Jesse Ventura (born
July 15,
1951 as
James George Janos), also known as
"The Body",
"The Star", and
"The Governing Body", is an American
politician, retired
professional wrestler,
Navy UDT veteran,
actor, and former
radio and
television talk show host. He was inducted into the
WWE Hall of Fame in 2004. He is also a former co-holder of the
AWA World tag team title with
Adrian Adonis.
In the
Minnesota gubernatorial election of 1998, running as an Independent and member of the Reform Party, he was elected the 38th
Governor of Minnesota and served from
January 4,
1999 to
January 6,
2003 without seeking a second term.
Early life
Ventura was born
James George Janos in
Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Bernice Martha (
née Lenz) and George William Janos. His father's parents were from what is today
Slovakia, and his mother had German ancestry.
[Ancestry of Jesse Ventura] Ventura has described himself as Slovak.
[April 1, 2008, in Larry King interview with Ventura on NBC] Ventura (then known by his legal name of Janos) graduated from Minneapolis's
Roosevelt High School in 1969.
