Maria Louise Kanellis
Date of Birth: February 25th, 1982
Hometown: Ottawa, Illinois
Siblings: Janny and Billy
Height: 5 feet 7 inches
Weight: 120 lbs.
Trained By: OVW & Dave Finlay
WWE Debut: November 1st, 2004

Before Wrestling

Maria Kanellis was born on February 25, 1982 in Ottawa, Illinois. She always had in interest in sports such as basketball, softball, and volley ball. She graduated from Ottawa Township High School in 2000, before attending Northern Illinois University. Maria began modeling at 15, and competed in beauty pageants regularly.

Early Career

Miss Kanellis competed and made it to the finals of Outback Jack, the same year she entered the Diva Search. She only placed fifth but soon signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment. Maria started out as the bubbly  backstage interviewer. In 2005 she had her in ring debut; losing to Christy Hemme in a Pillow Fight.  Kanellis trained at OVW with Paul Haymen.

She has had the oppertunity to wrestle her idols, Lita and Trish Stratus. She also got to team up with superstars such as Raw's John Cena and TNA's Jeff Hardy.

Playboy 

Maria has graced many covers but nothing can compare to the cover she appeared on in 2008. It wasn't her first time she was asked to pose for Playboy and it might not be her last. Either way Maria was the covergirl for the 2008 April edition.

On Screen Romance

Although Maira has been scene flirting and even sharing a kiss with John Cena they never really had a on screen romance. However two men in the locker room can proudly say they have. Raw's Santino Marella and Smackdown's Dolph Ziggler had shared the screen with he beautiful Smackdown diva.

Diva of The Year

Maria was out of action for most of the late 2009 year, as she was filming The Celebrity Apprentice 3. But WWE Fan Nation stood behind her and voted her Diva of The Year. Maria was shocked but wasted no time thanking her fans and all her MiaTweets. 

Contact Maria

Maria Kanellis
c/o WWE
1241 East Main St.
Stamford, CT 06902