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Martha Hart

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Martha Joan Hart née Patterson (born in 1966) [citation needed] is the widow of professional wrestler Owen Hart.[1]

Personal life

Martha Hart is the youngest of 11 children. According to her book, she has bacholor's and master's degrees in psychology. She met her husband, Owen, in 1982, while they were both still in high school. (Owen was 17 and Martha was 15.) She attended a Stampede Show with her friend Oddette, where she met Owen after recognizing him as one of the wrestlers who attended her school for a wrestling practice. She has stated that it was love at first sight and their relationship was a dream come true, having so much in common. They married on July 1, 1989. She and Owen had 2 children together: Oje Edward Hart (born March 5, 1992) and Athena Christie/Christy Hart (born September 23 1995). Her husband, Owen, tragically died while performing a stunt on May 23, 1999 at the WWF's Over the Edge pay-per-view. Martha has mentioned that May is a very emotional month for her.

Lawsuits

Three weeks after Owen Hart's death, Martha Hart and the Hart family launched a wrongful death lawsuit against the World Wrestling Federation, which was settled out of court for approximately $18 million on November 2, 2000.[2] She used the funds to establish the Owen Hart Foundation.[3] She has managed the foundation since 1999.[1] Some of the money also went into trust funds for her children.[4] After the lawsuit, Martha separated herself from the majority of the Hart family.[4] She cites Bret, Keith, Alison, Stu, and Helen Hart as the only Hart family members who sided with her during the battle.[4] She criticised those family members who continued to work for the WWF.[4] There is real-life tension between Martha and her sister-in-law Diana Hart-Smith.[1] Martha sued Diana for $19 million and claims that Diana's book, Under the Mat: Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family, is both slanderous and libelous, and had it removed from markets, and everywhere books are sold.[1]

Book

In 2002, she wrote a book entitled Broken Harts: The Life and Death of Owen Hart, which is about their life together from when they met, and the life they created for their 2 children.

Owen Hart Foundation

In December 2000, she announced the opening of the Owen Hart Foundation; a Charity to help get college scholarships for children who have special needs. Every May, Martha hosts a Charity Foundation with a guest star; in recent years, guest stars have included, Bob Newhart, Neil Sedaka, Paul Anka, Bill Cosby, and Howie Mandel. Being held on June 16th, this year, the guest star will be comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Martha has stated that she started the Owen Hart Foundation because she knew Owen would be happy that he was helping people in his name, especially in the education field.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Greg Oliver (November 20, 2001). "Martha Hart sues Diana over book". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
  2. ^ AP-Reuters (November 9, 2000). "Legal victory bittersweet: Martha Hart". Slam! Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-04-07. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  3. ^ Chris Gerritsen. "Martha Hart forges ahead with Owen Hart Foundation". Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  4. ^ a b c d Eric Francis (November 8, 2000). "Hart family feud: With WWF suit settled, dead wrestler's [[widow]] lashes out at in-laws". Calgary Sun. Retrieved 2007-06-18. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)

References

Books

  • Hart, Martha (2004). Broken Harts: The Life and Death of Owen Hart. M. Evans and Company, Inc. ISBN 978-1590770368.
  • Shaun Assael and Mike Mooneyham (2002). Sex, Lies, and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment. Crown. p. 258. ISBN 1400051436.
  • Diana Hart (2001). Under the Mat: Inside Wrestling's Greatest Family. Fenn. p. 200. ISBN 1551682567.

Articles

Radio

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