Jesse Ventura

About Jesse Ventura

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.

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 ethnic Hungarians from what is today Slovakia, and his mother had German ancestry. Ventura has described himself as Slovak. Ventura (then known by his legal name of Janos) graduated from Minneapolis's Roosevelt High School in 1969.