title: George Weah

text: Named African Footballer of the Year three times and the first African to win the Ballon d'Or and be named FIFA World Player of the Year, Weah's prominence in the 1990s led him to be nicknamed "King George". Regarded as one of the greatest African footballers of all time, Weah was named African Player of the Century in 1996, and is usually ranked among the three greatest African strikers ever, alongside Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto'o. In 2013, Milan great Franco Baresi named Weah in the greatest XI he has ever played with. "FourFourTwo" magazine named Weah one of the best players never to win the UEFA Champions League. A number of publications, including Scott Murray of "The Guardian" and Kevin Baxter of the "Los Angeles Times", in addition to FIFA, consider him to be one of the greatest players never to feature at the World Cup.


title: George Weah

text: The status of Weah in the sport saw him feature in EA Sports' "FIFA" video game series where he was named in the Ultimate Team Legends in "FIFA 14". During his playing career Weah was sponsored by sportswear company Diadora, and he became famous for his red Diadora boots while playing for AC Milan.


title: George Weah

text: Weah is a devoted humanitarian for his war-torn country. During his playing career he became a UN Goodwill Ambassador. At the 2004 ESPY Awards at the Kodak Theatre, Los Angeles, Weah won the Arthur Ashe Courage Award for his efforts. He has also been named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, a role which he has suspended in his political career. Off the football pitch, he stood out throughout his career for his initiatives to fight against racism in the game.


title: George Weah

text: Weah has tried to use football as a way to bring happiness and promote education for children in Liberia. In 1998, Weah launched a CD called "Lively Up Africa" featuring the singer Frisbie Omo Isibor and eight other African football stars. The proceeds from this CD went to children's programs in the countries of origin of the athletes involved.


title: George Weah

text: Weah was President of the Junior Professionals, a former football team he founded in Monrovia in 1994. As a way to encourage young people to remain in school, the club's only requirement for membership was school attendance. Many of the young people, recruited from all over Liberia, went on to play for the Liberian national team. Weah was also actively involved with youth programs in a Liberian enclave on Staten Island, New York, when he resided there for a time.


title: George Weah

text: The Diya Group chairman and Indian entrepreneur Nirav Tripathi announced a multimillion-dollar partnership with Weah in 2016, whereby global football academies would be established to help assist youth in both impoverished and emerging nations.


title: George Weah

text: The motivation for the academies is cited as a shared experience between both Tripathi and Weah in how sport can transform lives in their nations of India and Liberia, which both still suffer from severe poverty.


title: George Weah

text: Following the end of the Second Liberian Civil War, Weah announced his intention to run for President of Liberia in the 2005 elections, forming the Congress for Democratic Change to back his candidacy. While Weah was a popular figure in Liberia, opponents cited his lack of formal education as a handicap to his ability to lead the country, in contrast with his Harvard-educated opponent, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Analysts also noted Weah's lack of experience, calling him a "babe-in-the-woods", while Sirleaf had served as minister of finance in the Tolbert administration in the 1970s and had held positions at Citibank, the World Bank and the United Nations. Weah's eligibility to run for presidency was also called into question as it was reported that he had become a French citizen in his footballing career at Paris St. Germain, but these complaints were rebuffed by the electoral commission in court and Weah was allowed to proceed.


title: George Weah

text: Weah obtained a plurality of votes in the first round of voting on 11 October, garnering 28.3% of the vote. This qualified him to compete in a run-off election against Sirleaf, the second placed candidate. However, he lost the run-off to Sirleaf on 8 November, garnering only 40.6% to 59.4% for Sirleaf. Weah alleged that the election had been rigged through voter intimidation and ballot tampering, and many of his supporters protested the results in the streets of Monrovia. However, after assurances that the vote was fair, several prominent African leaders called on Weah's supporters to accept the result with grace and dignity, and Sirleaf became president. The African Union had characterized the elections as "peaceful, transparent, and fair".


title: George Weah

text: Weah's lack of education became a campaign issue. He has been highly critical of those who say he is not fit to govern: "With all their education and experience, they have governed this nation for hundreds of years. They have never done anything for the nation." He initially claimed to have a BA degree in Sports Management from Parkwood University in London; however, this is an unaccredited diploma mill, which awards certificates without requiring study. Weah then pursued a degree in business administration at DeVry University in Miami.


title: George Weah

text: Weah also remained active in Liberian politics, returning from the United States in 2009 to successfully campaign for the Congress for Democratic Change candidate in the Montserrado County senatorial by-election. Some analysts saw these moves as preparation for a repeat run for the Presidency in 2011, and Weah did indeed later announce his intention to challenge Sirleaf in the 2011 election. After a series of failed alliances with other opposition parties, the Congress for Democratic Change chose Weah as its 2011 vice presidential candidate, running with presidential candidate Winston Tubman. However, Sirleaf was re-elected, with the Tubman / Weah ticket receiving only 9.3% of the vote.


title: George Weah

text: In 2014, he ran for election to the Senate as a Congress for Democratic Change candidate in Montserrado County. He was overwhelmingly elected to the Liberian Senate on 20 December 2014. Weah defeated Robert Sirleaf, the son of President Sirleaf, becoming the first Liberian international athlete elected to represent a county in the Legislature. He won a landslide victory, receiving 99,226 votes, which represented 78.0% of the total votes from the 141 polling centers, while Sirleaf, his closest rival received 13,692 votes, which is nearly 11% in the election marred only by a low turnout. Following his election, Weah only occasionally attended sessions of the Senate and did not introduce or sponsor any legislation.


title: George Weah

text: In April 2016, Weah announced his intention to run for President of Liberia in the 2017 elections, standing for the Coalition for Democratic Change. After winning the first round of the 2017 election with 38.4% of the vote, he and Joseph Boakai of the Unity Party went into the second round of the election. In the second round, Weah was elected President of Liberia, winning a run-off against Vice President Joseph Boakai with more than 60% of the vote.


title: George Weah

text: Weah was sworn in as president on 22 January 2018, making him the fourth youngest-serving president in Africa, marking Liberia's first democratic transition in 74 years. He cited fighting corruption, reforming the economy, combating illiteracy and improving life conditions as the main targets of his presidency. Two other world class African strikers, Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto'o, attended the inauguration.


title: George Weah

text: On 29 January 2018, in his first annual message to the national legislature, he reduced his salary and other benefits by 25% with immediate effect. "With the assessment that I gave you earlier of the poor condition of our economy, I believe that it is appropriate that we should all make sacrifices in the interest of our country. According to Article 60 of the Constitution, the salaries of the President and the Vice President are established by the Legislature, and cannot be increased or reduced during the period for which they are elected. However, in view of the very rapidly deteriorating situation of the economy, I am informing you today, with immediate effect, that I will reduce my salary and benefits by 25% and give the proceeds back to the Consolidated Fund for allocation and appropriation as they see fit."


title: George Weah

text: On 29 January 2018, Weah announced he would seek constitutional changes to allow people of "non-Negro" descent to be citizens and allow foreigners to own land. He called the present situation "racist and inappropriate".


title: George Weah

text: On 12 September 2020, he declared a national emergency over sexual violence in the country, pledging to create a special prosecutor for rape, a national sex offender registry, and a national task force to tackle the issue. He further announced a 2 million dollar emergency fund, part of which was used to purchase DNA-testing equipment for forensic identification of perpetrators. However, as of March 2022, the DNA-testing equipment had yet to be made functional. As well, the special prosecutor had yet to be appointed, the sex offender registry had yet to be implemented, and specialized gender-based violence courts had only been implemented in three of the sixteen Liberian counties.


title: George Weah

text: Upon his election to office, Weah first made an official visit in Senegal to meet with President Macky Sall, to "strengthen the bond between the two countries". On 21 February 2018, Weah made his first official visit outside Africa, to France, meeting French President Emmanuel Macron. The meeting focused on improving the relationship between France and Liberia and also sought French help for a sports development project in Africa. The meeting was also attended by Didier Drogba, Kylian Mbappé and FIFA president Gianni Infantino.


title: George Weah

text: On 25 May 2018, following a meeting with President Weah, the Liberian Football Association president Musa Bility announced that Liberia would vote for the Canada–Mexico–United States World Cup bid, breaking ranks with the rest of Africa, who were voting for the Moroccan bid.


title: George Weah

text: As President, Weah has come under criticism for inciting violence on opposition candidates including Telia Urey in 2019. On August 15, 2022, three senior members of Weah's cabinet were sanctioned by the United States for alleged corruption.


title: George Weah

text: On 25 March 2020, the Liberian president recorded his song with the local group The Rabbis, the text of which was written by himself. In this song "He invites the Liberian and African population to stand up by all means against this virus <nowiki>[</nowiki>SARS-CoV-2<nowiki>]</nowiki> which is causing damage around the world."It could be your mom, it could be your dad, your brothers or your sisters. Let's all stand together to fight this dirty virus an extract from President Weah's song on a reggae rhythm.


title: George Weah

text: The majority of people in Liberia do not have internet or Facebook access, but everyone listens to the radio. The song will be played on various stations across the country to properly broadcast the message, according to the president's spokesperson. Weah had already recorded a song against Ebola.


title: George Weah

text: Weah has four children; three children with his Jamaican-born wife Clar Weah: George, Tita, and Timothy and a child from another relationship. In 2016, he was sued by the mother of his daughter for child support expenses.


title: George Weah

text: Both of his sons became footballers and signed for Paris Saint-Germain, although only Timothy played for the first team. Both played youth internationals for the United States, and Timothy was capped for the senior team.


title: George Weah

text: Weah practiced Islam for ten years before converting back to Christianity. Currently, Weah again practices Protestantism. In October 2017, he was spotted in the prominent Nigerian church of Pastor T.B. Joshua alongside Liberian Senator Prince Yormie Johnson. Joshua was allegedly a key influence in Johnson's decision to endorse Weah's candidacy in the 2017 Liberian elections.


title: Leila George

text: George was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, to actor and producer Vincent D'Onofrio and actress Greta Scacchi, and raised by her mother in Brighton, East Sussex, United Kingdom She has three younger half-brothers.


