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Vikki LaMotta

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Full Name
  
Beverly Thailer

Name
  
Vikki LaMotta


Role
  
Jake LaMotta's ex-wife

Children
  
Christi LaMotta

Vikki LaMotta with blonde hair at Chicago Stadium in 1951

Born
  
January 23, 1930 (
1930-01-23
)
Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S.

Spouse
  
Jake LaMotta (m. 1947–1957), Tom Foster (m. ?–1992)

Similar People
  
Jake LaMotta, Joey LaMotta, Cathy Moriarty, Sugar Ray Robinson, Tony Janiro

Died
  
January 25, 2005 (aged 75) Boca Raton, Florida, U.S.

Vikkiflex vikki lamotta exercise program 1985


Vikki LaMotta (January 23, 1930 – January 25, 2005), born Beverly Thailer, was an American model known as the second wife of champion boxer Jake LaMotta, during his peak years of success, during which time Vikki became a celebrity.

Contents

On the left Vikki LaMotta sitting next to Jake LaMotta while on the right Vikki LaMotta giving water to Jake LaMotta

In the 1990s, she wrote an autobiography, but requested it not be released until after her death due to the information revealed in the book. After she died in 2005, Knockout!: The Sexy, Violent, Extraordinary Life of Vikki LaMotta was released.

Vikki LaMotta on a cover of Knockout Magazine while smiling

Vikki LaMotta Cosmetics' "You CAN Look Younger" TV Ad - Dec 1990 PARTIAL


Biography

She was born in the Bronx, the daughter of Abraham Lucien and Margaret 'Ruth' Thailer. She had several siblings, including two sisters, Phyllis and Patricia. Her paternal grandparents were immigrants from Romania.

She married LaMotta when she was 16 after they met at a community pool. It was his second marriage and Vikki's first. They divorced in 1957, after 11 years of marriage. During that time, Jake's boxing career had started to slow down, and he began taking out his anger on Vikki. He became controlling of her, and Vikki was forced to leave him even though, at the time, they had three small children.

They had a daughter Christi and two sons – Jake Jr. and Joe – both of whom died in 1998. Jake Jr. died of liver cancer and Joe in an airplane crash. In 1962, she married Tony Foster; they had a son, Harrison, and later divorced.

She was portrayed by actress Cathy Moriarty in the 1980 film Raging Bull. Moriarty was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Vikki. She is also known for her work as a model. She later posed for a nude pictorial in Playboy magazine in November 1981, at age 51. In her later years, she appeared in commercials for Vikki LaMotta Cosmetics, which as of 2016 is still operating. In 1992, she relocated to Florida, living on Hillsboro Beach.

Death

She died following open-heart surgery in Boca Raton, Florida on January 25, 2005, two days after her 75th birthday.

References

Vikki LaMotta Wikipedia