Born in
Brooklyn, New York, Ferrigno was raised in an
Italian-American family, the son of Matthew, a
New York City Police Department Lieutenant who, according to Lou, was also a weightlifter and was often very critical and negative towards him, and mother Victoria. At the age of three, Lou suffered an
ear infection and permanently lost 80% of his hearing. He started weight training at age 13, citing body builder and
Hercules star
Steve Reeves as one of his role models.
After graduating from
Brooklyn Technical High School in 1969, Ferrigno won his first major titles,
IFBB Mr. America and
Mr. Universe, four years later. In 1974, he came in third on his first attempt at the
Mr. Olympia competition. He again came third the following year, and his attempt to beat Arnold Schwarzenegger was the subject of the 1975
documentary Pumping Iron. Following this, Ferrigno left the competition circuit for many years.
Ferrigno competed in the first
World's Strongest Man contest in 1977, where he finished fourth in a field of eight competitors.
At his peak, the 6 ft 5 in (195 cm) Ferrigno's contest weight was 285 lb (130 kg) and he was the tallest professional bodybuilder at that time. While he never bested Schwarzenegger in bodybuilding, Ferrigno did have one triumph over his Austrian rival: the role of the Hulk on the 1970s television series.
In the early 1990s, Ferrigno returned to bodybuilding, competing for the 1992 and 1993 Mr. Olympia titles. Finishing 12th and 10th, respectively, he then turned to the Olympia Masters, coming second in 1994 to
Robby Robinson. After this, he retired from competition.
Ferrigno sees his loss of hearing as influential towards bodybuilding and his life: "...if I hadn't lost some of my hearing, I wouldn't be where I am now. It forced me to maximize my own potential. I had to be better than the average person to succeed."
He married Susan Groff in 1978, divorcing a year later. On
May 3, 1980, he married
psychotherapist Carla Green, who then also began serving as his manager and later became a
personal trainer. They have three children,
Shanna, born 1981; Louis, Jr., born 1984; and Brent, born 1990. In the summer of 2005, his daughter was a star of the
E! reality TV series,
Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive.
Since 2000, Ferrigno has played himself during intermittent guest appearances on the
CBS television show,
The King of Queens, where he (along with his wife Carla) is the Heffernans' next-door neighbor. Because of his role as the title character on
The Incredible Hulk, he is often the target of "Hulk jokes" by Doug and his friends.
Ferrigno has appeared in an ad for
Longhorn Steakhouse, a
Southeastern chain of steak houses.
On
February 13, 2006 he was sworn in as a
Los Angeles County reserve sheriff's deputy.
In June 2006, Lou attended the first
Bionicon in
Tampa, Florida.
In
April 29, 2007, Lou attended the second Calgary Comic Expo in
Calgary, Alberta.
Ferrigno currently uses his celebrity status to make calls for
Hollywood is Calling, a company which allows people to have a celebrity call them on a special occassion, such as a birthday.
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