Mary Anne Creed (1944 - 2023) was the spouse of the former Heavyweight Champion, Apollo Creed, and the mother of his son and daughter. She was originally portrayed by Lavelle Roby in the first Rocky movie. The role was then taken over by Sylvia Meals who played Mary Anne in both Rocky II and Rocky IV. The role was then taken over by Phylicia Rashad for the Creed series.
Mary Anne was a spectator watching her husband Apollo fight Rocky Balboa in Rocky II. There were things about her husband boxing that she didn't like seeing, such as sometimes having to practically carry him up the stairs to their bedroom at home after a bout, or having to assist him on the toilet when he couldn't use his hands from injuries. She also worked hard at maintaining hearth and home, one time trying to get her husband to forget boxing after his first fight with Rocky, by commenting that it would be better for him to play with their children and forget about the hate mail that resulted from the fight.
Biography[]
Apollo secretly had an affair between the events of Rocky III and Rocky IV with Adonis Creed's unnamed biological mother, Ms. Johnson. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, Apollo died in the ring from the beating sustained at the hands of Ivan Drago, Devastated by the loss of her husband, Mary Anne remained angry for a long time, hurting herself and pushing family away something she would later regret.
Creed[]
Thirteen years after Apollo's tragic death, Mary Anne (now played by Phylicia Rashad) by this time had uncovered Adonis' existence. She decided to pay Donnie a visit to the Los Angeles youth facility where he was living sometime after his biological mother had tragically died. She adopted Donnie and raised him as her own son. Adonis would then come to fully accept Mary Anne as his mother.
Donnie made his decision to pursue boxing full-time and move to Philadelphia, wanting to tell Mary Anne in person. As he rather sadly expected, Mary Anne refused to give her blessing and told him to not bother calling home. He would leave at least one message after settling in, adding that he missed her, but it is not shown if she ever returned it.
Mary Anne would keep up with the news, and after Donnie added the Creed name to his own to fight 'Pretty' Ricky Conlan, she sent a gift to Team Creed's dressing room in Liverpool along with an encouraging note: American flag shorts like Apollo and Rocky wore, with 'CREED' on the front band and 'JOHNSON' on the back band. She watched the fight on television and was proud of him for becoming the first person to knock Conlan down.
Creed ll[]
Mary Anne is ecstatic when Adonis moves back to Los Angeles. However, this reunion goes sour when Adonis tells her he's fighting the son of the boxer who killed her husband 33 years ago. Mary Anne once again refused to give her blessing and tells him this fight is not about Apollo and she hopes Adonis is there for his child. Her strained relationship with Rocky improves when she sends Rocky a baby picture and a note saying Adonis needs him. She also gives Adonis' fiancé Bianca advice on how to deal with a boxer. This time she watches the fight in person and tells Adonis she loves him after.
Creed III[]
In 2020, three years after the events of Creed II Mary Anne's health was failing after suffering a stroke, but she still supported Adonis in his life and enjoyed receiving visits from him and Bianca, loving to see her granddaughter Amara also. She later dies peacefully and is laid to rest.