title: Leila George

text: In 2008, she took acting classes at Brighton College. The following year, she attended Crawley College, her mother's alma mater, and in 2010, studied at the Arts Educational Schools, London. In 2011, she went to Australia to study at Sydney Film School. In 2012, she went to the United States to study at the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York City near her father.


title: Leila George

text: In 2013, George worked on the documentary "The Last Impresario" as an additional camera operator. In 2014, she starred with her mother in Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull" for Black Swan Theatre Company in Perth. Her mother acted as Arkadina, and she acted as Nina, Arkadina's romantic rival.


title: Leila George

text: In 2016, she played the starring role in "Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?", her first feature television film. She was featured in the films "Mortal Engines" (2018) and "The Kid" (2019). In 2019, George began playing the younger version of Ellen Barkin's character, Janine "Smurf" Cody, in the television series "Animal Kingdom".


title: Leila George

text: George began a relationship with actor Sean Penn in 2016. They married on 30 July 2020. George filed for divorce on 15 October 2021. The divorce was finalized on 22 April 2022.


title: Leila George

text: Following the 2019–20 Australian bushfires, she co-produced a celebrity fundraiser to support long-term conservation of areas affected by the bushfires; the event was hosted by the Los Angeles Zoo.


title: American Dad!

text: American Dad! is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. "American Dad!" is the first television series made to premiere on Fox's Animation Domination block. The series premiered on February 6, 2005, following Super Bowl XXXIX, with the rest of the first season airing three months later beginning May 1, 2005. "American Dad!" is a joint production between Underdog Productions, Fuzzy Door Productions and 20th Television Animation and syndicated by 20th Television.


title: American Dad!

text: Creative direction of "American Dad!" had largely been guided by Barker (prior to his departure from the show in season 10) and Weitzman as opposed to MacFarlane, resulting in a series that is different from its counterparts. Unlike MacFarlane's other shows, "Family Guy" and, to a lesser extent, "The Cleveland Show", "American Dad!" does not lean as heavily on the use of cutaway gags, and is less concerned with conventional "setup-punchline" jokes, instead deriving its humor mostly from the quirky characters, the relationships between family members, and the relatively relatable plots. While the core issues and resolutions are relatable in most episodes, the show nonetheless weaves in fantastical elements, pitching the tone of the show somewhere between observational comedy and farce. The plots are often absurd, but grounded by family stories and real-world issues.


title: American Dad!

text: "American Dad!" has been nominated for numerous awards, including four Primetime Emmy Awards and two Annie Awards. In June 2013, it was awarded as top television series by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Since its debut, "American Dad!" has broadcast 343 episodes (as of December 12, 2022). The total number of seasons and organization of episodes within those seasons are in dispute due to discrepancies in how official sources report this information. One model suggests the first season of "American Dad!" comprises the first 7 episodes, while another model suggests the first season comprises 23 episodes.


title: American Dad!

text: Beginning on October 20, 2014, TBS picked up the series for the 12th season following the final 3 episodes airing on Fox as the 11th season. TBS and Cartoon Network (via their late-night block, Adult Swim, both owned by Warner Bros. Discovery), air reruns of the series.


title: American Dad!

text: On January 15, 2020, TBS renewed the series for both 18th and 19th seasons. The 19th season premiered on January 24, 2022. On December 16, 2021, the series was renewed for seasons 20 and 21. The 20th season is scheduled to premiere in February 2023.


title: American Dad!

text: The series focuses on the eccentric upper middle class Smith family in a fictionalized version of Langley, Virginia and their four housemates: Father, husband, CIA agent, Republican, and breadwinner Stan; his wife and homemaker/housewife, Francine; their leftist, hippie, college-aged daughter, Hayley; and their dorky high-school-aged son, Steve. There are four additional main characters, including Hayley's boyfriend and later husband, Jeff Fischer; the family's unusual goldfish, Klaus, who has the brain of an East German athlete; Roger, the alien, who is a deceitful, treacherous, self-serving master of disguise; and Roger's ex-tumor son Rogu. Stan's boss Avery Bullock, the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, is a recurring character.


title: American Dad!

text: The voice actors are not assembled as a group when performing the lines of their characters; rather, each of the voice actors perform their lines privately. The voice actors have stated that because of their personalities and tendency to goof off when together as a group, they would never get anything completed if they performed their lines collectively.


title: American Dad!

text: "American Dad!" centers on the absurd circumstances, adventures and domestic life of its title character


title: American Dad!

text: Stan Smith, his immediate family, and their four housemates. Adding to all the ridiculousness and absurdity are the various personality traits of all the show's eccentric main characters, listed as follows:


title: American Dad!

text: When asked what first spurred the idea for "American Dad!" Seth MacFarlane answered, "It was right after the [2000] election, and me and co-creator Matt Weitzman were so frustrated with the Bush administration that we would just spend days bitching and complaining, and we figured we should channel this into something creative and hopefully profitable." In early February 2005, Barker stated, "About a year and a half ago, Seth called and asked if Matt and I would be interested in working on a show about a right-wing CIA agent and his liberal daughter. It was right up our alley, and everything just fell into place." On September 14, 2003, "Variety" reported that Fox Broadcasting had ordered a pilot presentation of the then tentatively titled "American Dad!" and "If greenlit, "American Dad!" could launch as early as fall 2004." At the time, Fox was aiming to develop a new lineup of adult animated sitcoms.


title: American Dad!

text: "American Dad!" had a mid-season debut. Its first episode, titled "Pilot", was originally shown directly following Super Bowl XXXIX on February 6, 2005. The rest of the first season, however, would not launch until May 1, 2005, as part of the debut of Fox's Animation Domination lineup. Initially, it was a replacement for the originally failed series "Family Guy" (1999–2002). "American Dad!" was originally intended to be Fox's answer to the hordes of fans left behind from the original failure of MacFarlane's previous animated venture. Just three short months after "American Dad!"s debut however, "Family Guy" was revived, leaving "American Dad!" with a formidable expectation: whether the series could distinguish itself from its counterpart and succeed on its own merits. Instead of taking over creative direction of the series, MacFarlane left the job largely in the hands of Barker and Weitzman so as to distinguish "American Dad!"


title: American Dad!

text: In its early going, "American Dad!" brought in strong ratings but fought an uphill battle in gaining widespread acceptance and approval from viewers and critics alike. The popularity of MacFarlane and his involvement with "Family Guy" had led to foregone conclusions and prejudices against "American Dad!" as a rip-off of the predecessor and some critics had already written off "American Dad!" prior to its birth as nothing more than a pale imitation of "Family Guy" and MacFarlane's attempts to get his old show back on the air. One example, prior to the "American Dad!" series debut, a writer of "The Washington Post" published a piece that reads "But those same executives have also given MacFarlane a whole new animated half-hour to play with in the disappointing "American Dad!" The new series officially premieres in May but has a sneak preview tomorrow night in the coveted post-Super Bowl time period ... The look and pace of "American Dad!" is the same as "Family Guy"."


title: American Dad!

text: In actuality, however, the program's beginnings take cues from the TV series "All in the Family," almost a farcical animated version of the live action sitcom. Both shows make use of political satire, bigotry, ludicrous expressions of Conservatism from their paternal main character (Stan likened to Archie Bunker), and equally ludicrous expressions of liberalism from their daughter character (Hayley likened to Gloria Stivic). Moreover, the daughter in both series each have a liberal hippie boyfriend turned husband (Jeff likened to Michael Stivic) to whom the daughter's conservative father is antagonistic. Also in both, the daughter lives in her parents' home with her boyfriend turned husband as a housemate. "American Dad!" in its original form was even said to have been inspired by "All in the Family".


title: American Dad!

text: In "American Dad!"s initial seasons MacFarlane was described as focusing more attention on his coexisting obligation of "Family Guy." This was to the extent that "American Dad!" was completely secondary to him, and he did not understand the show. Because he was not getting the show at the time, he was described as "just going along for the ride". Likewise, the rest of the show's creators Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman were also trying to figure out the show and where it was going.


title: American Dad!

text: After "American Dad!"s initial couple of seasons and as it progressed, the show began to increasingly develop its very own distinct approach and identity, becoming more and more distinguished from all other programs on the air. Standing out from its counterparts increasingly with each passing season, the series has been described as eventually becoming the weirdest show in network prime time. It has been characterized as serving up distinguishing blasts of surrealism. As the series progressed, MacFarlane realized that Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman were on to something uniquely appealing; moreover, he realized they were on to something that sharply contrasted from "Family Guy", which audiences appreciated.


title: American Dad!

text: After the show's first several seasons, MacFarlane not only came to fully understand and appreciate "American Dad!"s value but also came to consider himself a huge fan of the series. Taking note of his Twitter followers increased fanaticism and excitement over "American Dad!" and the "Roger" character, MacFarlane began putting considerable amounts of his time and efforts into the series, more so in the last several seasons than ever before (this observation made in fall 2012). In describing "American Dad!" comedy styles, Barker noted that it is not as reference-laden as "Family Guy" or "South Park". He added that "American Dad!"s humor more frequently derives from "the human condition and emotions that everyone can relate to: ego, the feds, etc. And for that reason, I think our humor is a little more evergreen."


title: American Dad!

text: On developing scripts for "American Dad!" episodes, co-creator Mike Barker revealed that he and the rest of the show's staff never know when and from where plot line ideas will emerge. "Just as an example," Barker explained, "All About Steve" is an episode where Stan wants his son to be more of a jock and more like he was when he was his age. That whole episode came about from one of our writers Dave Hemingson coming into our office, telling us he just visited the dentist and he may need to get braces. And the idea of a grown man with braces appealed to us, and we just decided what if we put Stan in braces, and he understands for the first time what it's like to feel like a geek."


title: American Dad!

text: During the 2012–13 season, Barker revealed that much of his inspiration for "American Dad!" plots came through listening to music. Barker's revelation to use music as a muse for his "American Dad!" writing came from attending the 2008 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. During that event, he watched the rock band My Morning Jacket perform a four-hour set in the rain and realized from the experience that he could generate ideas for "American Dad!" by tapping into music: "From that point on, I realized that music should be playing a bigger role in my writing", Barker told the "Louisville Courier-Journal". "Writing is hard for me, and when you hear music that inspires good ideas, you're really grateful." The beginning of the show's theme song, "Good Morning USA", uses the introduction to "Stars and Stripes Forever".


