Maria Kanellis American singer, actress and wrestler Date of Birth: 25.02.1982 Country: USA

Biography of Maria Kanellis

Maria Kanellis is an American model, singer, and professional wrestler, known simply as Maria. She was born in 1982 in Ottawa, Illinois. Maria grew up with her brother Bill and sister Janny. She was an active child who enjoyed playing volleyball, basketball, and softball. She graduated from Ottawa Township High School in 2000 and later attended Northern Illinois University.

From the age of 15, Maria participated in beauty pageants while also helping her father in his garage. She had a strong interest in wrestling and made her debut as a wrestler in 2004 on the reality TV show "Raw Diva Search." Although she placed 5th, she was signed to WWE and sent to train at Ohio Valley Wrestling. Despite the physical challenges, Maria gained the necessary experience and became a host for WWE's "KissCam," where she interviewed participants. She quickly became known for her blonde persona, asking silly questions that amused the audience.

Maria's first match in the Raw ring took place on January 10, 2005, where she emerged victorious in a lingerie pillow fight. In 2006, she hosted "KissCam" on Raw and engaged in a feud with the wrestling group "Vince's Devils." She participated in a famous tag team match with John Cena against Edge and Lita. Later that year, Maria won the Fatal Four Way Bra and Panties match but was ultimately defeated by Lita in the semifinals.

In 2007, Maria feuded with Melina and ultimately lost. She also had a television romance with Santino Marella, which ended when he gave her an ultimatum between him or a photoshoot for Playboy. Maria chose the magazine cover. In 2008, she moved to SmackDown and became the number one contender for the WWE Divas Championship, but Michelle McCool emerged as the victor.

In 2009, Maria had an on-screen romance with Dolph Ziggler but the relationship ended shortly after. She also appeared on the television show "The Apprentice" and was a participant in the 2011 project "DivaMania."

Maria admired wrestlers Lita and Trish Stratus from a young age and aspired to be both beautiful and strong in the ring. She became a fan favorite and gained popularity among the audience.

Aside from wrestling, Maria participated in several television shows such as "Outback Jack" in 2004 and "Project Runway" in 2008. She also posed for Playboy in 2008 and had her photographs featured in various magazines.

Maria has always had a passion for fashion design and has created many of her own stage costumes. She dreams of starting her own fashion brand in the future. In 2010, she released her first music album titled "Sevin Sins."

In her personal life, Maria was previously linked to wrestler CM Punk but they later broke up. In 2011, she began dating wrestler Mike Bennett.