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Click image above to see Woman's Career in Photos
Nancy Benoit
May 21, 1964 - June 22, 2007
Updated June 6, 2008:
Nancy's sister Sandra has a website that is currently under construction. It can be found at ndbfoundation.org. On that site, you'll find a MySpace link as well as contact information.
The Nancy and Daniel Benoit Foundation is a non-profit organization. Founded in July of 2007 by Nancy and Daniel's surviving family members we are dedicated to researching the effects of steroid abuse on the brain and the body. We also fund several programs which educate children at the High School level about the adverse effects of steroid and prescription drug abuse. We continue to assist women and children in abusive situations due to cranial sports injury, steroid and drug abuse or just about any other issue causing fear for their lives.
The foundation is having a fundraiser in Daytona Beach, FL on June 27th at the Plaza Resort & Spa. For further info you can contact ratpack@ndbfoundation.org.
Updated July 6, 2007:
If all the allegations, reports, and stories are indeed true it was two weeks ago today that Nancy "Woman" Benoit, lost her life. I'm not going to sit here and speculate as to what may have happened. It is up to you to draw your own conclusions based on the facts (or lack of facts) that have been presented thus far.
I just wanted to take one more moment to remember the victims, who seem to be overlooked and ignored by every major news outlet. Nancy and Daniel lost their lives and, if you have watched any of the news programs or have read any of the papers, you may not have known that two innocent people were supposedly murdered. The news simply wants to focus on "roid rage", the doctor that allegedly prescribed tons of drugs to numerous people, the alleged syndrome that Daniel did or did not have, or any other possible angle they can come up with. After all, it's ratings that matter.
Instead of waiting for facts, like the toxicology reports to come back, it's more beneficial for the mass media to speculate. After all, if they can blame this all on steroids and blame steroid use on the WWE, why not go for it? I haven't seen one mention of steroids being used in any other sport. I haven't seen one mention of pain killers being used in any other sport. Instead, the media is on a tirade to lynch the WWE and all invlolved with it. Don't get me wrong, I am not defending the WWE. I just wish everyone involved in this case, and the mass media coverage, would focus on the actual facts and details surrounding THIS case.
Meanwhile, Nancy and Daniel are having memorial services on Saturday. You may not have known that if you watched any of the reports.
I would like to give kudos to the few wrestlers who have made an attempt to keep this story focused and keep the memories of the victims alive. Steve Blackman, Bill DeMott, Konan, and Chris Jericho have been the only wrestlers that I have seen who have continually tried to bring the focus back to the victims and didn't seem to have their own personal agenda. For that I thank them and I'm sure Nancy and Daniel's family would feel the same.
To those wrestlers who have taken this opportunity to get their names back out in the public eye, or to carry out a vendetta against an ex, congrtulations. It is poeple like you who give the wrestling business an even worse name than it already has. (By the way, there is no need for me to give any of these people any further publicity, as that is all they want in the first place).
So, take a moment and remember Nancy and Daniel. Remember all she brought to the world of pro wrestling. Check out her retrospective (below) or click on her image above for a ton of photos from throughout her career. Don't let her or her son simply be forgotten in this ridiculous media circus.
For those of you who may be interested, In lieu of gifts and condolences, theToffoloni family has started a foundation in Nancy and Daniel's memory. Donations to the Nancy and Daniel Benoit Foundation for Battered Women and Abused Children may be made at this time c/o Decker, Hallman, Barber and Briggs, 260 Peachtree St. Suite 1700, Atlanta, GA 30303. Carl J. Mowell & Son Funeral Home, Peachtree City, GA, 770-487-3959.
To all who have emailed me with their thoughts, comments, etc. Thank you. Let's just hope that Nancy and Daniel can rest in peace now.
- Brett
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Since everyone's focus seems to be on Chris Benoit I figured someone needs to remember the career of Woman.
With that in mind, here is a brief career retrospective of Nancy Benoit, one of my all time favorites.
Real Name: Nancy Daus-Sullivan-Benoit
Birthday: May 21, 1964
Hometown: Originally from Orlando, Florida Moved to Atlanta, Georgia
Marital Status: Divorced from Jim Daus (Florida)
Divorced from Kevin Sullivan
Married to Chris Benoit
Debut: 1984
Previous Gimmicks:
Para (Apartment Wrestling)
Robin Green (WCW)
Angel Dust (Florida)
Fallen Angel (Florida)
Wrestlers who Woman Managed:
2 Cold Scorpio, Arn Anderson, Butch Reed, Ron Simmons, Chris Benoit, D.C.
Drake, Dean Malenko, Shane Douglas, Johnny Hotbody, Kevin Sullivan, Larry
Winters, The Sandman, Psicosis, The Purple Haze, Randy Savage, The Tazmaniac,
Ric Flair, Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner, Ron Slinker, Kerry Von Erich
In 1983, Nancy Daus appeared as "Para" in an 'Apartment Wrestling' feature in a Sports Review Wrestling magazine. At that time she also sold programs for Florida Championship Wrestling at the arena, during Orlando shows.
