Mimi Diane Lesseos (born

February 25 Events Pre-1600 * 138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor. * 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II. ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

) is an American female

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, actress, model and stuntwoman also known by the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Magnificent Mimi.

Early life

Lesseos was raised in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

. She is the youngest of five children born to a Greek father and a Latino mother. She began martial arts lessons at the age of six.

Professional wrestling career

American Wrestling Association (1988–1990)

In 1988, Lesseos debuted in the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

. She competed against women such as Candi Devine and Lori Lynne (formerly Colonel Ninotchka of

Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (also known by its initials as GLOW or G.L.O.W.) is a women's professional wrestling promotion that began in 1986 (the pilot was filmed in December 1985) and has continued in various forms after it left television. C ...

) to become the top contender for the AWA World Women's Championship, which was held by

Madusa Miceli Debrah Ann Miceli (born February 9, 1964), better known as Madusa, is an Italian-born American monster truck driver and former professional wrestler. She is currently working for National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as a producer. In 2015, she has ...

. Miceli refused to grant her singles matches, which caused Lesseos to interrupt Miceli's title defenses against other contenders, such as

Susan Sexton Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...

and Brandi Mae. She also teamed with

Wendi Richter Victoria "Wendi" Richter (born September 8, 1961) is an American retired professional wrestler. She began her professional wrestling career in companies such as the National Wrestling Alliance, where she teamed with Joyce Grable, with whom she ...

against Miceli and Sylvia (wife and valet of Robert Fuller) in a series of tag team matches. She was eventually rewarded with singles matches against Miceli. They feuded throughout the summer and fall of 1988, but Lesseos was unable to win the title. While working in the AWA, Lesseos was featured in the December 1989 issue of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' magazine posing with the AWA World Women's Championship belt, even though she never held the title.

Late career (1990–1994)

After the AWA closed, Lesseos joined the Ladies Professional Wrestling Association. She became a contender for the LPWA Championship and competed against women such as Malia Hosaka, Sindy Paradise,

Dawn Marie Dawn Marie Psaltis (born November 3, 1970) is an American actress, nurse and a retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling valet. She is perhaps best known for her appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and the Smac ...

, Jan Flame, and La Gata. She also formed a tag team with Denise Storm. The duo feuded with

Terri Power Terri Poch (born August 20, 1964) is an American bodybuilding, bodybuilder and former Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, best known for her appearances with the World Wrestling Entertainment, World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as Tori. S ...

and Reggie Bennett. She retired in 1994.

Acting career

After retiring from professional wrestling in 1994, Lesseos appeared in numerous television series films as both an actress and stuntwoman. She has written, produced, and starred in several motion pictures, including ''

Pushed to the Limit ''Pushed to the Limit'' is a 1992 action pro wrestling feature film written by Mimi Lesseos and directed by Michael Mileham. Starring Mimi Lesseos and Verrel Lester Reed, the film is about a wrestling queen who finds out that a gangster is respo ...

'' (1992), ''Beyond Fear'' (1993), ''

Streets of Rage ''Streets of Rage'' is a series of side-scrolling beat 'em up video games, centering on the efforts of several ex-police vigilantes trying to rid a fictional, large American city from a crime syndicate that has corrupted its local government. ...

'' (1994), ''Personal Vendetta'' (1995)"Mimi in Action"
''

Black Belt Black Belt may refer to: Martial arts * Black belt (martial arts), an indication of attainment of expertise in martial arts * ''Black Belt'' (magazine), a magazine covering martial arts news, technique, and notable individuals Places * Black B ...

'', September 2002, p. 93. and ''Double Duty'' (2009). Her credits also include ''

Million Dollar Baby ''Million Dollar Baby'' is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, scored by and starring Clint Eastwood from a screenplay written by Paul Haggis, based on stories from the 2000 collection ''Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner' ...

'', '' Gangs of New York'', '' The Scorpion King'', '' Man on the Moon'', ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

'', '' Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman'', and '' Final Impact''. She was also the longtime stuntwoman for

Jane Kaczmarek Jane Frances Kaczmarek (; born December 21, 1955) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Malcolm's mother Lois on the Fox television sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned her three Golden Globe nomination ...

on ''

Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunctional ...

''.

Personal life

Lesseos is the single mother of twin children.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lesseos, Mimi 1964 births 20th-century American women Living people American female professional wrestlers American film actresses American film producers American female kickboxers American screenwriters American stunt performers American people of Greek descent American women film producers Hispanic and Latino American people Professional wrestlers from California 20th-century professional wrestlers