Chyna Joan Marie Laurer

Chyna(born Joan Marie Laurer; December 27, 1969 – ≈ April 20, 2016) was an American professional wrestler, glamour model, pornographic film actress, and bodybuilder.

Chyna first rose to prominence in the professional wrestling promotion the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1997, where she was billed as the "Ninth Wonder of the World" (André the Giant was already billed as the eighth). A founding member of the stable D-Generation X as the promotion's first female enforcer, she held the WWF Intercontinental Championship (the only female performer to do so) twice and the WWF Women's Championship once.[4] She was also the first woman to participate in the Royal Rumble and King of the Ring events, as well as to become number one contender to the WWF Championship.[12] With singles victories over several prominent male wrestlers – including multiple-time world champions Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jeff Jarrett – Chyna left what WWE called "a lasting legacy as the most dominant female competitor of all time" After leaving the WWF in 2001, Chyna wrestled sporadically, with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) in 2002 and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in 2011.

Outside of wrestling, Chyna appeared in Playboy magazine twice, as well as numerous television shows and films. In 2005, she was a cast member on VH1's The Surreal Life, which led to several other celebrity reality appearances on the network, including The Surreal Life: Fame Games in 2007 and Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew in 2008. She is also known for her tumultuous relationship with fellow wrestler Sean Waltman, with whom she made a sex tape released commercially in 2004 as 1 Night in China, which won a 2006 AVN Award for Best-Selling Title. She starred in a further five pornographic titles, including AVN's 2012 Best Celebrity Sex Tape, Backdoor to Chyna.

Professional wrestling career
Training and independent circuit (1995–1997)

Joanie Laurer trained at Wladek "Killer" Kowalski's professional wrestling school in Malden, Massachusetts. Her first match was in 1995 against a male wrestler dressed as a woman. While attending the school, she also worked for various independent promotions as Joanie Lee.Some of her earliest matches were set up by The Fabulous Moolah.

Laurer met World Wrestling Federation (WWF) performers Paul "Triple H" Levesque and Shawn Michaels after a professional wrestling show in 1996.[32][33] After watching tapes of her matches, they decided to bring her into the WWF as a bodyguard.Vince McMahon, the owner of the WWF, initially did not want her to join the company because he did not believe the audience would find a woman beating up men believable. While waiting for the WWF's decision, Laurer was approached by World Championship Wrestling (WCW), who wanted her to be the sole-female member of the New World Order. She initially accepted the offer, but later turned it down when Shane McMahon, Vince McMahon's son, informed her that she was about to be hired by the WWF. However, Kowalski claimed that he got Laurer hired by the WWF after introducing her to Shane McMahon and telling him of WCW's interest in her

Death
On April 20, 2016, Laurer was found dead at her home in Redondo Beach, California. She had been taking medication for anxiety and insomnia. A statement was posted to her Twitter account confirming her death. Her brain has been donated to science to study the effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)

Chyna has been called “The First Lady of Sports Entertainment”. Her accomplishments have gone far beyond the wrestling ring and far beyond anyone’s expectations. Before exchanging body slams, modeling for top magazines and guest-starring on hundreds of shows, Chyna was a shy girl who was born in Rochester, New York. She spent most of her childhood in a home filled with alcoholism and domestic problems. She found her escape through working out, and began doing aerobics and lifting weights at a gym near her home. This is where she found her true niche: the world of fitness.

As the only female in the gym, Chyna always stood out but developed bonds and friendships with the gym members that gave her the encouragement to keep going in the world of fitness. She broke all gender barriers everywhere she went and continued her love of fitness throughout her college days. Chyna graduated from the University of Tampa with a 3.9 GPA and a double major in Spanish Literature in under two years. She also studied foreign languages and can speak English, Spanish, German and French. Chyna is a true humanitarian and has served in the US Army ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) and the Peace Corps, helping to teach illiterate third-world children to read. She is a strong supporter of the National Animal Rescue charity, which helps domesticated animals find good, loving homes.

Throughout her life, Chyna always dreamed of being an entertainer. She began that career in the early 1990s as a belly dancer and soon moved on to fitness competitions, but at 6’0″ the star found her real calling in the entertainment world: professional wrestling. She began training to be a professional wrestler under the guidance of the wrestling legend Walter ‘Killer’ Kowalski, in a professional wrestling school in which all the other students were men. She soon took the world of women’s wrestling by storm and began competing in the PGWA, where she was named the 1996 Rookie of the Year award for the Women’s Championship. After dominating the world of women’s wrestling Chyna was discovered by Paul Levesque (aka “Triple H”) and Shawn Michaels (HBK), two WWF (World Wrestling Federation) superstars who helped Chyna break into the big time.