In early 1984 Nancy Daus did a photo shoot with wrestlers Billy Jack Haynes and Mike Rotundo. Several of those photos were featured in wrestling magazines at the time.
In the summer of 1984, Nancy debuted as a member of Kevin Sullivan's Army of Darkness faction. She first appeared "emerginf from the ocean" and went by the name "Angel Dust" for her first two television appearances. Here name was then changed (with no reason given) to "Fallen Angel".
In 1985, Nancy married Kevin Sullivan.
In 1989, Nancy Sullivan appeared in WCW as a fan known as Robin Greene. Robin was infatuated with Rick Steiner and sat at ringside each week, trying to get a date with him.
Rick Steiner eventually accepted the date and Robin Greene was made-over by Rick Steiner's manager at the time, Missy Hyatt.
The made over Robin Greene began accompanying The Steiner Brothers to the ring until she purposely tripped Scott Steiner during a match.
Robin Greene became known simply as "Woman" and hired a masked team (Doom) to face The Steiners.
In the early 1990's, Woman aligned herself with The Four Horsemen, specifically The Nature Boy Ric Flair.
In 1993, Kevin and Nancy arrived in ECW. Woman she managed Sullivan and
The Tazmaniac to the ECW Tag Team Championships. Nancy remained in ECW
when Kevin left. She went on to manage Sandman and 2 Cold Scorpio. She
seamlessly reinvented herself to fit with perfectly with The Sandman's
gimmick.
In 1993, I met Woman for the first time at one of John Arrezzi's conventions in NY.
In December 1995, Woman was dumped by Sandman and Scorpio (in fact Scorpio carried her out of the building in Queens, to the limo).
On January 29, 1996 Woman appeared on WCW Monday Nitro as one of many women who stood in the aisle and waved as Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage came to the ring. She stayed at ringside, but soon turned on Savage and rejoined Flair, Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit in the then incarnation of the Four Horsemen. Miss Elizabeth also managed the stable.
Woman soon ffocused her attention on Horsemen member Chris Benoit, who was feuding with Kevin Sullivan.
Kevin Sullivan (WCW Booker at the time) encouraged his wife (Woman) and Chris Benoit to hang out in public to "fool the fans."
Woman and Chris Benoit soon became a real life couple.
In the spring of 1997, Woman left WCW and the wrestling business for good.
She then married Chris Benoit and moved to Atlanta where they had a child together in 2000.
In December 2005, Nancy Benoit had both her back and neck fused by Dr.
Lloyd Younblood in San Antonio, Texas.
On June 25th, 2007, Nancy Benoit and her son Daniel lost thier lives.
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Nancy Benoit: A Career Woman in Wrestling
Tuesday , June 26, 2007
Former professional wrestler Kevin Sullivan expressed shock and sadness over the death of his ex-wife, Nancy Benoit, whose body was found in her suburban Atlanta home Monday along with those of her 7-year-old son, Daniel, and husband, pro wrestler Chris Benoit, in an apparent murder-suicide.
Sullivan married the former Nancy Daus in 1985. The couple was still married in the 1990s when a scripted rivalry between Benoit and Sullivan in the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling (WCW) resulted in Benoit as the victor on the mat. However, a real romance blossomed between Benoit and Nancy, who eventually split with Sullivan and married Benoit in 2000.
From his home in Tavernier, Fla., in the Florida Keys, where he owns and runs a gym called Froggy’s Fitness with his wife, Linda, Sullivan said he had not spoken to his ex-wife since their split. He told FOXNews.com he learned of the grisly crime, which reportedly took place over several days, from television news on Monday evening.
“It’s surreal,” said Sullivan, who did not have children with Nancy Benoit. “She was a nice person. We just went our separate ways. She was nice and very loving and I’m sure she was a good mother.”
Sullivan said he did not know Benoit well outside the ring. “I never associated with him, so I really don’t know his personality,” he said. … “[But] I’m sad for all three, especially the child.”
Nancy's death comes 26 years to the month that the former valet and manager to wrestlers had her big break in professional wrestling.
