The Fabulous Moolah

The Fabulous Moolah
Moolah in 1970
Birth nameMary Lillian Ellisor[1]
Born(1923-07-22)July 22, 1923
Kershaw County, South Carolina, U.S.[2]
DiedNovember 2, 2007(2007-11-02) (aged 84)
Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
Spouse(s)Walter Carroll (divorced)
Buddy Lee
(m. 1961; div. 1970)
Children1
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Fabulous Moolah[3]
The Fabulous Moolah[4]
Slave Girl Moolah[4]
The Spider Lady[5]
Billed height5 ft 6 in (168 cm)[3][6]
Billed weight138–160 lb (63–73 kg)[4][6]
Billed fromColumbia, South Carolina[4]
Trained byMildred Burke[4]
Mae Young[7]
Johnny Long[8]
Debut1949[4]
RetiredSeptember 15, 2004

Mary Lillian Ellison (July 22, 1923 – November 2, 2007) was an American professional wrestler, promoter and trainer better known by her ring name The Fabulous Moolah.

She began her career working with promoter Billy Wolfe and his wife, wrestler and trainer Mildred Burke, as well as working alongside professional wrestler "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers. She won the NWA World Women's Championship in 1956 and was the most prominent holder of the title for 28 years. She is overall an eight-time women's world champion and to this day holds the record as the longest reigning world champion in combination of all her reigns.

In the 1980s, she joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE) as part of the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection storyline, feuding with Cyndi Lauper and Wendi Richter, the latter of whom defeated her for the WWF Women's Championship in the main event of The Brawl to End It All in 1984. Moolah regained the Women's Championship on two further occasions before entering semi-retirement towards the end of the decade. She continued to make sporadic appearances for WWF/WWE until her death, often in comedic roles with longtime friend Mae Young. In 1999, she became the oldest champion in the history of professional wrestling, up to that point in time, when she won the Women's Championship for a final time at age 76.[a]

During her lifetime, Moolah was lauded as a leading figure in women's professional wrestling and was considered one of the industry's greatest wrestlers. She became the first woman to be inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1995 and is also a member of the NWA Hall of Fame and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. However, her legacy has since been damaged in the years following her death, when allegations surfaced that she had exploited female wrestlers under her tutelage both financially and sexually.

  1. ^ "FamilySearch". FamilySearch. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference funeralobit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b "Fabulous Moolah bio". WWE. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Shields, Brian. Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s, p. 86.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference raging87 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference profile was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Scherer, Dave (October 2000). "Life Begins At 77: Mae Young Interview". Wrestling Digest. Archived from the original on December 9, 2007. Retrieved April 1, 2008.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference god55 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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