Beautiful, tragic and powerful, Ida Mae Martinez, 78, died January 19, 2010, in Baltimore, Md. She was born Ida Mae St. Laurent in New London, Conn., in 1931. Her mother was a prostitute and she never knew her father, so she resided with guardians (and became Ida Mae Selenkow) until her teenage years, running away to escape abuse. During this time she practiced western yodeling and performed in some small venues. She left high school and married at 17, only to enter another abusive relationship. She and her husband moved to Houston, Texas, in search of work, and Ida Mae found herself working in a restaurant frequented by local wrestler Larry King.

A scrappy kid and no stranger to physical abuse, Ida Mae was tough. King saw this and asked her point-blank if she wanted to wrestle. She surprised herself by accepting the invitation. King took her to a women’s wrestling match and introduced her to Billy Wolfe, a well-connected wrestling manager. After clinching a hotel room audition, Ida Mae sold her guitar, left her husband and went to Columbus, Ohio. There she trained, making her professional wrestling debut in 1951 as Ida Mae Martinez.

She wrestled for nine years against all the female wrestling stars, becoming the Mexican Champion in 1952. When she left the ring in 1960, Ida Mae’s adventures were far from over. She remarried and had two children. A high school drop-out, she earned in succession her GED, Associates Degree, Bachelors Degree and Masters Degree in nursing. She became one of the first Baltimore nurses to work with AIDS patients and published a paper in the International Journal of AIDS Patient Care in 1990.

Not one to rest on her laurels, Ida Mae took up yodeling again in 1997, releasing an album, The Yodeling Lady Ms. Ida, in 2004. In that same year she appeared in the documentary film Lipstick & Dynamite, Piss & Vinegar: The First Ladies of Wrestling. Ida Mae remained active in the women’s wrestling community, receiving awards and accolades through 2006.  Before her death she served as a prison nurse and was involved in animal rights and continued to yodel.

Ida Mae Martinez will be greatly missed for her contributions both in and out of the ring. From meager beginnings she rose to unusual stardom, blazing the way for today’s women wrestlers. From abused child to powerful woman, high school drop-out to Masters’ student, hobbyist yodeler to recording artist, Ida Mae had exceptional drive and talent. She is sorely missed by the wrestling community and pioneering women everywhere.

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