title: American Dad!

text: In particular, Barker has credited music from Wax Fang for his inspiration in writing certain "American Dad!" plots. Said Barker, "There's just something so inherently cinematic about Wax Fang's music. [Scott] Carney's voice is stunningly clear and dramatic. And his lyrics are specific enough to build stories around while staying flexible enough for different interpretations." Barker added that through listening to the Wax Fang track "Majestic", he was able to come up with major plot elements for the episode "Lost in Space" (this episode features the Wax Fang songs "Majestic" and "At Sea").


title: American Dad!

text: Barker has stated that once he and the rest of the show's staff get the idea for the plot line, they spend a couple of weeks in a room with all the screenwriters. There, they break the story and make sure that each act of the two act breaks are strong. As another procedure, Barker stated that they make a point of twisting the story in such a way so as to make audiences come back for more after the commercial break.


title: American Dad!

text: "The final process," Barker explained, "is sending a screenwriter out to write the script. The screenwriter gets two weeks to write the script. The script then comes back." Barker explained that they then all edit and rewrite it, "hopefully keeping as much of the first draft as we can and punching the jokes and making sure all the motivations are there, and then we take it to the table and read it."


title: American Dad!

text: In February 2005, Barker stated that as creative directors, all decisions made about the plot line and direction of the series go through himself and Weitzman. He explained that the show had reflected their point of view since the beginning. Barker has also credited the program's other staff beyond himself, Weitzman, and MacFarlane, remarking "We couldn't have made it all happen without them." At the time, it was noted that the series had a staff of 17 writers, which was described as "a big undertaking".


title: American Dad!

text: When Barker was asked what his favorite part was of the "American Dad!" pre-production process, he answered, "I like the story breaking process, personally—coming up with the stories. To me, that's the most gratifying."


title: American Dad!

text: Barker and Matt Weitzman have stated that they are accustomed to feeling scruples with adding certain material into the plots, but always follow this up by going ahead with incorporating the material anyway. They added that their goal is to create laughs combined with groans and going over the line.


title: American Dad!

text: In describing the characters' appearances, Weitzman remarked "It's all very bright, very easy on the eyes."


title: American Dad!

text: In explaining the animated side of the job, Barker stated, "Fifty or so animators from the Fox animation group are involved. A lot is done in-house: poses, models, props, all storyboards and timing."


title: American Dad!

text: Also as reported in February 2005, animation for "American Dad!" is colored and detailed overseas. Yearim Productions Co., Ltd. of Korea are said to handle that end of the pre-production process.


title: American Dad!

text: Barker has explained that because "American Dad!" creators are working in animation as opposed to live action, they have the ability to redraw and rewrite up until the show is aired.


title: American Dad!

text: However, Barker has also stated, "It's really hard to accept anything less than perfect when you start to get wrapped up in this process of being able to constantly make changes. Eventually you have to kind of bring down the hammer at the color stage and live with what you've got."


title: American Dad!

text: Barker has explained that, ultimately, the creation process of an "American Dad!" episode is completed upon the producers' say-so, not anyone else's.


title: American Dad!

text: When "American Dad!" co-creator Matt Weitzman was asked what his favorite part was of the show's pre-production process, he answered, "I probably enjoy the editing process a lot. I think I like the fine tuning of things and making things happen just so. Making the episode just kind of pop in its own subtle ways."


title: American Dad!

text: "American Dad!" creators have revealed to working significantly in advance of newly broadcast episodes. As many as 20 to 42 unaired episodes are typically ready for finishing touches. Barker explained that a key to this system is making sure that the writing is timeless, as opposed to topical and contemporary. He added that if any material within the script deals with contemporary issues, the creators have to hope that they're also contemporary issues two years down the line. When asked whether or not this method has ever brought on difficulties, Barker answered in the affirmative and explained:


title: American Dad!

text: In discussing the creation of "American Dad!" and animated sitcoms in general, MacFarlane has stated:


title: American Dad!

text: The Smith family and their housemates reside on Cherry Street in the fictional suburb of Langley Falls, Virginia, in a large two-story residence with a basement and an attic. In addition, the Smith house is apparently enhanced with numerous secret rooms, facilities, and large habitats, these unorthodox attachments usually only seen once apiece (i.e., the episodes "Of Ice and Men", "Bush Comes to Dinner", "The Missing Kink", "The Full Cognitive Redaction of Avery Bullock by the Coward Stan Smith", etc.). Greg and Terry are a gay couple that live across the street from the Smiths. Within the neighborhood, they are portrayed as running a neater and tidier home than the Smiths. Greg and Terry are also the local news anchor for W-ANG-TV. Also in the area is the high school attended by Steve, Pearl Bailey High School.


title: American Dad!

text: "American Dad!" has commonly made use of farces as most of the predicaments that befall the main characters have escalated into the extremes, to the point of getting outrageously out of hand. For example, in the episode "Home Wrecker", Stan and Francine's marital harmony breaks down from a difference of opinion on remodeling the house. It gets to the point where they divide the house in two, each decorating their half of the house in their desired fashion. Not satisfied with this however, they both attempt to drive the other out of the home and eventually erect a colossal block wall, dividing the two halves of the house. The rest of the family members are forced to spend one holiday after the next alternating between Fran's and Stan's place (the sides of the house treated as distinct homes). As another example, in the episode "Stan's Food Restaurant", Stan asks for Roger's help in starting a restaurant. As things progress, Roger makes heavy changes in the layout, eventually kicking Stan out of the project. Stan retaliates by opening another restaurant next door, which becomes a smashing success. Roger responds by blowing up Stan's restaurant but destroying his own in the process. Stan threatens to kill Roger, but backs down after Roger pulls a gun on him and tells him to relax.


title: American Dad!

text: "American Dad!" plots are generally teeming with surrealism and nonsensical elements. Many of the occurrences, circumstances, and behaviors are unrestrainedly preposterous, senseless, and illogical.


title: American Dad!

text: As further examples of surrealism on "American Dad!"—in the episode "Hurricane!", a ferocious bear pauses in his attack, lowers his eyelids halfway, and repeatedly shakes his head horizontally, shaming Stan for missing him in a harpoon shot and instead spearing Francine into a wall; in the episode "", the hallways of the Smith house transform into dark and dangerous alleyways every time Roger pays Jeff then ambushes him (in disguise) to steal the money back. He even tries to forcibly rape Jeff; in the episode "The Missing Kink", Steve and family fish Klaus are shown competing in a one-on-one basketball game between each other, the score nearly tied at 11 to 10; also in the "Missing Kink" episode, the Smith house is shown to consist of a never-before-seen underworld to which various friends and acquaintances of the Smiths party and frolic; in the episode "The Full Cognitive Redaction of Avery Bullock by the Coward Stan Smith", Stan has a never-before-seen secret control room hidden underground just beside the house. The control room door's exterior side is camouflaged with the grass surrounding it. The room is filled with highly advanced, state-of-the-art equipment. Access to the control room is achieved through a handprint reading device that extends from the ground when Stan extends his arm/hand at it; etc.


title: American Dad!

text: Among the many forms of surreal humor and nonsense elements that have been used by "American Dad!" is the non sequitur/story within a story technique. This arises when the show's focus becomes sidetracked by entirely unknown and unrelated characters in circumstances that are irrelevant to the episode's main plot. Typically when this happens, it is after the show has maintained focus on its main characters for much of the episode; following this, the scenes randomly lose focus and become deeply wrapped up into the lives of never-before-seen characters who are non-central to the plot. A prime example of this is in the episode "Homeland Insecurity". As opposed to scenes focusing on main characters, attention is redirected deep into the lives of unknown characters who gain possession of Roger's gem-encrusted golden feces - this storyline of the dramas resulting from "The Golden Turd" continues in later episodes. As another example, in the episode "The Missing Kink", the show's focus is sporadically sidetracked with brief scenes revolving around the life of a drug abusing bird and Francine's inexplicable ability to both understand and communicate with the bird's chirping.


title: American Dad!

text: The series has abounded with random, unexpected occurrences and surprise plot twists as result of the characters and the very makeup of the program. For example, in the episode "The Full Cognitive Redaction of Avery Bullock by the Coward Stan Smith", Steve refers to Roger for help in dealing with a school bully, Luiz. Because Steve is able to correctly predict Roger's original game plan of handling the situation himself under an alter ego, Roger throws him a curveball: he not only hires someone else, Stelio Kontos (from the episode "Bully for Steve") who was Stan's bully, to handle the matter, but hires him to bully Steve so Steve's original bully Luiz won't since bullies don't want another bully's sloppy seconds. Then Luiz, encouraged by Steve, goes to beat up the guy that beat him up, however, when Luiz learns that it is Stelio Kontos, the two bullies team up along with Roger in targeting Steve. The Stelio Kontos's song sounds, revamped by Roger adding ""and Luiz" ". As another example, in the episode "The Vacation Goo", Francine becomes frustrated that she cannot get the family together for Sunday night dinner. For family time, Stan suggests a vacation, and the Smiths have a great time in Maui as a family. This is up until Roger shuts down the mechanism Francine and the kids are all attached to so as to believe they are all on vacation. Francine and the kids then learn that Stan has been programming a pseudo-vacation every year in a contraption dubbed "the goo chambers". After learning of this, Francine demands they go on a real vacation. Twice they appear to do so, first skiing, then to Italy, until it is ultimately revealed that they are in the "goo chambers" all along, with Steve and then Hayley having programmed the vacations, respectively. In the episode "Spelling Bee My Baby", Steve deliberately misspells his words in a spelling bee so as to express his love for Akiko (who is also competing), instead spelling random Tyler Perry/Madea films.


title: American Dad!