It was June 1984 when she scored the cover of Wrestling All-Stars magazine. Nancy — born May 21, 1964 in Daytona Beach, Florida — had at that point worked as a model before and sat ringside to watch pro wrestling matches.
Just a month after her magazine shoot, she met Sullivan. He quickly fell in love with her, and soon after Nancy was a part of Sullivan's entourage in Florida Championship Wrestling. As part of the "Satanists," she took the name of Fallen Angel.
They were married the next year, and Nancy's career in professional wrestling was quickly being cemented.
In 1989, she began with the WCW, when she sat ringside to support brothers Rick and Scott Steiner as a character named Robin Green, who was supposed to be a fan obsessed with Rick. Finally, Rick allowed her to sit ringside with the brothers.
During that fateful televised match, though, Nancy revealed herself as a new character — Woman — costing the Steiners a win with her distraction.
With her new persona, she left the WCW.
But after a few years helping Kevin independently and doubling as a valet in the ECW — most notably for the cigarette-smoking, beer-guzzling Sandman, and another wrestler named 2 Cold Scorpio — Nancy and Kevin made a move back to the WCW in 1994.
By the end of the year, she was managing the Four Horsemen, who consisted of Ric Flair, Brian Pillman, Arn Anderson, and her future husband, Chris Benoit.
Soon after, Nancy began an on-screen, storyline relationship with Benoit. By 1997, the Benoit relationship had turned serious, and she and Sullivan divorced.
But there may be more to that divorce than meets the eye.
Sullivan's supposed intent in the late '90s was to retire from wrestling and focus on a career in booking, according to various media reports. However, Kevin is said to have caused Nancy to quit wrestling when he created a pay-per-view skit where she would appear topless; Nancy refused.
In 1997, Benoit beat Sullivan in one final match between the two, largely ending the public feud. Benoit left the WCW in 2000 for the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE).
Nancy had a son, Daniel, with Benoit that same year, on February 23. They married two days later. With Nancy's career as a valet over, she began managing her husband's career from their new Atlanta home. Her life as a mother and work-at-home wife began and life was sweet.
At Wrestlemania XX, Nancy joined her husband Chris in the ring to celebrate after he won the World Heavyweight Title.
But in May 2003, Nancy filed for a divorce, saying their three-year union was irrevocably broken and alleging "cruel treatment."
She later dropped the complaint, as well as a request for a restraining order in which she charged that Benoit had threatened her and had broken furniture in their home.
In the divorce filing, she said Benoit made more than $500,000 a year as a professional wrestler and asked for permanent custody of Daniel and child support. In his response, Benoit sought joint custody.
Four years later, on June 25, 2007, cops say Chris Benoit strangled his wife, suffocated his 7-year-old son, and placed a Bible next to their bodies before hanging himself by the pulley of a weightlifting machine in their Atlanta home.
Nancy was killed Friday in an upstairs family room, her feet and wrists were bound and there was blood under her head, indicating a possible struggle, Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard said. Daniel was likely killed late Saturday or early Sunday, the body found in his bed, Ballard said.
Benoit apparently killed himself between several hours and as long as a day later, Ballard said. Cops are unaware of any motive.
The storybook beginning for Nancy's life in wrestling ends in tragedy.
Blane Bachelor contributed to this report.
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Nancy Elizabeth Benoit
Daniel Christopher Benoit
May 17, 1964 - June 25, 2007
February 25, 2000 - June 25, 2007
Born in Boston, MA, Nancy relocated to Florida with her family. After graduating from Deland High School, she pursued a career in Professional Wrestling Entertainment. She enjoyed tremendous success and traveled all over the world. After meeting and falling in love with Christopher Benoit she retired to become a dutiful, loving, supportive wife and mother. She is survived by her father, Paul A. Toffoloni, mother, Maureen R. Toffoloni; sister, Sandra M. Toffoloni. She will be severely missed by her family, friends and colleagues, but her love and sprit will live on through them for eternity.
Daniel was born and raised in the Peachtree City, GA area. He was an active, popular student who loved his doggies, his neighbors and riding their horses. He was smart, affectionate and kind hearted. He adored his mother and worshipped his father. Daniel is survived by his maternal grandparents, Paul A. and Maureen R. Toffoloni; his aunt, Sandra M. Toffoloni; along with his paternal grandparents, Michael and Margaret Benoit; and his step siblings, David and Megan Benoit.
