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Chyna
Videos more videos      Biography Joanie Laurer is an American actress and retired professional wrestler. She is best known as Chyna, a tough woman wrestler with World Wrestling Federation (WWF), now World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) between 1997 and 2001. Joan Marie "Joanie" Laurer was born on December 27, 1969 in Rochester, New York. Joanie began as a bodybuilder and trained at Wladek "Killer" Kowalski 's wrestling school in Salem, Massachusetts. She made her wrestling debut in 1995 and worked for various independent promotions. She used the ring names Just Joanie and Joanie Lee during this time. In 1997, she was persuaded by WWE employees Triple H and Shawn Michaels to enter the WWE. She made her WWF debut on February 16, 1997 under the ring name Chyna. Her initial storylines made her the laconic bodyguard of D-Generation X where she often got physically involved in Triple H's matches during his feuds with Goldust, Mankind, Owen Hart, and The Rock. She turned heel after the Royal Rumble 1999. In late 1999, she became a face again during her long feud with Jeff Jarrett and went ahead to become the first and only woman in the WWE history to win the Intercontinental Championship by defeating Jeff Jarrett. She successfully defended her title against Chris Jericho at Survivor Series 1999, but lost the title to him at Armageddon 1999. She was also the first woman to compete in the Royal Rumble match and King of the Ring tournament at WWE. Joanie most popular phase at the WWE was in 2000 when she became the on-screen girlfriend of Eddie Guerrero. She once again won the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam 2000. She was ranked #106 of the 500 best wrestlers in 2000 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI). At WrestleMania 17, Joanie won the Women's Championship from Ivory. She would remain undefeated till the end of her employment with WWE and dominated the ring defeating challengers Molly Holly, Trish Stratus, and Lita with little problem. However, because of dispute of contract pay and some personal issues involving Stephanie McMahon, the daughter of WWE owner Vince McMahon, Joanie quit WWE in November 2001. Post WWE, Joanie's wrestling career has been limited and she is considered to be focusing on her modeling and acting career. She was last seen wrestling at an Ultimate Pro Wrestling event and made some appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling. In the modeling field, Joanie has modeled nude, notably for Playboy. The first Playboy issue with her pictorial was one of the ten best selling issues in the magazine's history. She also appeared in a Playboy Adult documentary, entitled Joanie Laurer Nude. Her autobiography, If They Only Knew, was a best seller. In 2004, the company that released Paris Hilton's celebrity sex tape released a sex tape involving Joanie and wrestler Sean Waltman under the name 1 Night in China. The video sold over 40,000 copies. Joanie has also made numerous guest appearances on television series such as 3rd Rock from the Sun, Pacific Blue, Relic Hunter, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and Tracker. In early 2005, she appeared on The Surreal Life, the reality show My Fair Brady, and the Howard Stern Show. In late 2005, Laurer signed to star in a new movie entitled Illegal Aliens. In November 2006, Joanie announced a new musical project with the band Plastic Jones. In January 2007, Joanie's show The Surreal Life: Fame Games began to air on VH1. Unarguably the toughest woman wrestler with WWE, Joanie was never afraid to compete even in the men's arena and showed the world that besides muscles of steel she also had a heart cast in the same mould. Links Chyna Town Joanie Laurer @ Lethalwow.com PopStarsPlus.com Chyna Doll Chyna#1 The Beautiful Women of Wrestling Nikita's Chyna Club Chyna Central Related Celebrities Ellen Pompeo Gina Torres Kathryn Morris Kim Raver Malia Hosaka Mary McCormack Melinda Clarke Rena Mero Teri Polo Wendy Moniz | |||||||||||
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