Adrian Pennino

Adrian Pennino (April 25, 1946- June 11, 2002) is a fictional character from the Rocky series, she is played by Talia Shire. She is the wife of two-time heavy-weight champion Rocky Balboa and the brother of Paulie Pennino. She started working in a pet shop, where Rocky would come in frequently needing food for his domestic turtles. The two were brought together into a relationship by her brother Paulie and they went to an ice rink on Thanksgiving Day where Rocky told her about his fighting career and his style, she asked him why he wanted to fight and he said that his father told him he had no brains and should develop his body. Adrian was surprised as her mother said that she wasn't much of a body person and should develop her brain. After his fight with Apollo Creed, Rocky proposed to Adrian and the two were married on February 8, 1976. In March 1976 Adrian found out she was pregnant but she didn't look after herself particularly well, she went back to the pet shop and overworked. This lead to her collapsing in the shop and her baby son was delivered a month premature, Adrian went into coma for a week. She woke up with Rocky on her bedside and the couple saw their child for the first time, Adrian suggested that the baby would be named after the father; Rocky Balboa Jr. After Rocky's success the two spent 14 years living in mansions and witnessing Rocky Jr. do well in a fine school, but in 1989 Paulie signed a power of attorney and the Balboa's lost millions of dollars and their home. So they went back to Philadelphia where Adrian returned to the pet shop. In autumn 2001 Adrian discovered she was suffering from ovarian cancer and was dying. She died peacefully in her sleep on June 11, 2002 with her family by her side. She was 56 years old.