Memorial services for Nancy and Daniel Benoit will be held on Saturday,
July 14, 2007 at 1PM at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 201 University
Blvd., Daytona Beach, FL 32118. In lieu of gifts and condolences, the
family has started a foundation in Nancy and Daniel's memory. Donations
to the Nancy and Daniel Benoit Foundation for Battered Women and Abused
Children may be made at this time c/o Decker, Hallman, Barber and Briggs,
260 Peachtree St. Suite 1700, Atlanta, GA 30303. Carl J. Mowell &
Son Funeral Home, Peachtree City, GA, 770-487-3959.
www.mowellfuneralhome.com
Published in the Orlando Sentinel on 7/3/2007.
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Tragedy put aside in tribute to Nancy and Daniel Benoit
By MICHAEL LEWIS
Staff Writer
DAYTONA BEACH -- After three weeks of seeing her name plastered on cable TV news shows and splashed across magazines, Nancy Benoit's family wants to make sure she is remembered as more than a murder victim.
Family members of Nancy Benoit, from left, sister Sandra Toffoloni, and parents Paul and Maureen Toffoloni od Daytona Beach Shores, are escorted from Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic church after Saturday's memorial service.
Despite all she accomplished in her brief, 43-year life, the former DeLand High School student and pro wrestler's greatest fame sadly came in tragedy, at the hands of her husband, WWE star Chris Benoit.
Saturday afternoon, as rain pounded the roof and thunder crackled overhead at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, the family of Nancy Benoit began taking back their loved one's legacy. The service also paid tribute to Nancy's 7-year-old son, Daniel, who also was killed by his father the same weekend.
In front of about 75 family and friends, including a half-dozen former and current pro wrestlers, Nancy's younger sister Sandra Toffoloni cried while telling touching stories of the sister she so admired and the nephew who "completed my life."
Chris Benoit's name was never mentioned.
Surprisingly, the intense media coverage since the June 23-24 weekend slayings and his suicide in their suburban Atlanta home, didn't lead to a press frenzy in Daytona Beach. Only about a dozen media outlets, including the New York Times, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the New York Daily News, were milling outside the church on University Boulevard on Saturday. World Wrestling Entertainment stars Dean Malenko, Fit Finlay, Vickie Guerrero and announcer Jim "J.R." Ross were among the mourners.
This was a service to remember Nancy and Daniel.
During a poignant 10-minute eulogy by Sandra, and then later in their first public comments since the tragedy, Paul and Maureen Toffoloni of Daytona Beach Shores wanted to let the world know who their daughter was.
She was an artist who loved to paint and wanted to one day be a graphic artist.
She loved classic rock music.
Wrestling was her career and passion -- until she became a mother.
Her son, Daniel, was her "whole world."
"He was just such a wonderful little boy, who kissed sweetly, hugged tightly and laughed happily," said Sandra, who is 10 years younger than Nancy.
In perhaps the most emotional moment of the hourlong funeral, it was her sister who talked of one of her own low moments in life, when she learned she couldn't have children of her own.
"(Nancy) came to me and said 'we're going out to do something crazy,' " Sandra said. "So we went out and got these heart tattoos on our necks. We came home, and Mom was so mad for like two days. But she did make me feel better."
The Toffolonis and family attorney Richard Decker declined to comment on any aspect of the investigation into the murders, or their feelings toward Chris Benoit. But they were adamant in refuting previous reports that Daniel suffered from Fragile X Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder.
"There was absolutely nothing wrong with him, nothing," Nancy's mother, Maureen, said firmly. "That has hurt us a great deal, hearing people say that about him."
Daniel was the "angel" adored by the family and known for his ability to do a perfect impersonation of his grandmother.
"We used to joke with Nancy that she was going to have to buy a prom dress one day," Maureen said. "Because we didn't think Daniel was ever going to like another woman but her."
At a private reception after the funeral, the family recounted Nancy's first forays into wrestling when she was in her early 20s, and the first real smiles of the day shined on Sandra and Maureen's faces.
Introduced to the sport by then-husband Jim Daus, a fellow DeLand classmate, Nancy quickly began performing in local and national shows.
"When I was really little I used to get all dressed up when she was going to be on TV, because I thought she could see me through the screen," Sandra said.
Then there was the time Nancy, in her wrestling personality as the "Fallen Angel," came to the ring with a snake around her neck.
"I came out of the kitchen and took one peek, and that was enough for me," Maureen said. "Eventually, (Nancy's wrestling) all became normal to us."
Talking about her sister and nephew in the past tense has been difficult for Sandra.
"All my wounds feel deeper now," she said, "because the two people who always fixed me are gone forever."
original story
