Kurt Angle

Kurt Steven Angle was born in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, on December 9, 1968, the son of Jackie and David Angle. He is of English, German, Irish, Italian, and Lithuanian descent. He has four older brothers named David, Mark, John, and Eric, the latter of whom is also a wrestler; his older sister, Le'Anne, died at the age of 43 in 2003. He attended Clarion University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a degree in education in 1993. His father was a crane operator who died in a construction accident while working on Fifth Avenue Place when Angle was 16. Angle dedicated both his career and his autobiography to his father. He stated in an interview that, following his father's death, he regarded his wrestling coach David Schultz as a paternal figure. While training Angle, Schultz was murdered in January 1996 by John Eleuthère du Pont, the sponsor of Schultz's team of Olympic prospectives. Angle's mother died of cancer in 2015. Kurt Angle started amateur wrestling at the age of seven. He attended Mt. Lebanon High School, where he won varsity letters in football, as an All-State linebacker, and wrestling. He was undefeated on the freshman wrestling team and qualified for the state wrestling tournament his sophomore year. Angle also placed third in the state wrestling tournament as a junior and was the 1987 Pennsylvania State Wrestling Champion as a senior.

Upon graduating from high school, Angle attended Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where he continued to wrestle at the amateur level. He was a two-time National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I champion, national runner-up in 1991, and a three-time NCAA Division I All-American. In addition, Angle was the 1987 USA Junior Freestyle champion, a two-time USA Senior Freestyle champion, and the 1988 USA International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles Junior World Freestyle champion.

After graduating from college, Angle continued to wrestle. In 1995, he won a gold medal at the FILA Wrestling World Championships in Atlanta, Georgia. Following this victory, Angle began preparing for the 1996 Summer Olympics (also in Atlanta) under Dave Schultz at the Pennsylvanian Foxcatcher Club, training between eight and ten hours a day. In January 1996, not long after Angle began training at the club, Schultz was murdered by John Eleuthère du Pont, the sponsor of Schultz's team of Olympic prospectives. As a result, Angle quit du Pont's team, searched for new sponsors, and joined the Dave Schultz Wrestling Club in Schultz's memory.

Angle faced further hardships while taking part in the 1996 Olympic Trials, when he suffered a severe neck injury, fracturing two of his cervical vertebrae, herniating two discs, and pulling four muscles. Nonetheless, Angle won the trials and then spent the subsequent five months resting and rehabilitating. By the Olympics, Angle was able to compete, albeit with several pain-reducing injections in his neck. In the fall of 1996, Angle stated that he temporarily became addicted to the analgesic Vicodin after injuring his neck. He won his gold medal in the heavyweight (90–100 kg; 198–220 lb) weight class despite his injury, defeating several competitors including Mongolian Dolgorsürengiin Sumyaabazar, Cuban Wilfredo Morales, Ukrainian Sagid Murtazaliev, and others. Angle won four close matches to earn his spot in the gold-medal finals.

In 2006, Angle was named the greatest shoot wrestler of all time by USA Wrestling, as well as one of the top 15 college wrestlers. In April 2011, Angle revealed that he was planning a comeback to amateur wrestling for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He later announced he was unable to make the trials for the national team due to a knee injury, though he held an honorary title as team manager. In 2016, Angle was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame for his amateur wrestling accomplishments.

Angle expressed interest in pursuing an acting career after retiring from professional wrestling. In 2008, he made his film debut as a racist prison deputy in the short film Chains. In 2009, he played serial killer Brad Mayfield in the film End Game. On a third-season episode of Pros vs. Joes, he was teamed up with Jimmy Smith and Kendall Gill against the Joes. Angle appeared in the "Car Wreck Vanish" episode of Criss Angel Mindfreak. He played Russian MMA champion Koba (in a non-speaking role) in the 2011 film Warrior, and starred as town sheriff Will Logan in the film River of Darkness.

On the Right After Wrestling program on Sirius Satellite Radio, Angle revealed he would become a part-time wrestler after his contract expired in 2011 to focus on Angle Foods and his acting career. In the 2013 film Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies, he plays himself as both a human and a zombie. Angle also had a small role in the 2014 cult-film Sharknado 2: The Second One and in the 2014 romantic-comedy film Not Cool. He appeared in the film The Last Witch Hunter. He also made a cameo appearance in the movie Pain and Gain, in which he brawls with Dwayne Johnson's character in a prison fight. Angle appeared on an episode of Duck Dynasty in February 2016.