She made her worldwide television début in February 1997 as a bodyguard for Triple H but soon went on to break all gender stereotypes by competing with some of the toughest men in the WWF, under the name “Chyna”. Years later she became the only woman to qualify for the Royal Rumble and King of the Ring tournaments and became the only female Intercontinental Champion and the only undefeated Women’s Champion in WWF history. Five years after she debuted as a professional wrestler in the WWF, Chyna parted ways with the company. She then toured Japan, taking the country by storm and battling in the ring with the likes of such champions as Keiji Mutô, The Great Kabuki, and most notably, Masahiro Chôno. Her 2002 Tokyo Dome match against Chono earned her the title of Nikkian Sport’s 2002 Women’s Wrestler of the Year.

Meanwhile, back in the US, Chyna appeared in several films, hosted a variety of shows and showed that women can combine strength and beauty in two top-selling issues of “Playboy” magazine, which proved to the world that women can be beautiful without having the anorexic “Twiggy” look. She also appeared in the first-ever Playboy documentary, which did in-depth interviews with Chyna. Her strong will to the best and “survival of the fittest” attitude made her one of the top wrestlers in history. She has served as a role model to millions of men and women by proving anything is possible through hard work and determination.

In her best-selling autobiography “If They Only Knew” she discussed what it took to make it to the top and showed the world what she had to overcome to make her one of the most well-known pop culture icons in the world. Shortly after her first appearance in “Playboy” she released her own fitness video, Chyna Fitness: More Than Meets the Eye (2000), which won awards from fitness and lifestyle magazines. The video is still popular with both Chyna’s fans and fitness fans alike. Unlike most former pro wrestlers, Chyna has had success on her own two feet. She has been on nearly every talk show and has been featured on hundreds of magazine covers from “Playboy” and “Newsweek” to “TV Guide” and “People”.

She has been featured on Reggie Benjamin’s CD “2X-Centrix”, performing drums and backup vocals. She was on top of the “dance music” billboard charts for five weeks with the CD single “Ride”. She also sang with her own rock band, “The Chynna Dolls”, for a short time, playing venues like The Roxy, Elrey Theater, Hollywood Athletic Center and two performances on Howard Stern (1994). She has starred in two comedies, Cougar Club (2007) and Illegal Aliens(2007). She has also hosted a variety of shows, from Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors(2001) to FYE and AMC’s “Tough Guys” series. She had many guest-starring roles on TV series, such as Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1998), 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996), Pacific Blue (1996), The Nick Cannon Show (2002), Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (1996), MADtv(1995), MTV’s “Diary” and many others.

She was also featured on season four of The Surreal Life (2003) and VH1’s spin-off, The Surreal Life: Fame Games (2007) as well as films including Alien Tracker (2003), Alien Fury: Countdown to Invasion (2000), Frank McKlusky, C.I. (2002), Hunter: Back in Force (2003). In 2008 she was featured on VH1’s Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew (2008) TV series to conquer personal demons and depression caused from an abusive relationship and childhood trauma. In 2009, she released a fashion book, “Paper Doll”, which became a best-seller. In May 2011 she returned to the world of wrestling with TNA, debuting on the May 12 edition of TNA Impact! Wrestling (2004), and followed it up with one last match at the TNA Sacrifice (2011) Pay Per View, where she and Kurt Angle took on Jeff Jarrett and Karen Angle. That episode was one of the highest-rated for the company in many years. Although her match with TNA was a one-time-only deal, Chyna showed the world she had turned her life around–she overcame depression, emotional trauma and was finally where she wanted to be in life.

In June 2011, Chyna released her first adult video with Vivid Entertainment called, Backdoor to Chyna (2011), which sold over a million copies. She said the movie allowed her to regain control of her life, gave her a newfound confidence and got her back on her feet. She embarked on a huge media tour, appearing all over the US. She began feature dancing at high-end nightclubs, appeared on dozens of radio shows including Howard Stern on Demand (2005) and ABC radio and in November 2011 won a Fleshbot Award for her “Backdoor to Chyna” video. In 2012, she appeared in A Night at the Silent Movie Theater (2012) and appeared in the music video “Gonna Make You Love Me” for the band Lovechild. Chyna’s future looks bright these days; with her past behind her she is ready for her next project.