text: Another technique used by "American Dad!" is the story arc. On several occasions, a circumstance expands and progresses across a collection of episodes. As an example, one of Hayley's temporary breakups with Jeff expanded across a string of episodes, in which she instead temporarily dated a black man in a koala body, Reginald Koala—known for his very urban mannerisms and behaviors. As another example, since the 9th season episode "", Jeff Fischer has been absent from the Smith house and planet Earth altogether. In that episode, Jeff is blindsided when Roger hurls him into a spaceship. This spacecraft belongs to Roger's race of aliens and was intended to return him back to his birth planet; however, Roger remains behind after casting Jeff into the spaceship. The spaceship immediately takes off and Jeff is not seen until several episodes later, the episode "Lost in Space". During episodes that aired between the two aforementioned episodes, allusions to the ongoing plot line are made. For example, in the episode "Spelling Bee My Baby", Hayley is shown holding out hope for Jeff's return. In the episode, Roger and Stan attempt to rush Hayley through her grieving process so she will be willing to be their tennis official. In the episode "The Longest Distance Relationship" Jeff gets in touch with Hayley via a radio and ultimately tells her not to wait for him and to move on with her life. This story arc is finally resolved in the episode "Holy Shit, Jeff's Back!"; Jeff supposedly returns to Earth but it turns out to be an alien called Zebleer masquerading as Jeff and the real Jeff has been dissected, however Jeff's brain is transplanted into Zebleer's body allowing the real Jeff to live, after which Stan and Hayley's memories are wiped, leaving them unaware that Jeff is no longer entirely human. This plot point is continued at the end of "Bahama Mama", where Roger mentions Jeff cannot get Hayley pregnant because he has an alien body, so he agrees to rebirth Jeff in "Roger's Baby". By the end of the episode, Jeff is human again and with Hayley on Earth. Another example of the usage of story arcs are the Christmas Specials, starting with the Season 7 episode "For Whom the Sleigh Bell Tolls", Santa Claus became the main antagonist of the arc, vowing to get revenge on The Smiths after nearly being killed by Steve in the aforementioned episode. The storyline expands in the Season 10 episode "Minstrel Krampus", the episode concludes with a small change to the status quo, Stan's Father Jack fuses with Krampus' soul and becomes the new Krampus, up until his death in Season 17. Santa returns in the Season 14 episode "Ninety North, Zero West", where Santa kidnaps Steve to take over the world by unleashing an ancient god in the North Pole. However, he is seemingly killed off by falling off a cliff and breaking his neck. However, the storyline would continue in the following Season 15 episode "Santa, Schmanta", although the storyline isn't directly related to the story arc, it does explain Santa's death and reveals be was revived at the end of the episode.


title: American Dad!

text: Much of the wit used in "American Dad!" has come in the form of black comedy as many of the predicaments and circumstances have made fun of the characters in life-threatening, disastrous, terrifying, and traumatic situations. As an example, the episode "A Ward Show" is contains scenes of suicide and murder: Roger became Steve's legal guardian and responded to him getting picked on at school by rigging the teachers' cars with explosives and killing them all. Later on in the episode while Principal Lewis was driving his vehicle with Steve as the passenger, he informed Steve that he was about to drive off the Grand Canyon in a murder-suicide. This culminated in Roger saving the day, his love supernaturally allowing the car to fly once Principal Lewis drove off the Canyon; however, another vehicle with a random white man and a black boy in it (opposite of Principal Lewis, a black man and Steve, a white boy) had also, coincidentally enough, driven off the opposite side of the Grand Canyon in a murder-suicide attempt. This resulted in a midair collision between the car with Principal Lewis and Steve in it and the car with the white man and black boy in it. Another example, in the episode "Da Flippity Flop", Roger leaves a long series of harassing answering machine messages for Steve, trying to get him to sign up for his gym. In these messages, Roger is also heard snapping on various people, killing three individuals from reckless driving, landing himself in court, and subsequently becoming irate and shooting up numerous people at the city courthouse for being scolded to turn off his mobile phone.


title: American Dad!

text: (A): One of the reports upholds a one-season-fewer numbering model: Under this arrangement, season 1 is a combination of both the first 7 episodes and the following 16 episodes, despite the separation of these two episode collections by a summer hiatus. Under this arrangement, season 1 is uncharacteristically longer in contrast to the rest of the show's seasons, consisting of 23 episodes.


title: American Dad!

text: (B): The other report upholds a one-season-more numbering model: Under this arrangement, season 1 ended after the program's first 7 episodes leading into the summer hiatus. Season 2 then picked up when the following 16 episodes began that fall. Under this arrangement, season 1 is uncharacteristically shorter in contrast to the rest of the show's seasons, consisting of only 7 episodes, just like MacFarlane's other show, "Family Guy".


title: American Dad!

text: (C): Hulu, which is the online American streaming home for "American Dad!", lists the number of seasons as 17. Hulu combines episodes 1–23 into season 1, and combines episodes 173–190 into season 10.


title: American Dad!

text: Commentary from "American Dad!" co-creators Matt Weitzman and Mike Barker has largely been consistent with (A): on September 28, 2012, the two were interviewed and reported that they had 20 episodes completed for the then imminent "eighth season", and were "developing our ninth season". During the show's life on Fox, however, the network contradicted that arrangement, presenting information on the show's then website that followed (B): in listing all episodes from the 2012–13 season, Fox reported each as existing as part of the show's "ninth season". In addition, Fox contradicted its own "American Dad!" website, also supporting the one-season-fewer numbering scheme: FoxFlash, which is the publicity center for Fox, labeled the 2012–13 broadcasts as the "eighth season". Websites releasing the show's season-based ratings have also used the one-season-fewer numbering method.


title: American Dad!

text: Fox advertisements for the episode "Lost in Space" promoted the episode as "American Dad!"s 150th. Subsequently, numerous mainstream media reports also labeled the episode as the 150th. In actuality, it was the show's 151st episode, while the episode "The Full Cognitive Redaction of Avery Bullock by the Coward Stan Smith" was the series actual 150th episode. In addition, Fox promoted the episode's plot as the revealing of Roger's birth planet. While the setting of this episode is a spaceship owned by members of Roger's alien race, to date, Roger's birth planet has yet to be revealed.


title: American Dad!

text: In 2020, after airing the first episode of the seventeenth season, TBS aired two episodes that had originally been scheduled to air at the end of the previous season before being pulled from the schedule. While TBS' official website lists these two episodes, "Downtown" and "Cheek to Cheek: A Stripper's Story", as season 14 (Wikipedia's season 16) episodes 21 and 22, the official YouTube playlist includes them in season 15 (Wikipedia's season 17) as episodes 2 and 3. TBS also promoted the 299th episode, titled "300", as the series' three hundredth episode which was in fact the 300th produced, but aired as the 299th episode as the episode "Yule. Tide. Repeat." which was produced prior to "300" was not scheduled to air before the broadcast of "300".


title: American Dad!

text: While the series premiere of "American Dad!" is entitled "Pilot", "Pilot" is not the show's actual pilot presentation. The actual pilot is a 6-minute version of the first 6 minutes in the series premiere. This precursory pilot was used by MacFarlane, Barker, and Weitzman to sell "American Dad!" to Fox and was never aired along with the rest of the series.


title: American Dad!

text: While much of the dialogue and general scenery were simply redone between the precursory pilot and the following series premiere, there are sharp distinctions between the two. Differences also exist between the precursory pilot and the official series as a whole. Most of these are in the pictorial technique. For example, scenes from the pilot are drawn in a rougher, more cursory fashion with weaker coloration than scenes from the official series. Most prominently, Steve's physical design and outfit in the predecessor greatly contrast from his official design and outfit. In addition, Steve is voiced by Ricky Blitt in the precursory pilot but by Scott Grimes in the official series. There are also variations in Steve's personality.


title: American Dad!

text: Early episodes of the series featured political banter between the conservative Stan and liberal Hayley. However, the creators learned quickly that this had only "a limited shelf life" and did not provide them as much as they originally thought it would. Said co-creator Matt Weitzman, "There are times when we still have that kind of dynamic between them, but not nearly what it was in the first season. And I think the show, honestly, has grown and benefited from it, because that would have gotten boring after a while."


title: American Dad!

text: Roger was enhanced by being provided with a running gag of alternate disguises and freedom to exist outside of the Smith house. The show's original concept basically portrayed him as being similar to ALF, having him sit in the house all day while commenting on life. The creators, however, have stated that the character was far too much fun to keep restricted to the house, and having him interact with different people provided for much material. The creators have further appreciated the direction of Roger for the fact that he almost serves as a different guest star for each episode what with his many alter egos. The show's staff believe this element of the show highlights MacFarlane's versatility as he voices Roger and his countless alter egos.


title: American Dad!

text: There have been three versions of the "Steve" character, the creators having twice made considerable adjustments to his design. Steve's initial design ended up being a one-off execution limited to the unaired precursory pilot (not to be confused with the series premiere, entitled "Pilot"). By the season premiere, Scott Grimes had begun voicing Steve, and his design was made taller, more filled out, and less geeky. After early seasons of the series, Steve was remodeled again. This time he was made softer, more emotional, cuter and more endearing, creating a sharper contrast to his father Stan's ruggedness and machismo.


title: American Dad!

text: Between the eighth and ninth seasons, there were significant changes in the show's writing staff. Mike Barker mentions (with one-season-less numbering) "We lost some animators, and we lost a lot of writers. Season eight, our writing staff is about 65–70 percent new."


title: American Dad!

text: On July 16, 2013, it was announced that "American Dad!" had been cancelled by Fox. Shortly thereafter, however, the cable station TBS picked up the show for a 15-episode 11th season, which premiered on October 20, 2014. Along with airing original episodes, TBS also airs reruns of "American Dad!" in syndication. The tenth season was initially to be the final one on Fox; however, on July 20, 2014, it was announced that Fox had three unaired episodes left for broadcast. Two of the three aired back-to-back on September 14, 2014, and the final one aired on September 21, 2014. Reports from Fox seemed to imply that these three episodes constituted a season of their own, season 10. Among multiple discrepant reports from TBS however, one indicated that the three episodes were the beginning of the 11th season to resume on their network. TBS actually debuted their first episode through social media websites YouTube and Facebook on October 13, 2014; the October 20, 2014, date applies to the linear television debut.


