaigns.

Jean’s lasting public recognition instead came through wrestling, André, and their daughter. Those connections appear far more frequently in historical profiles.

Unlike André, she did not pursue a heavily publicized entertainment career. Her professional identity remained mostly behind the scenes.

How Did Jean Meet André?

Jean Christensen met André through professional wrestling around 1972 or 1973, according to accounts of the wrestler’s personal life.

André had relocated to North America in 1971 after wrestling in France, Britain, Germany, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Africa.

His Canadian appearances made him a strong box-office attraction. Crowds came to see a performer whose height and strength looked extraordinary even beside other heavyweights.

Vincent J. McMahon began presenting him as André the Giant in 1973. McMahon booked him across numerous territories to prevent audiences in any single market from seeing him too often.

Jean encountered André as this carefully managed schedule was taking shape. Their relationship developed within an industry built around travel and irregular working hours.

Their Private Relationship

Jean and André were romantically involved during the 1970s, but their relationship never became a legal marriage.

That distinction matters because Jean is frequently mislabeled as “André the Giant’s wife.” Reliable accounts of André’s life state that he never married.

Their connection also differed from a conventional celebrity marriage. André spent much of each year moving between wrestling events, hotels, airports, and international tours.

Jean maintained her own life in the United States. The distance between them became more consequential after their daughter arrived.

Descriptions of the relationship vary in tone, but the established facts remain consistent: they were partners, they had one child, and they eventually separated.

Was Jean André’s Wife?

Jean Christensen was not André the Giant’s legal wife, despite the wording used by many celebrity biography websites.

André never held a public wedding with Jean, and no marriage appears in established accounts of his life.

The confusion probably comes from Jean’s importance within his family history. She was his best-known partner and the mother of his only child.

Referring to Jean as his former girlfriend or former partner preserves that distinction without minimizing their connection.

Her place in André’s story rests on their documented relationship and shared parenthood, not on a marital title they never formally held.

Meet Their Daughter Robin

Jean and André had one daughter, Robin Christensen-Roussimoff, who was born in France in 1979.

Robin carries both family names. Christensen comes from her mother, while Roussimoff was André’s birth surname.

She spent most of her childhood with Jean in the United States. Accounts about Robin commonly connect her upbringing with the Seattle area.

Robin was approximately 14 when André died in Paris on January 28, 1993. He had returned to France following his father’s death.

As André’s only recognized child, Robin later became closely involved with decisions concerning his name, image, and continuing commercial legacy.

Jean’s Life as a Mother

Jean Christensen handled the daily responsibility of raising Robin while André maintained one of wrestling’s most travel-intensive schedules.

Their daughter has said she saw André only five times in person. Distance, strained communication between her parents, and André’s work all limited those meetings.

Robin nevertheless recalled being able to contact her father when she needed him. Her later comments presented a more complicated picture than complete abandonment.

Jean kept Robin away from the wrestling road during childhood. Touring performers often traveled for weeks, moving repeatedly between arenas without a stable home base.

That decision gave Robin a settled upbringing with her mother, even though it reduced the time she could spend with André.

André’s Life on Tour

André’s career explains part of the family’s unusual arrangement. He made his professional debut in France on January 25, 1966.

By 1973, McMahon was booking him as a traveling special attraction. Individual promoters paid to feature him without keeping him in one territory permanently.

His schedule included the World Wide Wrestling Federation, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, and numerous regional American organizations.

The travel continued after Robin’s birth. André worked hundreds of dates while managing the physical effects of acromegaly and his increasing mobility problems.

A conventional parenting schedule would have been difficult under those conditions. Jean supplied the consistent home life that André’s profession could not provide.

Their Paternity Dispute

Published accounts state that André initially questioned whether he was Robin’s biological father, partly because he believed he could not have children.

A paternity test established that Robin was his daughter. She remained the only child André publicly recognized during his lifetime.

The matter contributed to tension between Jean and André. Their communication reportedly remained difficult as they addressed parental responsibilities.

The dispute also influenced Robin’s earliest contact with her father. She was an infant when the adults began resolving questions about support and recognition.

Once paternity was established, Robin legally carried the Roussimoff name and occupied an undisputed position in André’s immediate family.

André’s Bond With Robin

Robin’s relationship with André was limited in person, but she has resisted portraying him as entirely absent or uncaring.

In interviews connected with the 2018 HBO documentary Andre the Giant, she described him as a good father within the restrictions surrounding their relationship.

People close to André have said the separation from Robin affected him. Former WWE referee Tim White discussed André’s feelings in the HBO production.

Their visits were rare enough for Robin to remember the approximate total as five. She experienced much of her father’s life through television and public stories.

Her assessment has remained measured. She has acknowledged the missed time while recognizing that André’s work, health, and relationship with Jean complicated their bond.

Jean and André’s Separation

Jean and André did not develop a lasting household after Robin’s birth. Their romantic connection ended while their parental link remained.

