American visual artist and novelist, Rosalyn Drexler passed away at the age of 98 on September 3, 2025 in New York City, U.S.
Rosalyn Drexler, born in 1926 in the Bronx, was a multifaceted artist who once had an unusual career as a professional wrestler. In the early 1950s, while living in Manhattan, she trained at Botner’s Gym and performed as “Rosa Carlo, the Mexican Spitfire,” traveling across the country for matches.
Though she gained attention, she disliked the experience and left the sport after encountering racism in the South. She later used those experiences in her acclaimed novel To Smithereens (1972), which inspired the film Below the Belt (1980). Drexler went on to build a career as a painter and writer, often incorporating themes of women’s wrestling into her art, while also being featured in her husband Sherman Drexler’s paintings.
Rosalyn Drexler and her husband, painter Sherman Drexler, had two children together a son and a daughter. Sadly, their daughter passed away in 2010, and Sherman died in 2014. Rosalyn herself died in Manhattan on September 3, 2025, at the age of 98. She is survived by her son.
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