Magnificent Mimi

• Hometown: Hollywood, California
• Height: 5′ 8″
• Weight: 130 lbs.
• Other names: Mimi Lesseos
• Wrestling Training: Fabulous Moolah and Judy Martin
• Theatrical Training: Robert F. Lyons and Bruce Glover, Stella Adler Conservatory West, and Tepper Gallegos Commercial Workshop
• Special Skills: Black Belt in Judo and Karate, Grappling, Boxing, Kickboxing, Weapons

Background

Mimi Lesseos’ wrestling moniker, Magnificent Mimi, seems appropriate to describe her whole life. She excels as an example of a female athlete and business woman while maintaining her feminine persona. Lesseos grew up in Hollywood as the youngest of five children with a Greek father and a Latino mother. Being the baby typically led to being picked on a lot and sparked her interest in martial arts at an early age. She started Judo lessons with her uncle, Gene LeBell, when she was only six years old mainly to learn to defend herself. At sixteen, she began her first career as a professional fighter.

Mimi spent 22 years touring the world as a wrestler/grappler. She worked with many of the wrestling legends in the Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling Association, American Wrestling Association (AWA), European Full contact, All Japan Pro Wrestling, and the Ladies Professional Wrestling Association (LPWA).

Lesseos has been featured in numerous magazine articles and photo layouts, most notably the December 1989 issue of Playboy that showed her holding the AWA championship belt.

Publications

Credits

Some of the movies and television programs Mimi has been featured in include Million Dollar Baby, Gangs of New York, Scorpion King, Man on the Moon, X-Files, Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman, Double Duty, Personal Vendetta, Streets of Rage, Beyond Fear, Pushed to the Limit.

Retirement

Mimi retired from the professional wrestling circuit after the birth of her twins. As a devoted single mom, she has bought a ranch outside Los Angeles and built a second career in the movie industry. Realizing that she couldn’t maintain a top wrestling position indefinitely, she had already been doing some stunt work and what she terms “exploitation” films while still working the wrestling circuit. Even while she was pregnant, she continued to be active including doing some stunt work on The Mike Hammer Show and making a workout video.

Soon after the birth of her twins she started work on Man in the Moon, training the star, Jim Carey and wrestling with him in the film. She added a long-running position as stunt double for the mother in Malcom in the Middle soon after. Her previous stunt and film work had already given her a network of contacts in the industry which she used to expand her possibilities. Soon she was writing and producing as well as performing. In 1992, her fledgling production company, Stepping Out Productions, released her first full length film, Pushed to the Limit.