The separation left Jean responsible for Robin’s regular upbringing. André’s work continued across several countries through the 1980s and early 1990s.

Their communication difficulties affected opportunities for father and daughter to meet. Robin was also reluctant to fly alone to André’s North Carolina ranch.

André purchased that property near Ellerbe, North Carolina, as a retreat from touring and the attention his size attracted in public.

Jean’s home remained Robin’s dependable base. The two women shared a daily life removed from André’s worldwide celebrity and wrestling commitments.

André’s Historic Career

Understanding Jean Christensen’s public recognition requires looking at André’s exceptional career, which lasted more than 25 years.

His best-known accomplishments include:

• Headlining WrestleMania III against Hulk Hogan in 1987, winning the WWF Championship in 1988, playing Fezzik in The Princess Bride, and becoming the inaugural WWF Hall of Fame inductee in 1993.

The WrestleMania III match took place at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan. WWE reported an attendance of 93,173, though later examinations have disputed that announced figure.

On February 5, 1988, André defeated Hogan during NBC’s live broadcast of The Main Event. His WWF Championship reign lasted less than two minutes.

Away from wrestling, he played Fezzik opposite Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, and Wallace Shawn in Rob Reiner’s 1987 film The Princess Bride.

These achievements kept André’s name prominent long after Jean had withdrawn from wrestling publicity and public-facing professional work.

Jean After André’s Death

André died from congestive heart failure in a Paris hotel on January 28, 1993. He was 46 years old.

He had traveled to France to attend his father Boris Roussimoff’s funeral. André remained there longer to spend time with his mother.

His body was returned to the United States and cremated. His ashes were scattered at his ranch in North Carolina according to his wishes.

Jean continued living privately after his death. Public attention increasingly shifted toward Robin as André’s heir and representative.

Christensen died in 2008, 15 years after André. Her death left Robin as the surviving link between the former couple’s immediate family.

Robin and André’s Legacy

Robin inherited responsibility connected to André’s likeness and intellectual property after his death.

She has participated in projects examining his career, most visibly the HBO documentary Andre the Giant, which premiered on April 10, 2018.

The film was directed by Jason Hehir and produced with HBO Sports, WWE, and Bill Simmons Media Group.

Robin attended its Los Angeles premiere on March 29, 2018. Her involvement gave the production a family perspective that wrestling colleagues could not supply.

She has also appeared at fan conventions and licensed events. Those appearances allow her to discuss the man Jean knew before his image became permanent wrestling mythology.

Jean’s Place in His Story

Jean Christensen never accumulated André’s filmography, championships, or global fame. Her documented contribution was personal and specific.

She met André while working within wrestling, became his partner, and raised the only child born from any of his known relationships.

Her story also corrects a persistent error surrounding André’s private life. He had a family connection with Jean, but he did not have a wife.

Jean’s work gave her an independent link to the wrestling business before motherhood reshaped her life away from touring publicity.

For readers assessing André’s life beyond the ring, Jean provides the clearest connection between his public career and his responsibilities as a father.

Her Lasting Family Role

Jean Christensen’s life demonstrates how little of André’s private experience fit the simple stories built around his wrestling character.

She raised Robin while André crossed continents, fought headline matches, underwent major surgery, and pursued acting roles between wrestling commitments.

Robin’s later involvement with her father’s estate means Jean’s influence continues indirectly. The daughter she raised now helps determine how André is represented.

Neither exaggerated marriage claims nor thin celebrity profiles explain that role accurately. Jean was his former partner, wrestling colleague, and co-parent.

Her most enduring place in the record is precise: Jean Christensen was the woman who raised André the Giant’s only daughter.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who was Jean Christensen?

Jean Christensen was an American wrestling publicist and former model. She is best known as André the Giant’s former partner and the mother of his only child.

2. Did Jean marry André?

No, Jean Christensen and André René Roussimoff never legally married. André had no documented wife during his lifetime.

3. How did Jean meet André?

Jean met André through the professional wrestling business around 1972 or 1973. She was working in publicity while he was becoming a heavily booked North American attraction.

4. Did Jean have children?

Jean had one daughter with André, Robin Christensen-Roussimoff, born in 1979. Robin was raised primarily by Jean in the United States.

5. When did Jean Christensen die?

Jean Christensen died in 2008. Her death came 15 years after André died in Paris on January 28, 1993.

6. Who is André’s daughter?

Robin Christensen-Roussimoff is André the Giant’s only recognized child. She appeared in HBO’s 2018 documentary about her father and helps protect his legacy.

7. How often did Robin see André?

Robin has said she saw her father approximately five times in person. André’s constant travel and strained communication with Jean limited their meetings.

8. What work did Jean do?

Published biographical accounts describe Jean as a former model who worked in wrestling public relations. Her industry position led to her meeting André in the early 1970s.

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