Paul Wight’s Wife: More about The Big Show’s Family

Wrestling fans will know Paul Wight best as The Big Show or The Giant, but to his wife, Bess Katramados, he is Mr. Right. The actor and wrestler is a devoted family man.

Fans of Netflix’s 2020 sitcom, “The Big Show,” have wondered about actor and wrestler John Wight’s real-life family. In the show, Paul plays a recently-retired wrestler coming to terms with becoming a stay-at-home dad to his two daughters from his second marriage.

Then his teenage daughter from his first marriage moves in, and he has to deal with all the complications of a blended family. The fans may not know that the sitcom’s screenwriters took a page from Wight’s real life to write the script.

Paul Wight aka Big Show at WWE’s 2014 SuperStars For Kids in New Orleans. | Source: Getty Images

Paul Wight is one of the wrestling champions, like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, John Cena, and Dave Bautista, who successfully transitioned from the ring to prime-time TV and the Silver Screen.

Born in Aiken, South Carolina, in February 1974, he suffered from acromegaly, a pituitary disorder that can cause gigantism. At the age of 12, Paul measured 6′ 2″ and is now 6′ 10″ and is considered the world’s largest athlete due to his heroic build.

After playing football and basketball in college, Paul took up wrestling in 1994. He is the only wrestler to hold all four championship titles: WCW World Heavyweight Championship, WWF/WWE Championship, WWE’s World Heavyweight Championship, and the ECW World Heavyweight Championship.

Paul retired from the WWE in 2005, and he’s been focusing on growing his acting career and his family. The big man’s heart belongs to Bess Katramados Wight, whom he married on February 11, 2002, just days after his divorce from his first wife, Melissa Piavis, was decreed.

Paul Wight Has On-Screen and Off-Screen Wives

Wigh’s on-screen wife in “The Big Show Show” is actress Allison Munn, a bubbly blonde; his real-life wife is Bess, a stunning green-eyed brunette and a former model.

Bess was born in Illinois in 1973, and little is known about her family or her younger life. She has kept her past and personal life out of the limelight; all we know is that she is a fitness instructor and her husband’s trainer and promoter.

The wrestling champion and actor and his second wife, Bess, keep their life private, and little is known about their romance or how they met.

But Bess wasn’t Paul’s first venture into the field of matrimony; in fact, when he met the Illinois model, the 8-time world champion was still married to his first wife, with whom he shared a child, just like his fictional character in “The Big Show Show.”

Paul Wight Married Twice in Real Life

Paul married Melissa Piavis on Valentine’s Day, 1997, and the couple welcomed their only child, daughter Cierra Wight, on November 28, 1998. Paul’s career was taking off back then, and on his second wedding anniversary, he made his wrestling debut.

1999 was the year he won his first championship, but his focus on his career may have led to trouble in his marriage., In 2000, Melissa and Paul separated, and sadly, in 2002, a week before their 5th anniversary, the couple divorced.

Melissa won primary custody of their then three-years-old daughter, and five days after the divorce, Paul stunned his fans by remarrying.

Fiction follows fact because in “The Big Show Show,” Paul is also married for the second time. The wrestling champion and actor and his second wife, Bess, keep their life private, and little is known about their romance or how they met.

Bess has no social media presence and rarely appears at events by her husband’s side. The couple has now been together for over two decades and shares two children — a boy, and a girl, whereas the functional Big Show has two daughters from his second marriage.

Paul in the Father of Three from Two Marriages

In the show, Paul’s three daughters are played by young actresses Reylynn Caster, Lily Brooks O’Briant, and Juliet Donenfeld. Paul, who gained custody of his daughter Cierra when she was 14, commented:

“It’s funny because when they wrote that script, I read it and then talked to [E.P.s] Jason [Berger] and Josh [Bycel] and was like ‘Did you guys hire a private investigator or something? Because you guys are so close to the truth of my life that you have no idea how on-point you are’.”

Bess and Paul have done their best to protect their son and daughter from public scrutiny and guarantee them a normal childhood, and they haven’t even shared their names or date of birth. As for Cierra, she is now a young woman, and her social media accounts are private.

Even though Paul happily shares snaps and info about his fictional family on Instagram and often gives a shout-out to Allison Munn, Reylynn Caster, Lily Brooks O’Briant, and Juliet Donenfeld, telling them how much he misses them, he never shares any information or photos of his real-life children.