Nancy Benoit Biography

Nancy Elizabeth Benoit (née Toffoloni, formerly Daus and Sullivan; May 21, 1964 " June 22, 2007), more commonly known by her in-ring names Woman and Fallen Angel, was a professional wrestling valet and manager. She worked in several promotions, including Jim Crockett Promotions, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling.

Over a three-day period ending on June 24, 2007, Nancy Sullivan-Benoit and her son were victims of a double murder-suicide perpetrated by her husband, wrestler Chris Benoit, who committed suicide on June 24, 2007.

Career

Early days

After graduating DeLand High School, Nancy got a job answering phones at an insurance agency situated in the United States called State Farm. When George Napolitano needed a beautiful young girl for the cover of the June 1984 edition of the pro-wrestling magazine Wrestling All Stars, fellow photographer Bill Otten suggested the 20-year-old Nancy Toffoloni Daus for the role. Nancy, who had worked as a model, often sat alongside her then-husband Jim. She had also been selling programs at the Orlando shows and appeared as Para in the old "Apartment Wrestling" features. It was on this shoot where she met Kevin Sullivan, who eventually wanted her to be a part of his wrestling entourage. After months of convincing, Nancy finally became an on-air valet, taking the name Fallen Angel. She made her in-ring debut on July 7, 1984 at the Lakeland Civic Center in Lakeland, Florida for Florida Championship Wrestling.

She became a part of Kevin Sullivan's stable of kayfabe "Satanists", which also included wrestlers The Lock, Luna Vachon, The Purple Haze, and Sir Oliver Humperdink. Nancy and Kevin Sullivan traveled throughout the United States using the "Satanist" gimmick for promotions such as Angelo Savoldi's ICW and Southwest Championship Wrestling. The two married in 1985.

World Championship Wrestling

She first appeared in WCW as a "fan" of Rick Steiner named Robin Green, wearing a Steiner T-shirt and large glasses. She would sit in the audience and would interact with Steiner whenever he appeared. She eventually turned on him, aligning herself with Kevin Sullivan and adopting the name Woman and became the manager of Doom (Butch Reed and Ron Simmons). After leaving Doom, she aligned herself with Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen.

Extreme Championship Wrestling

In 1993, Kevin and Nancy surfaced in the fledgling ECW, where"?once again called simply Woman"?she managed Sullivan and The Tazmaniac to the ECW Tag Team Championships. When Kevin re-sought the greener pastures of WCW, Nancy remained in ECW, going on to manage Sandman and 2 Cold Scorpio. Once again, she almost seamlessly re-invented herself to fit with The Sandman's gimmick"?opening his beers, lighting his cigarettes, and destroying his opponents with her own Singapore cane. She wrestled her first match in ECW when she teamed with The Sandman against Tommy Cairo and Peaches in a Singapore Cane Match.

World Championship Wrestling return

After being dumped by Sandman and Scorpio in ECW, she once again resurfaced in WCW, first appearing on the January 22, 1996 edition of 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. On the February 5, 1996 edition of Nitro she turned on Savage during his match with Chris Benoit and rejoined Flair, Arn Anderson, Brian Pillman, and Benoit in the then-current incarnation of the Four Horsemen. Miss Elizabeth also managed the stable.

In 1996, Pillman had left the Horsemen, but they added Steve McMichael and his wife Debra in June, which didn't sit well with Woman. In her next angle, the two bickered, not getting along in general. The Four Horsemen were often given interview time on Nitro and when it came time for Debra to speak on the mic, she'd often go into a soliloquy regarding Woman's looks and fashion sense "? usually when the two weren't within the vicinity of each other. Despite the heavy tension, the two managers never had a physical altercation.

