Andre Rene Roussimoff, who was born on May 19th 1946, was a giant in his field. Born in France in 1946, young Roussimoff began life simply – and small – enough. But by his 12th birthday, he had grown to 6-feet-3-inches and 240 pounds (too big for the bus, he was driven to school by his neighbor, playwright Samuel Beckett). Most of us know him simply as Andre the Giant.