title: American Dad!

text: On the show's network relocation, Mike Barker has stated, "It's going to be the same "American Dad!", just in a different place." Barker also joked that the network relocation was to execute a Tyler Perry crossover they [Barker and "American Dad!" production staff] had long aspired to.


title: American Dad!

text: On November 4, 2013, it was announced that Mike Barker had departed "American Dad!" Barker had served for ten seasons as the show's co-creator/executive and producer/co-showrunner. Matt Weitzman is now serving as the show's sole showrunner. The news came as early production for season 11 commenced. , the show's production crew was developing its first four episodes for season 11, slated to begin airing on October 20, 2014, when "American Dad!" moved to TBS. Barker remained under an overall contract with 20th Century Fox Television.


title: American Dad!

text: In 2016, a study by "The New York Times" of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that "American Dad!" is popular in the Northeastern United States and the Mid-Atlantic states, as well as the Great Lakes Region; however, it "is not popular in Utah or much of the South".


title: American Dad!

text: Until season 12 when "American Dad!" moved to TBS, all but one episode originally aired on Animation Domination. The program's series premiere is the only episode that pre-dates the Animation Domination lineup. In addition, "American Dad!"s series premiere predated the rest of the first season by roughly three months. The series premiere episode, "Pilot", aired directly following Fox's broadcast of Super Bowl XXXIX on February 6, 2005. The episode aired alongside "The Simpsons" and pulled in 15 million viewers, with 23 million viewers overall. Both Animation Domination and the rest of the show's first season commenced on May 1, 2005. The show returned with the episode "Threat Levels", obtaining 9.47 million viewers, after the season premiere/revival of "Family Guy".


title: American Dad!

text: On November 18, 2014, it was reported that the show's outstanding performance in cable had quickly moved TBS to order another season of the series, bringing the show to thirteen seasons.


title: American Dad!

text: Internationally, "American Dad!" is available to stream with Star on Disney + with the first 18 seasons.


title: American Dad!

text: At Comic-Con 2013 on July 20, Mike Barker revealed that an "American Dad!" movie—centering on Roger and set on his birth planet—may take place in the future. Barker did not announce any specifics as it relates to the nature and type of film he and the rest of the show's creators had in mind for the series; however, he strongly suggested that a movie is where the show's staff and creators would like to take things. Barker further hinted that an "American Dad!" movie may already even be in the works and partially written. at Comic-Con 2022, Matt Weitzman revealed plans for a feature film were scrapped.


title: American Dad!

text: "American Dad!" characters have appeared on other animated sitcoms and vice versa. To date, all of "American Dad!"s crossovers have involved two other animated programs. The other two animated programs were also created by Seth MacFarlane: "Family Guy "(the crossover episode "Bigfat" also included "King of the Hill" characters), and the cancelled series "The Cleveland Show".


title: American Dad!

text: In the season 25 episode of "The Simpsons", "Homerland", in the end credits alongside the families from "Family Guy", "The Cleveland Show" and "Bob's Burgers", The Smiths appear to celebrate their twenty-fifth season in the Simpsons' living room.


title: American Dad!

text: Bart Simpson makes a cameo appearance in the "American Dad!" season 10 episode, "Faking Bad". In "The Simpsons Guy", Roger appears in Kang and Kodos' spaceship.


title: American Dad!

text: At Comic-Con 2022, showrunner and co-creator Matt Weitzman discussed the possibility of a crossover with the sci-fi series "The Orville", another series created by Seth MacFarlane.


title: American Dad!

text: In 2015, in celebration of the show's tenth anniversary, an "American Dad!" digital pinball table was released on Zen Studios' "Zen Pinball 2" and "Pinball FX 2". The game features paper cutouts of the main cast in the background, and clips from past seasons of the show.


title: American Dad!

text: In September 2016, the characters appeared in a card game titled "" was released to app stores, which is a crossover card game featuring not only "American Dad", but also characters from "Family Guy", "Futurama", "Bob's Burgers", "King of the Hill", and (as of September 2022) "Archer". Playable characters from the latter include Stan Smith and Roger Smith.


title: American Dad!

text: A mobile app, "American Dad! Apocalypse Soon", was released in 2019, and has accumulated over 10m downloads across the Android and Apple platforms.


title: American Dad!

text: In 2022, the Smiths also appeared in a crossover racing game was released titled "Warped Kart Racers", along with "Family Guy", "King of the Hill", and "Solar Opposites". The characters to choose from include almost the entire Smith family.


title: American Dad!

text: Playtech licensed "American Dad!" for a range of online gambling products, which began operating in 2017.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: Ashley Elizabeth Fliehr (born April 5, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Charlotte Flair. She is currently inactive.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: She is a second-generation professional wrestler, being the daughter of Ric Flair. Flair made her first appearance in professional wrestling alongside her father in World Championship Wrestling in 1993. In 2012, she began training with WWE, and debuted in NXT the following year. In 2014, she was named Rookie of the Year by "Pro Wrestling Illustrated" ("PWI"), and was promoted to WWE's main roster in 2015. In 2016, "PWI" readers voted Flair Woman of the Year and Top Female Professional Wrestler.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: Flair has held the WWE Divas Championship once, the NXT Women's Championship twice, the Raw Women's Championship a record six times, the SmackDown Women's Championship a record six times, and the Women's Tag Team Championship once, making her a Triple Crown Champion and Grand Slam Champion. Flair also won the Royal Rumble match in 2020. In October 2016, she became the first woman (alongside Sasha Banks) to headline a WWE pay-per-view event. Her match with Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey at 2019's WrestleMania 35 was the first time that a women's match had headlined WWE's flagship event.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: Ashley Elizabeth Fliehr was born in Charlotte, North Carolina on April 5, 1986, to Ric Flair and his then-wife Elizabeth Harrell. She has an older half-sister, Megan, and an older half-brother, David, while her younger brother Reid died on March 29, 2013. Fliehr won two NCHSAA 4 A-State championships for volleyball during her time at Providence High School and was team captain and player of the year in 2004–2005. She attended Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, playing volleyball in the 2005 and 2006 seasons before transferring to North Carolina State University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in public relations in Spring 2008 while also being a certified personal trainer prior to becoming a wrestler.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: Flair was at ringside for the December 6, 2004, episode of "Raw" in her hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, where Lita and Trish Stratus competed in the main event for the WWE Women's Championship. Almost 12 years later, on October 3, 2016, Flair herself and rival Sasha Banks would do the same, marking the third time a Women's Championship match main evented "Raw".


title: Charlotte Flair

text: Flair made her first appearance in professional wrestling at the age of seven, appearing in a vignette with her father at the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) pay-per-view . In 2000, she again appeared alongside her father in WCW as part of his feud with Vince Russo and her half-brother David. On the May 15 episode of "Monday Nitro", Flair appeared in a vignette in which Russo, David and Daffney invaded the Flair family home until being confronted by Flair, her mother Beth, and her brother Reid. At The Great American Bash on June 11, Flair was at ringside for a retirement match between Ric and David. After Russo attempted to interfere in the match on David's behalf, she and her brother Reid attacked him and handcuffed him, enabling their father to go on to defeat David. On the following evening's episode of "Monday Nitro", David and Russo faced Ric in a handicap match with the Flair family once again at ringside. Flair attempted to interfere on her father's behalf, but was restrained by R&B Security, Russo's henchmen, allowing David and Russo to defeat Ric and partially shave his head.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: On May 17, 2012, she signed a developmental contract with WWE and trained under Lodi in North Carolina before joining NXT, the WWE developmental territory, in Tampa, Florida. Her trainers in NXT included Sara Del Rey. Fliehr adopted the ring name Charlotte and had her first televised singles match on the July 17, 2013, episode of "NXT", where she defeated Bayley. In late 2013, Charlotte formed a tag team with Bayley, and the two defeated Aksana and Alicia Fox on the September 4 episode of "NXT". On the October 10 episode of "NXT", Bayley accompanied Charlotte to a match against Santana Garrett, which she won, but during the match The BFFs—Beautiful, Fierce Females (Sasha Banks and Summer Rae) came to the ring and attempted to convince Bayley to join them, much to Charlotte's annoyance.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: On the November 13 episode of "NXT", Charlotte attacked Bayley and joined the BFFs, establishing herself as a heel in the process. After a two-month absence due to a legit injury, Charlotte returned on the January 22, 2014, episode of "NXT" and began accompanying Rae and Banks to their matches. In February, Charlotte confronted and challenged NXT Women's Champion Paige during an interview with Renee Young. Following Rae's elevation to WWE's main roster, Charlotte and Banks feuded with Bayley, who formed an alliance with Natalya, who defeated Charlotte by disqualification after Banks interfered on the March 27 episode of "NXT". On April 6 at WrestleMania XXX, she appeared alongside Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss in Triple H's entrance in his match against Daniel Bryan. The feud between Charlotte and Paige ended on the April 24 episode of "NXT", when Charlotte and Banks defeated Emma and Paige, with Charlotte scoring the pinfall over Paige.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: The following month, Charlotte competed in an eight-woman tournament for the vacant NXT Women's Championship, defeating Emma in the first round, Alexa Bliss in the semi-finals<ref name="NXT 15/05/14"></ref> and Natalya in the finals at TakeOver on May 29 to win the NXT Women's Championship for the first time in her career, her first championship in WWE. After a four-month absence from the show, Summer Rae returned on the June 6 episode of "NXT", distracting Bayley and allowing Charlotte to defeat her, after which the BFFs attempted to attack Bayley, only to be chased away by Emma and the returning Paige. The altercation prompted a six-woman tag team match on the June 12 episode of "NXT", which the BFFs lost after Bayley pinned Charlotte. On the July 3 episode of "NXT", Charlotte got a measure of retribution over Bayley in a tag team match, where she and Sasha Banks defeated Bayley and Becky Lynch. After the match, Charlotte left Banks to get attacked by Bayley, with Banks officially disbanding the BFFs in a backstage segment later that night.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: On the July 24 episode of "NXT", Charlotte retained the women's championship against Summer Rae. Charlotte then went on to retain against Bayley at on September 11, after which she stopped Banks from attacking Bayley afterwards, and after defeating Bayley in a rematch on October 2 episode of "NXT", she raised Bayley's arm before they shared a hug and shook hands, turning Charlotte back into a fan favorite character. Following this, Charlotte and Bayley feuded with Banks and her partner Becky Lynch throughout the following several weeks. Charlotte made her first appearance on WWE's main roster on the Slammy Awards special episode of "Raw" on December 8, where she lost to Natalya in a non-title match. Charlotte retained the NXT Women's Championship against Banks at on December 11, and in rematches that took place on the December 25 and the January 21, 2015, episodes of "NXT", respectively. At on February 11, Charlotte dropped the championship to Banks in a fatal four-way match that also involved Bayley and Becky Lynch, ending her reign at 258 days. She failed to regain the championship in a rematch against Banks that took place on the March 4 episode of "NXT".