At the same time, she started an on-screen relationship with Benoit, who at the time was involved in a feud with her real-life husband, Kevin Sullivan. On December 7, on WCW Saturday Night, during a post-match interview with Sullivan, a home movie of the couple canoodling in a kitchen was played in front of him. Woman taunted Sullivan by saying, "You can't find me" and "I'm my own woman," while Benoit added: "You consider yourself the master of human chess. Well, my bishop just took your queen". After the video, Sullivan stood there speechless, and his manager Jimmy Hart led him off stage. This feud between Benoit and Sullivan saw Woman clashing with Sullivan's then-valet Jacquelyn at ringside. In one match, the two ladies were strapped together, took shots at each other, and used the strap connecting them as a weapon against the men.

Eventually, the Benoit-Nancy on-screen relationship developed into a real-life affair off-screen. Because of this it is often joked that 'Kevin Sullivan booked his own divorce.' The two were indeed divorced in 1997. What's more, Sullivan lost a retirement match to Benoit. His intent had been to retire from in-ring action and focus on booking.

Nancy's final WCW appearance (and professional wrestling appearance as Woman) took place on May 26, 1997 on Monday Nitro as she accompanied Benoit to the ring for a confrontation with Jimmy Hart regarding the whereabouts of Sullivan, who wasn't in the arena. On the following week's show, Benoit came alone to ringside without her by his side. After managing him for a little over half a year, no reason was given for Woman's sudden disappearance, and she was never mentioned on WCW programming again.

Personal life

Before her marriage to Kevin Sullivan in 1992, Nancy had previously been married to and divorced from Jim Daus.

Nancy and Chris Benoit became engaged in 1997 after her divorce from Sullivan that same year, although Benoit only referred to Nancy as his fiancée even after they were married. She managed her husband's career from their home in Atlanta.

She gave birth to her son Daniel Christopher Benoit on February 23, 2000. Nancy married Chris Benoit on November 23, 2000. However, in 2003, she filed for divorce, citing the marriage as "irrevocably broken" and alleging "cruel treatment." She later dropped the suit, as well as a restraining order filed on her husband.

In December 2005, Nancy had back and neck fusion surgery with Lloyd Youngblood.

After Nancy's death in 2007, Hustler published nude photographs of Nancy from a shoot taken when Nancy was 20 years old. The length of time between the events caused controversy, causing critics to claim that Hustler owner Larry Flynt was attempting to capitalize on the event. The family of Nancy Benoit took legal action against Hustler. The appellate court ruled that, "The photographs published by [Flynt] neither relate to the incident of public concern conceptually [the murders] nor correspond with the time period during which Benoit was rendered, against her will, the subject of public scrutiny".

Death

On June 25, 2007 Benoit, her husband Chris, and their son Daniel were found dead in their home in suburban Atlanta at around 2:30 p.m. It first was reported by their WWE Mobile Alerts service and posted to their official Web site soon after.

Lieutenant Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department reported to ABC News that it was being investigated as a double murder-suicide, and the police were not searching for any suspects outside of the house, as the instruments of death were located at the scene of the crime. The same day, Detective Bo Turner of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department told television station WAGA-TV that the case was being treated as a murder-suicide.

During a press conference on June 26, Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard reported that Chris Benoit had killed his wife and son. A Bible was left by Nancy Benoit's body, and she died of asphyxiation. She had bruises on her back and stomach consistent with an attacker pressing a knee into the back while pulling on a cord around the neck. While there were no signs of restraint on his son, he also died of asphyxiation. He had internal injuries to the throat area, but showed no bruises, indicating he may have been locked in the crook of his attackers's arm. It is reported that his wife died on Friday, his son died on Saturday, and Benoit later hanged himself with the cord of a weight machine in his basement on early Sunday morning; he also died by asphyxiation.

A memorial for Nancy and her son took place in Daytona Beach, Florida, on July 14, 2007. Both Nancy and her son Daniel were cremated with their ashes placed in starfish-shaped urns, before being passed on to Nancy's family. Benoit himself was also cremated, but what was done with his ashes is not public knowledge.

Wrestlers managed