Who Is Lou Ferrigno, Is He Really Deaf, What Is His Net Worth, Who is The Wife?

Quick Facts

Lou Ferrigno is a popular American actor, fitness trainer and former professional bodybuilder who was a one-time winner of the IFBB Mr. America and a two-time winner of IFBB Mr. Universe. As an actor, he is known for the sitcom Incredible Hulk which was aired on CBS and he has also starred in a number of films and TV shows as well as being the subject of the documentary Pumping Iron which gained him celebrity status.

Let’s take you through his background details, hearing challenges, his marriages, and net worth.

Who Is Lou Ferrigno?

The American actor, fitness personnel and former bodybuilder’s birth name is Louis Jude Ferrigno and he was born on the 9th of November, 1951 in Brooklyn, New York, the United States of America to Victoria Ferrigno and Matt Ferrigno. Although he is of Italian descent, Lou has an American nationality and his ethnicity is White. He is said to have picked interest in weight training at a very young age and credits his passion for the sports to Hercules lead actor Steve Reeves.

He studied at the St. Athanasius Grammar School and Brooklyn Technical High School, where he specialized in learning metal work and graduated in 1969.

His Body Building Days

Lou Ferrigno started his career as a bodybuilder after he graduated from high school and he landed the IFBB Mr. America title that same year followed by the IFBB Mr. Universe title four years down the lane. During his early career days as a bodybuilder, Lou was tutored by and in 1974 he contested in the Olympia competition where he was ranked second. In the subsequent year, in spite of all his efforts to defeat Arnold Schwarzenegger, he ranked 3rd place. However, he was brought into the spotlight as his pursuit to defeat Arnold Schwarzenegger was the major focus of Pumping Iron a documentary in 1975.

Lou Ferrigno is also known to have emerged in the fourth place in the World Strongest Man competition that took place in 1977. After a long break, the bodybuilder was back in the arena at the beginning of 1990 and he contested in the 1992 and 1993 Mr. Olympia Competition holding 12th and 10th. He entered into the Master Olympia the following year where he tried his best to defeat Robbie Robinson and Boyer Coe, which was also said to be the main focus of the documentary Stand Tall in 1996. After the competition, Lou retired officially as a professional bodybuilder.

His Acting Career

Lou Ferrigno ventured into acting in 1977, with as The Hulk in the CBS television series Incredible Hulk. He has also made appearances in several movies and television series which include Battle of the Network Stars, Trauma Center, and the CBS sitcom The King of Queens. He also featured in the comedy movie I love you Man, My two Chad, he voiced Billy the Hero in the movie Adventure time and was in the Avengers, Star Trek Continues.

Net Worth

The former bodybuilder turned actor is not is known to have made good earnings over the years from his endeavors and although the figure for his net worth has been quoted at very many figures at different times he is currently worth an estimated $6 million.

Is He Really Deaf?

It is worth knowing that shortly after his birth, the American actor had an ear infection that was not well treated and it escalated to a hearing impairment making him lose about 80% of his hearing ability. He started using hearing aids but the damage had been already been done and the aid was not able to relieve the deafness completely.

Lou is said to have faced severe intimidation from his peers, and was often harassed as they called him “deaf Louie” or “deaf mute”.  He subsequently taught himself to read people’s lips and this helped him defeat his inability as he was able to communicate with people fluently.

Lou Ferrigno’s Wife & Children

The American professional bodybuilder is married to Carla Green, a psychotherapist who worked as his manager and later a became his personal trainer. The pair got married in 1980 and currently have three children; a daughter Shannan and two sons Louis Jr. and Brent.

Prior to marrying Carla, Lou Ferrigno was married to Susan Groff in 1978 but the marriage didn’t last for long as the duo parted ways after just one year of marriage.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.