title: Charlotte Flair

text: At on May 20, Charlotte teamed up with Bayley to defeat Emma and Dana Brooke. After defeating Emma and Brooke again on the July 8 episode of "NXT", this time teaming with her rival Sasha Banks, Charlotte challenged Banks to an NXT Women's Championship match, which Banks accepted. They had their championship match the following week on the July 15 episode of "NXT", in which Banks retained the championship, and afterwards the two shared a hug and Banks raised Charlotte's hand as a sign of respect.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: On the July 13, 2015, episode of "Raw", Stephanie McMahon called for a "revolution" in the Divas division, subsequently introducing Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks as members of the main roster. Charlotte and Lynch allied with Paige, who was engaged in a feud with Team Bella (Alicia Fox and The Bella Twins), while Banks allied with Tamina and Naomi, starting a rivalry between the three teams. The trio of Charlotte, Lynch, and Paige was dubbed Team PCB after the first name initials of each wrestler. On July 19 at Battleground, Charlotte defeated Banks and Brie Bella in a triple threat match in her WWE pay-per-view debut. The three teams faced off at SummerSlam on August 23 in a three team elimination match, which Charlotte's team won after Lynch pinned Brie Bella.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: On the August 31 episode of "Raw", Charlotte overcame fellow Team PCB members' records in the first ever Divas Beat the Clock challenge, and was named the new number one contender to Nikki Bella's Divas Championship. Her title match against Nikki Bella, initially advertised for Night of Champions, took place on the September 14 episode of "Raw", so Charlotte could stop Bella from surpassing AJ Lee's record and becoming the longest-reigning Divas Champion. Charlotte won the match by disqualification after she pinned Brie due to the twins switching places, causing Nikki to retain her title and beat the record in the process. On September 20 at Night of Champions, Charlotte defeated Nikki in a rematch to win the Divas Championship for the first time. During Charlotte's celebration the following night on "Raw", Paige cut a worked shoot promo and turned on her and Lynch, berating them and the Divas division. Paige acted as if she wanted to reconcile with Lynch and Charlotte, only to attack them both and cement her departure from the team the night after Charlotte successfully retained her championship against Nikki Bella at Hell in a Cell on October 25. Charlotte then retained her title against Paige on three occasions—at Survivor Series on November 22, in a rematch the following night on "Raw" and at on December 13.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: In November, Charlotte began displaying villainous traits after defeating her friend Becky Lynch by feigning a leg injury, followed by a distraction provided by her father. Throughout December, the relationship between Charlotte and Lynch continued to strain, and after losing to her on the January 4, 2016, episode "Raw", Charlotte attacked Lynch and solidified her villainous turn in the process for the first time since 2014 in NXT. Charlotte successfully retained the Divas Championship against Lynch with help from her father three days later on "SmackDown", and at the Royal Rumble on January 24. In February, after she lost to her in a non–title match, Brie Bella received a title match at Fastlane on February 21, where Charlotte once again successfully retained her title. A few weeks later, on March 12 at Roadblock, Charlotte retained the title against Natalya. Also in March, Charlotte caused a number one contender's match between Lynch and Banks to end in a no contest after she attacked both contenders. As a result, a triple threat match between Charlotte, Banks and Lynch for the Divas Championship was scheduled for WrestleMania 32. At the event on April 3, a new WWE Women's Championship replaced the Divas Championship and Charlotte defeated Banks and Lynch to become the inaugural champion.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: Following WrestleMania 32, Charlotte began a feud with Natalya, successfully defending the title against her on the April 11, 2016, episode of "Raw". Due to the disqualification ending, a rematch took place at Payback on May 1, where she defeated Natalya after referee Charles Robinson ended the match as Charlotte held Natalya in the sharpshooter, even though Natalya had not submitted, in a reference to the infamous "shoot screwjob" the Montreal Screwjob. After the match, both Natalya and Bret Hart, who was in Natalya's corner, applied the Sharpshooter on Charlotte and Ric Flair. At Extreme Rules on May 22, Charlotte retained her title against Natalya in a submission match after a distraction provided by Dana Brooke who was dressed as Flair. The following night on "Raw", Charlotte turned on her father by claiming she no longer needed him, further aligning herself with Brooke who would be dubbed as her protege. At Money in the Bank on June 19, Charlotte and Brooke defeated Natalya and Lynch in a tag team match. On the June 20 episode of "Raw", Charlotte retained her title over Paige with help of Brooke, with the two attacking Paige after the match, which ended with Banks making the save. This led to a tag team match the following week, where Banks and Paige scored the victory.<ref name="Raw 27/06/16"></ref> On July 24 at Battleground, Charlotte and Brooke were defeated by Banks and the debuting Bayley.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: After being drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2016 WWE draft on July 19,<ref name="SmackDown 19/07/16"></ref> Charlotte made her first appearance for the brand on the July 25 episode of "Raw", where she lost the WWE Women's Championship to Sasha Banks, ending her reign at 113 days.<ref name="Raw 25/07/16"></ref> On August 21 at SummerSlam, Charlotte competed against Banks in a rematch for the title, in which Flair was victorious, becoming a two-time champion. At Clash of Champions on September 25, Charlotte retained the title (which had been renamed Raw Women's Championship after the creation of the SmackDown Women's Championship) in a triple threat match against Banks and Bayley. However, Charlotte dropped the title to Banks once again in the main event of the October 3 episode of "Raw". Around this time, Charlotte's ring name was lengthened to Charlotte Flair.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: At Hell in a Cell on October 30, Flair regained the title from Banks in the first ever women's Hell in a Cell match to become a three-time women's champion. This was also the first time a women's match was the last match on a WWE pay-per-view. The following night on "Raw", Flair was revealed as captain of Team Raw for Survivor Series on November 20, where Team Raw defeated Team SmackDown with Flair and Bayley being the survivors for Team Raw. On the November 28 episode of "Raw", Flair competed against Banks in a falls count anywhere match, where Banks defeated Flair for the title, after which Ric Flair came out and celebrated with Banks. A 30-minute iron man match between the two was scheduled for on December 18, which resulted in a 2–2 draw, but Flair defeated Banks 3–2 in sudden death overtime, becoming a record four-time Raw Women's Champion, as well as ending their six-month feud since it was stipulated that Banks could not invoke her rematch clause after that. Shortly after, Flair started a feud with Bayley who managed to defeat her in two non-title matches since her main roster debut in August. This led to a title match between the two that took place at the Royal Rumble on January 29, 2017, where Flair successfully retained the title over Bayley.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: On the February 13 episode of "Raw", Flair dropped the title to Bayley in the main event. She later failed to regain the title in a rematch against Bayley at Fastlane on March 5, marking her first pay-per-view singles match loss after 16 singles victories. Also in March, Flair ended her association with Brooke and defeated her in a singles match. At WrestleMania 33 on April 2, Flair competed in a four-way elimination match against Bayley, Banks, and Nia Jax, being the last woman eliminated by eventual winner Bayley. On the April 10 episode of "Raw", Flair was defeated by Jax in her final match for the brand.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: On April 11, 2017, Flair was moved to SmackDown brand as part of the Superstar Shake-up. The following week on "SmackDown Live", she defeated SmackDown Women's Champion Naomi in a non-title match, to earn a title opportunity, which ended in a no-contest after The Welcoming Committee (Natalya, Carmella, and Tamina) attacked both contestants. This match made Flair the first woman in WWE history to ever compete in the main events of "Raw", "SmackDown" and a WWE pay-per-view. In May, Flair aligned with Becky Lynch and Naomi against The Welcoming Committee, turning face in the process. At Backlash on May 21, The Welcoming Committee defeated Flair, Naomi and Lynch in a six-woman tag team match when the latter submitted to Natalya's sharpshooter. Shortly afterwards, Flair competed at Money in the Bank, as part of the first ever women's money in the bank ladder match, which was won by Carmella. At Battleground on July 23, Flair competed in a five-way elimination match to determine the number one contender for the championship but was the last woman eliminated by eventual winner Natalya.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: After taking a hiatus to assist her father in his legit health issues, Flair returned to "SmackDown" on September 19, thanking the WWE Universe for her family's support. Later that night, she won a fatal four-way match to become the number one contender for the SmackDown Women's Championship. At Hell in a Cell on October 8, Natalya retained her title over Flair as she attacked her with a steel chair, causing a disqualification victory for Flair. On the November 14 episode of "SmackDown", Flair defeated Natalya in a rematch to win the title in her hometown, becoming the first woman's wrestler to win the Divas, NXT, Raw and SmackDown Women's Championship. With the win, Flair replaced Natalya in the interbrand champion vs. champion match against Raw Women's Champion Alexa Bliss at Survivor Series on November 19, which Flair won. A month later, at Clash of Champions on December 17, Flair retained the title against Natalya in a lumberjack match.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: Towards the end of 2017, Flair once again aligned with Becky Lynch and Naomi to feud with the debuting Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, and Sarah Logan), after the three attacked them shortly after their debut. At Fastlane on March 11, 2018, Flair defeated Ruby Riott to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship and was subsequently challenged by Royal Rumble winner Asuka. Flair won the ensuing title match at WrestleMania 34 on April 8 by making Asuka submit, ending the challenger's undefeated streak at 914 days in the process. Two days later, on the April 10 episode of "SmackDown", The IIconics (Peyton Royce and Billie Kay) attacked Flair. Carmella used the opportunity to cash in her Money in the Bank contract and won the championship for the first time in her career. Flair failed to regain the title in a rematch on May 6 at Backlash. Flair competed in her second Money in the Bank ladder match on June 17, which was ultimately won by Alexa Bliss.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: On the July 31 episode of "SmackDown", Flair saved Becky Lynch from an attack by Carmella. She later defeated Carmella to be inserted into the championship match between Carmella and Lynch at SummerSlam, making it a triple-threat match. At the event on August 19, Flair pinned Lynch to win the SmackDown Women's Championship for a second time in her career. With the win, Flair became the second woman in WWE history to hold seven women's championships, alongside WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus. After the match, Lynch attacked Flair, igniting a feud between the two, which led to a match at Hell in a Cell on September 16, in which Flair lost the title to Lynch. Flair defeated Lynch via disqualification at Super Show-Down on October 6 and fought her in a rematch two days later on "SmackDown", which ended in a double count-out. As a result of this, Flair received another title opportunity against Lynch in the first Last Woman Standing match at Evolution on October 28, in which Lynch defeated Flair.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: Flair was picked by Becky Lynch as her replacement in a match against Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series on November 18, which she lost via disqualification after brutally attacking Rousey with a kendo stick and a chair, turning heel in the process. The following month, on December 16 at the pay-per-view, Flair competed in the first ever women's Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match against both Lynch and Asuka, who would go on to win the match after Rousey pushed both Flair and Lynch off a ladder.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: At Royal Rumble on January 27, Flair competed in the women's Royal Rumble match, eliminating five women, before being last eliminated by Becky Lynch. As a result, Lynch earned a title match against Raw Women's Champion Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 35. However, in February, Vince McMahon (kayfabe) suspended Lynch for 60 days and replaced her with Flair. Lynch was soon reinstated, and at Fastlane on March 10, she defeated Flair via disqualification, after Rousey attacked Lynch to give her the win, making the title match at WrestleMania a triple threat match. Just a few days before WrestleMania, on the March 26 episode of "SmackDown", Flair defeated Asuka to win the SmackDown Women's Championship for a third time, becoming the only woman in WWE history to have won eight women's championships. At the event on April 7, in what was the first time that women main evented a WrestleMania event, Flair lost her championship in a Winner Takes All match for both her SmackDown and Ronda Rousey's Raw Women's Championships when Lynch pinned Rousey to win both titles.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: Shortly after WrestleMania, Flair continued her feud with Lynch over the SmackDown Women's Championship, stating that she had not been defeated at WrestleMania. She earned a rematch by defeating Bayley and at Money in the Bank on May 19, regained the title by defeating Lynch after interference from Lacey Evans. After the match, the two continued to attack Lynch until Bayley made the save. Bayley, who had won the Money in the Bank contract earlier in the night, cashed in and defeated Flair to end her reign at just 4 minutes and 52 seconds, Flair's shortest title reign of all time, and the shortest for that title respectively. After Money in the Bank, Lynch focused on defending her Raw championship, putting an end to the almost year-long feud between the two.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: After a brief hiatus, Flair returned on the July 16 episode of "SmackDown". She called herself "the greatest female superstar of all time" a week later, and entered into a short storyline with WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus. At SummerSlam on August 11, Flair defeated Stratus by submission in what was the latter's second retirement match. After that win, Flair felt that she deserved an opportunity at the SmackDown Women's Championship and re-ignited her feud with Bayley. On September 15, at Clash of Champions, Bayley retained against Flair after she used an exposed turnbuckle. After making Bayley submit during a tag team match, Flair earned herself another title opportunity. At Hell in a Cell on October 6, Flair defeated Bayley to win her record fifth SmackDown Women's Championship, her tenth women's championship on WWE's main roster. Five days later on "SmackDown", Flair dropped the title back to Bayley.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: As part of the 2019 draft, Flair was drafted to the Raw brand. She was revealed as captain of Team Raw for Survivor Series on November 24, where Team Raw and Team Smackdown lost to Team NXT, after Team Raw member Asuka spit green mist in Flair's face, causing Flair to be eliminated by Lacey Evans. The following night on "Raw", Flair lost to Asuka, with some assistance from her tag team partner, Kairi Sane. Flair then joined forces with Becky Lynch to face The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship in a TLC match at the on December 15, but the two were unsuccessful.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: On January 26, 2020, at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, Flair won the annual Royal Rumble match by lastly eliminating Shayna Baszler. After weeks of teasing an announcement regarding her championship opponent at WrestleMania 36, that led to several confrontations with NXT Women's Champion Rhea Ripley on "Raw" and "NXT". At on February 16, Flair attacked Ripley and accepted her challenge. On the second night of WrestleMania 36 on April 5, Flair defeated Ripley by submission to capture her second NXT Women's Championship, which overall marked her 12th women's championship in the WWE. At on June 7, Flair lost the title to Io Shirai in a triple threat match, also involving Rhea Ripley, ending her reign at 63 days. In late June, she was attacked by Nia Jax that led to a kayfabe arm injury. This was done to write Flair off television so she could take some time off to undergo another surgery on her breast implants.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: At on December 20, Flair returned as a face as the surprise tag team partner of Asuka, with whom she defeated Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. With the win, Flair became the fifth Women's Triple Crown Champion and fourth Women's Grand Slam Champion. Flair and Asuka successfully defended the titles in a triple threat tag team match on the December 25 episode of "SmackDown". Flair then began a feud with Lacey Evans and her father, Ric Flair, who began to interfere in her matches. Flair and Asuka would lose the tag team titles back to Jax and Baszler at the Royal Rumble on January 31, due to interference from Flair and Evans. On the same night, Flair competed in the Women's Royal Rumble match, entering at number 15 and eliminating Peyton Royce, before being eliminated by both Rhea Ripley and the eventual winner Bianca Belair.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: On the February 15 episode of "Raw", after Lacey Evans announced she was legitimately pregnant, the Raw Women's Championship match between her and Asuka at Elimination Chamber on February 21 was cancelled. On the February 22 episode of "Raw", Flair told her father to go home because she couldn't concentrate on her matches, marking the end of their storyline. On the March 1 episode of "Raw", Flair made her intentions to challenge Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania 37 clear, but that did not happen due to Flair testing positive for COVID-19, removing her from the WrestleMania title picture.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: Flair returned on the April 12 edition of "Raw" and interfered in the Raw Women's Championship match between Asuka and Rhea Ripley later that night, turning heel in the process. The following week, she was suspended (in kayfabe) and fined $100,000 for assaulting a referee after losing to Asuka in a singles match. Her suspension would be lifted on the April 26 edition of "Raw" by Sonya Deville. Charlotte would also have several title matches over the next three pay-per-views, including a triple threat match against Asuka and Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania Backlash on May 16 and against Ripley at Hell in a Cell on June 20, which both she was unsuccessful in, but got another opportunity at Money in the Bank on July 18, which she won by submission, making her a record-tying five time Raw Women's Champion. Flair lost the title the next night on "Raw" to Nikki A.S.H., who cashed her Money in the Bank briefcase, Flair regained the title at SummerSlam on August 21 in a triple threat match also involving Ripley. She then successfully defended the championship against Alexa Bliss at Extreme Rules on September 26.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: As a part of the 2021 Draft, Flair was drafted to SmackDown as the Raw Women's Champion. On the October 22 episode of "SmackDown", Flair and Lynch exchanged their titles, thus making Flair the SmackDown Women's Champion for the record sixth time. It was then announced that Flair would face Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch at Survivor Series on November 21, where she was defeated by Lynch. She entered the Women's Royal Rumble match on January 29, 2022, being the last woman eliminated by the returning Ronda Rousey. On the February 4 episode of "SmackDown", Rousey chose to challenge Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania 38. Flair retained the title against Rousey on the second night of the event on April 3, ending her undefeated singles streak. At WrestleMania Backlash on May 8, Flair lost to Rousey in an "I Quit" match, during which she broke her left arm. After the event, Flair took time off to marry her now husband Andrade.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: Flair appeared in the January 2016 issue of "Muscle & Fitness". Flair ranked 29th out of 50 in the 2017 "Sports Illustrated" fittest woman athletes of the year. In June 2018, Flair appeared in the ESPN Body 10 magazine.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: Flair made her video game debut as a playable character in "WWE 2K17" and has since appeared in "WWE 2K18", "WWE 2K19", "WWE 2K20", "WWE 2K22" and "WWE 2K Battlegrounds".


