Linda Marie McMahon (/məkˈmæn/; née Edwards; born October 4, 1948) is an American politician, business executive, and former professional wrestling performer.

In 2009, she left World Wrestling Entertainment to run for a seat in the United States Senate from Connecticut as a Republican, but lost to Democrat Richard Blumenthal in the 2010 general election.

[15] From 1968 to 1971, Vince worked as a traveling cup salesman before joining his father's company, the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE).

McMahon worked as a receptionist at the corporate law firm of Covington & Burling; she translated French documents, trained as a paralegal in the probate department, and studied intellectual property rights.

[17] Financially, the couple fared poorly for several years and, despite her husband working at a quarry,[18] briefly received food stamps.

[19] In 1976, after a series of failed business ventures including financing stunt performer Evel Knievel's Snake River Canyon Jump,[20] and while pregnant with Stephanie, McMahon and her husband filed for bankruptcy.

[38][39] Following the murder-suicide of Chris Benoit in 2007, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigated steroid usage in the wrestling industry.

[40] The Committee investigated WWE and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), asking for documentation of their companies' drug policies.

In December 2008, at a UBS Media Conference, McMahon described the new rating as a marketing strategy to attract a young generation of wrestling fans and create loyalty to the brand.

Due to the TV-PG rating, chair shots to the head were banned, as well as sex scenes, blood, and vulgar language.

[44][45] During the 1980s, the WWF successfully overcame considerable opposition and some media ridicule in lobbying for deregulation in Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan,[46] New Jersey,[47][48][49] California,[50][51] Florida, Pennsylvania,[52] and Texas.

McMahon stated the WWE wrestlers had lucrative contracts, merchandising deals, royalty payments, and appearance fees.

[56] Under McMahon's tenure, WWE became one of the largest recipients of special tax credits for film and TV production granted by the state of Connecticut.

[59] McMahon often referred to the creative side of WWE as Vince's specialty, stating that she was primarily in the management team, although she appeared in several storylines.

[64] In 2005, she won appointment to The Make-A-Wish Foundation of America National Advisory Council and received the Arthur M. Sackler Award from the Connecticut Grand Opera and Orchestra for WWE's support of its arts education program.

[64] In May 2007, she appeared as the keynote speaker at the Girl Scout Council of Southwestern Connecticut's Women of Achievement Leadership Breakfast.

[66] On April 13, 2012, Sacred Heart University officially dedicated and opened the Linda E. McMahon Commons Building on its main campus in Fairfield, Connecticut.

[71] The campaign targeted the 18-to-30 voter demographic, and made use of online marketing, public service announcements,[72] and youth voting partnerships.

McMahon first developed an interest in the Olympics from her friendship with NBC producer Dick Ebersol and Susan Saint James, who encouraged them to participate in the mid-1980s.

[77] In October 2024, McMahon was named as a defendant in a lawsuit, accusing her, her husband, and WWE of negligence with regards to the "ring boys" scandal, in which multiple WWE personnel, including ring announcer Mel Phillips and wrestlers Pat Patterson and Terry Garvin, either resigned or were dismissed in 1992 after being accused of sexually assaulting young boys;[78][79] in particular, Phillips had already been dismissed in 1988 for sexual misconduct, but had been rehired several weeks afterwards under the condition that he "stop chasing after kids".

[70] The State Senate approved her nomination by a vote of 34–1 and the House by 96–45 with some opponents expressing concerns that the nature of her WWE activities would send the wrong message.

In late July—two weeks before the primary—Simmons relaunched his campaign by airing ads on TV reminding voters that his name would be on the ballot, participating in debates, and accepting interviews with editorial boards.

[94] McMahon maintained a high profile following the election, running television ads,[95] campaigning for politicians, and making frequent media appearances.

She donated to groups such as American Crossroads and Ending Spending Fund, and associated with fellow mega donor Paul Singer.

[104] As the 2016 Republican nomination process began to gear up in early 2015, McMahon, Singer, and Charles R. Schwab were among donors and prospective-candidate representatives who attended a daylong meeting near Jackson, Wyoming, that was hosted by TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts and his son Todd, and featured "several Republican donors who favor[ed] same-sex marriage and immigration reform".

[109] With her pending nomination to become administrator of the SBA, examination of McMahon's record in preparation for her facing United States Senate confirmation began.

In December The Wall Street Journal noted that "[a]s part of her 2012 campaign, [the nominee's] economic plan called for getting rid of 'outdated/ineffective and duplicative programs', and expressed support for a 2012 proposal by President Barack Obama to merge the SBA, the Commerce Department's core functions and four other entities into one unit".

"[117] Later in 2017, she visited 68 cities to hear from small business owners and to support the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 backed by President Trump.

[123] America First Action, a pro-Trump Super PAC chaired by McMahon, helped raise $83 million for Trump's reelection campaign in 2020.

In 2000, she launched 'GET REAL', a campaign aimed at delivering positive messages about education and literacy to young adults through public service announcements, posters, and bookmarks featuring WWE stars.