George Foreman died at the age of 76.
Foreman won two heavyweight boxing championships and an Olympic gold medal. Known as Big George, he eventually became the spokesperson for the George Foreman Grill, which sold millions of units.
On Friday, March 21, his family revealed the news on his official Instagram account.
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“We are heartbroken. With great sadness, we announce the death of our beloved George Edward Foreman Sr., who died peacefully on March 21, 2025, surrounded by loving ones. “A devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a proud grand and great-grandfather, he lived a life of unwavering faith, humility, and purpose,” the statement added.
Foreman was born in Texas in 1949. He was raised in Houston. “I grew up in Houston’s Fifth Ward, also known as the Bloody Fifth,” he told Esquire in 2006. His family was impoverished, so he dropped out of high school at 15 and became involved in minor crime. But at 16, he enrolled in the Job Corps, where he received his GED and studied carpentry and bricklaying. During that time, he began boxing training.
“I went into boxing at the age of 17 to lose weight and become a great street fighter,” he told Ringside Report in 2000. “The next thing I knew, I was fighting with a Golden Glove. Basically, everything happened by chance.”
In 1968, at the age of 19, Foreman earned a gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics. “Winning that gold medal at the end, I wanted the whole world to know where I was from, so I picked up a small American flag and paraded around the ring to make sure they knew,” he told On the Ropes, a boxing radio show, in 2023. “Here was my chance to represent my country. That meant more to me than just winning the boxing fights.”
The next year, Foreman turned professional. He won 13 bouts that year and 12 fights in 1970. By the end of 1971, he was the world’s number-one contender, with 32 victories and no losses, and was set to face World Heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier for the championship.
The two ultimately met in 1973’s The Sunshine Showdown, which Foreman won via comprehensive knockout. “I didn’t fear anyone except Joe Frazier,” Foreman said in a 2023 Andscape interview. “I hoped something would’ve happened to him before I’d ever fight for the title.”
“I’ve never told anyone this, but that was the happiest time of my life in boxing because I worked so hard to fulfill my dream and become heavyweight champion,” Foreman told me. “It was the first and last moment I felt that way.”
Foreman defended his championship against José Roman and Ken Norton. In 1974, he met Muhammad Ali in a historic battle known as “the Rumble in the Jungle,” which is thought to be the most-viewed live television broadcast in history. Ali, a huge underdog, beat Foreman.
Over the years, Foreman recounted various versions of the story, occasionally asserting that Ali had arranged the bout. He was furious because they never had a rematch.
“For years afterward, I would agonize, ‘How could this happen?'” he told Vogue Man Arabia in 2019. “That night, I lost all I ever knew. It was the most terrible moment of my athletic career. “I was not even a man anymore.” However, he and Ali finally became friends.
Foreman continued to fight. He stopped boxing in 1977 and became a born-again Christian following a near-death experience during his final battle.
However, ten years later, facing financial troubles, Foreman returned to boxing at the age of 38. “It was like, I did it once, I’m going to have to do it again,” Foreman told USA Today in 2023. “It was the only career I knew. Sometimes I wish I’d become a golfer; it’s much simpler than boxing.”
Foreman had championship opportunities against Evander Holyfield in 1991 and Tommy Morrison in 1993, but he lost both. But in 1994, he defeated Michael Moorer and recovered the crown.
“When you fight for the heavyweight championship of the world, it does feel unbelievable; it doesn’t feel like you’re really there; it could be a dream,” he told Boxing News at the time. “‘You’ll wake up soon; you don’t belong in the ring with these guys.'” I was able to deal with all of my thoughts the second time around. It was a memorable occasion, even more so than winning the fight against Frazier.
As he achieved success in the ring again, he began to make more public appearances and became a celebrity, even starring in the short-lived comedy George. In 1999, Foreman announced his permanent retirement from fighting. He ended his career with 76 victories and five defeats.
In 1994, Foreman introduced the George Foreman Grill. The grill has sold over 100 million units to date, demonstrating its success. “My attorney came to me and said, ‘George, you’re making other people wealthy; why don’t you make yourself wealthy?'” The foreman told PEOPLE in 2003. “And he told me about this grill.”
Foreman participated in The Masked Singer in 2022. He also executive produced the 2023 film Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World.
Foreman had 12 children: Natalia, Leola, Michi, Isabella, Courtney, Georgetta, Freeda (who died in 2019), and five boys, all called George Edward Foreman.
“I named all of my sons George Edward Foreman so they would always have something in common,” Foreman explained on his website. “I tell them that if one of us goes up, the rest of us will follow. “And if one of us falls, we all fall together!” Two of his grandkids also have the name.
Foreman got married five times. He dated Adrienne Calhoun from 1971 to 1974, Cynthia Lewis from 1977 to 1979, Sharon Goodson from 1981 to 1982, and Andrea Skeete from 1982 to 1985. In 1985, he married Mary Joan Martelly.
In 2022, Foreman was accused of child sexual abuse. He disputed the charges.
Foreman is survived by his wife and eleven children.