title: Charlotte Flair

text: Flair released "Second Nature: The Legacy of Ric Flair and the Rise of Charlotte", co-written with her father and Brian Shields, author of the "".


title: Charlotte Flair

text: On December 7, 2017, Flair made her film debut on "", where she played Heather Rockrear, the side kick of the villainous Thin White Duke, portrayed by Zachary Levi. On 2021, Flair made a guest appearance on "Punky Brewster" as her wrestling's persona alongside fellow professional wrestler Alexa Bliss. On March 15, it was announced that Flair would star in the remake of "Walking Tall", however, further information had yet to be revealed.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: On October 12, 2022, Flair collaborated with jewellery brand Rockford Collection, as they released a new line of designer rings named "Eminence".


title: Charlotte Flair

text: On September 5, 2008, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Flair was arrested for assaulting a police officer, after a fight involving her then-boyfriend and her father. She pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was sentenced to 45 days in jail, which was reduced to supervised probation and a $200 fine.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: From May 2010 until February 2013, Flair was married to Riki Johnson. In "Second Nature", a joint biography of her and her father released in late 2017, she revealed that she allegedly left Johnson after having been the victim of domestic assault multiple times. In October 2018, Johnson filed a lawsuit against Flair, her father, author Brian Shields, and WWE for "defamatory statements" in the book. From 2013 to October 2015, Flair was married to English wrestler Thomas Latimer, better known as Bram. She began dating Mexican wrestler Manuel Andrade Oropeza, better known as Andrade, in February 2019. The couple got engaged on January 1, 2020, and got married on May 27, 2022, in Mexico.


