Celebrity Grave: Football Team Owner Georgia Frontiere 2008

Georgia Frontiere (November 21, 1927 – January 18, 2008) was the majority owner and chairman of the St. Louis Rams football team and the most prominent female owner in a league historically dominated by males.

During her nearly three decades in charge (1979–2008), the Rams made the playoffs 14 seasons, played in 25 postseason games, won 13 postseason games, reached the Super Bowl three times and won the championship game once in 2000. The Rams lost in 2002 to the New England Patriots in the controversial ‘spygate’ Super Bowl in which it was alleged that the Patriots cheated by videoing a Rams practice. Her commitment to the team earned her the nickname “Madame Ram."

Also a philanthropist, Frontiere created the St. Louis Rams Foundation, sat on the board of the local United Way chapter, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club, Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America and the American Foundation for AIDS Research and made numerous charitable contributions both to the arts and to other organizations in St. Louis and elsewhere.

Death

After being hospitalized for breast cancer for several months, Frontier died on January 18, 2008 in UCLA Medical Center. A statement put out by her children read, “Our mom was dedicated to being more than the owner of a football team. She loved the Rams' players, coaches and staff. The warmth and generosity she exuded will never be forgotten.”

Georgia Frontiere is entombed at Westwood Village Cemetery in Los Angeles. She is survived by two children, six grandchildren and her companion of 19 years, Earle Weatherwax.