title: Charlotte Flair

text: Flair has multiple tattoos, including two hearts above her waistline, her first husband Riki's name below her waistline, a heart on her left wrist, a quote from the Bible on the left side of her torso that reads "guard your heart above all else, for it will determine the course of your life" (Proverbs 4:23), a cross on the right side of her torso, and a quote on her right forearm reading "a little patience..." from the Guns N' Roses song "Patience". The latter two are tributes to her late brother, Reid.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: Mars, Incorporated is an American multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products and a provider of animal care services, with US$40 billion in annual sales in 2021.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: Mars was ranked as the fourth-largest privately held company in the United States by "Forbes". Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, the company is entirely owned by the Mars family.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: Mars operates in four business segments around the world: Mars Wrigley Confectionery (headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with U.S. headquarters in Hackettstown and Newark, New Jersey), Petcare (Zaventem, Belgium; Poncitlán and Jalisco, Mexico; Querétaro, Mexico), Food (Rancho Dominguez, California), and MARS Edge (Germantown, Maryland), the company's life sciences division.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: Mars is a company known for the confectionery items that it manufactures, such as Mars bars, Milky Way bars, M&M's, Skittles, Snickers, and Twix. It also produces non-confectionery snacks, such as Combos, and other foods, including Ben's Original, and pasta sauce brand Dolmio, as well as pet foods, such as Pedigree, Whiskas, Nutro and Royal Canin brands.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: Orbit gum is among the most popular brands, managed by the Mars subsidiary brand Wrigley. During World War II, Wrigley was selling their eponymous gum only to soldiers, while Orbit was sold to the public. Though abandoned shortly after the war, about 30 years later, Orbit came back to America during the chewing gum craze.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: Franklin Clarence Mars, whose mother taught him to hand dip candy, sold candy by age 19. He started the Mars Candy Factory in 1911 with Ethel V. Mars, his second wife, in Tacoma, Washington. This factory produced and sold fresh candy wholesale, but ultimately the venture failed because there was a better established business, Brown & Haley, also operating in Tacoma. By 1920, Mars had returned to his home state, Minnesota, where the earliest incarnation of the present day Mars company was founded that year as Mar-O-Bar Co., in Minneapolis and later incorporated there as Mars, Incorporated.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: Forrest Mars Sr., son of Frank and his first wife, Veronica, was inspired by a popular type of milkshake in 1923, to introduce the Milky Way bar, advertised as a "chocolate malted milk in a candy bar", which became the best-selling candy bar. In 1929, Frank moved the company to Chicago and started full production in a plant which still exists today. In 1930, Frank Mars created the Snickers bar and first sold it in US markets. In 1932, Mars introduced the 3 Musketeers bar. The same year, Forrest started Mars Limited in the United Kingdom and launched the Mars bar.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: Mars moved its headquarters to McLean, Virginia, in 1984. It is still a family business owned by the Mars family. The company is famous for its secrecy. A 1993 "Washington Post Magazine" article was a rare raising of the veil, as the reporter was able to see the "M"s being applied to the M&M's, something that "no outsider had ever before been invited to observe". In 1999, for example, the company did not acknowledge that Forrest Mars Sr. had died or that he had worked for the company.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: Mars' purchase of Doane Petcare Company in June 2007 significantly increased Mars' position in the U.S. dry pet food category. In addition to these businesses, Mars also operates a chain of premium chocolate shops called Ethel M Chocolates. These shops are an outgrowth of the Ethel M premium chocolate business that Forrest Mars started in Las Vegas in 1980 when he became bored with retirement.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: In 2008, Mars and this group conducted a research study that resurrected the famous Mars slogan “Work, Rest & Play”. Packaged and led the global launch of the Mars Refuel Sports drink. Initiated and implemented sponsorship program “The Mars Refuel Drink Fund”.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: On April 28, 2008, Mars, Incorporated, together with Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated, announced the buyout of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, the world's largest chewing gum producer, for $23 billion in an all-cash deal. The two companies together generated sales of over $30 billion in 2008.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: The company published its Principles in Action communication in September 2011. This communication outlines the history of Mars, its legacy as a business committed to its Five Principles, and the company's goal of putting its Principles into action to make a difference to people and the planet through performance. Encompassing themes of Health and Nutrition, Supply Chain, Operations, Products, and Working at Mars, the Principles in Action communication outlines Mars Incorporated's targets, progress, and ongoing challenges. It also describes its businesses, including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, Symbioscience.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: The company spent more than $1.8 million on lobbying during 2008, almost all of it at Patton Boggs, where it has long been one of the largest lobbying clients. Mars also spent $10,000 at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. In 2009, Mars also hired Ernst & Young to lobby on corporate and international tax issues, including issues related to tax changes proposed by the Obama administration. The company spent another $1,655,000 that year.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: In 2014, Mars opened a new $270 million chocolate plant in Topeka, Kansas, the first new Mars plant in the US in 35 years.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: In 2016, Mars announced the merger of its chocolate and Wrigley segments to form a new subsidiary, called Mars Wrigley Confectionery.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: In 2017, the company's confectionery segment announced a return to its roots, and opened a new office in Newark, New Jersey.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: In May 2020, Mars filed a lawsuit against JAB Holding over claims that Jacek Szarzynski, a former JAB Holding executive stole various confidential documents and passed them to the owner of Pret A Manger and Panera Bread. According to the lawsuit, over 6,000 Mars internal documents, including detailed financial results, strategic planning documents, and potential acquisition targets, were illegally downloaded.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: In the United States, the company has 22 manufacturing facilities in Hackettstown, New Jersey; Albany, Georgia; Burr Ridge, Illinois; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Chicago, Illinois; and Mattoon, Illinois; Cleveland, Tennessee; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Columbia, South Carolina; Columbus, Ohio; Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania; Greenville, Mississippi; Greenville and Waco, Texas; Henderson and Reno, Nevada; Fort Smith, Arkansas; Joplin, Missouri; Kansas City, Missouri; Miami, Oklahoma; and Galena, Kansas. Their newest facility is situated in Topeka, Kansas. Their Canadian facilities are located in Bolton and Newmarket, Ontario.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: In November 2020, Mars acquired full ownership of snack food company Kind North America for $5 billion.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: In December 2022, it was announced Mars had acquired the West Valley City-headquartered whole-fruit snacking brand, Trü Frü.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: "Mars Food UK Limited" is the name of the United Kingdom branch of Mars, Inc. The company is based in Slough, England. Mars brands manufactured for the United Kingdom market but not for the United States include Tunes.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: In 1932, Forrest Mars Sr. opened what was then Mars (Europe) headquarters, and remains Mars (UK) headquarters in Slough, Berkshire on the then-new Slough Trading Estate, after a disagreement with his father, Franklin Clarence Mars. In this factory, he produced the first Mars bar, based on the American Milky Way.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: Many brands first created and sold in the United Kingdom were later introduced in the United States, including Starburst (original UK brand name Opal Fruits) and Skittles. The brands Twix and Topic were UK based.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: Milky Way in Europe and worldwide is known as the 3 Musketeers in America. Similarly, the Snickers bar was previously marketed in Ireland and the United Kingdom as Marathon until 1990; in the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands, also until 1990; Galaxy in the Middle East is known as Dove in America and worldwide; and Starburst was known in the UK and Ireland as Opal Fruits until 1998. Chocolate and peanut M&M's were introduced in 1990.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: Mars Drinks UK, the beverages division of Mars Limited, operates from Basingstoke in Hampshire and specializes in office vending machines. Mars Drinks UK comprises the FLAVIA and KLIX brands which offer branded drinks such as the Starburst Orange Drink, the Maltesers Hot Chocolate and the Galaxy drinks.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: Mars Drinks also produces coffee and the equipment used to make it. In 1982 FLAVIA was created out of the high demand for coffee in the United Kingdom. Initially marketed as "Dimension 3" until 1989, FLAVIA was introduced in France and Germany in 1986 and Japan in 1992 then brought to the United States in 1996 and to Canada in 1997. Other products such as cappuccino were introduced in 2002 and tea in 2004.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: Forrest Mars started the pet food industry in Europe, and his Mars Candy Company bought Kal Kan. Forrest Mars changed the name of Kal Kan dog food to Pedigree, and Kal Kan cat food to Whiskas. As of 1991, Mars controlled 60 percent of the pet food market, both in volume and value. Whiskas was the number one brand. As of 1994, Mars was the leading pet food company worldwide with $4 billion in sales.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: In February 2003, Mars acquired Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (API, incorporated in 1964) and in 2007 it was renamed Mars Fishcare, Inc. The company manufactures and supplies home aquarium and pond products. Mars Fishcare brands include: "Aquarium Pharmaceuticals (API)", "RENA", "AQUARIAN", and "PondCare".


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: The company introduced a genetic test for dogs using cheek swabs to identify breed breakdown, trait tests and health risks in 2007 known as Wisdom Panel. In 2018, Mars Petcare acquired Genoscoper Laboratories, a Finnish animal molecular diagnostics company, "to form the basis for future practical applications in enabling precision healthcare for pets" under its genetic testing unit, Wisdom Health. Wisdom Panel DNA testing expanded to include cats in mid 2021.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: In Australia, the division operates three sites that are located in Wodonga, Victoria (established in 1967 for manufacture of wet pet food); Bathurst, New South Wales (established in the 1980s for manufacture of dry pet food); and Brisbane, Queensland (for manufacture of birdcare products).


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: In October 2015, BluePearl Veterinary Partners was acquired by Mars Petcare division. This acquisition resulted in Mars Petcare becoming the largest pet nutrition and veterinary care provider in the world.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: In January 2017, Mars Veterinary Health North America announced the US$7.7 billion acquisition of Los Angeles-based animal hospital chain VCA Inc.


title: Mars, Incorporated

text: In June 2018, Mars Veterinary Health International and Diagnostics acquired the Linnaeus Group consolidating its position as a leading veterinary provider in the United Kingdom.