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Many current WWE Superstars never initially planned on becoming wrestlers or sports entertainers. Instead, their former careers and experiences brought them closer to the company before they ultimately signed to WWE.
WWE is filled with superstars from every walk of life. The pool of experience and talent has helped the company create some great gimmicks and storylines.
Currently, there are a few WWE Superstars who started their careers as models before being signed by the company. These individuals worked hard to transition into full-time wrestlers and make it big in the industry.
Take a look at the five active female WWE Superstars who worked as models before becoming wrestlers.
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#5. WWE Superstar Nia Jax was once a plus size model
Many WWE Superstars had different professions before they decided to try out for the company and become sports entertainers. Nia Jax had a completely different career before she became a WWE Superstar.
Jax was a plus-size model in her early 20s and was used to being around famous people and celebrities. Jax claims that her modeling career helped her gain a lot of confidence in her body.
The Miami Herald caught up with the former RAW Women’s Champion and discussed how her modeling career helped pave the way for her wrestling career:
“Not everybody is made to be a size 0 or a size 4, and I’m not saying there is anything wrong with being a size 0 or a size 4,” Nia said. “Being my [plus] size is something I’ve had to deal with my whole life. I’ve always been the big girl. I’ve always had curves, and I never could relate to any of the girls like the Victoria Secret models.
“Once I realized, when I became a plus-size model, that there were more women like me, my confidence immediately shot through the roof. When I was able to walk out there and show younger girls, who are like me when I was their age -- who didn’t see girls who are curvier being put in a beautiful light -- it just made me think that I have to be able to show these girls that they are just as beautiful as the girls who are size 0.”
Many have claimed that a great part of her success lies in her lineage in the Anoa’i family dynasty. However, her unique physique has allowed her to become one of the powerhouses in the WWE women’s locker room.
She’s already won a few title reigns during her career, and she will likely even more success before retiring from the ring.
#4. Mandy Rose walked into WWE as a model
Mandy Rose has managed to make quite a name for herself in WWE. The former member of Fire & Desire had a good storyline relationship with Otis before the two superstars were split up by the creative team.
Before joining WWE in 2015, Rose was a fitness model who was picked up by the company for its Tough Enough competition. Rose has spoken about how her career in fitness modeling led her to become a WWE Superstar:
“When I was crowned the 2014 WBFF Bikini World Champion, that helped in getting some attention. I had a small supplement sponsorship and a decent social media following, which I ran all myself. It was soon after that I received a call from a WWE recruiter, who asked if I would be interested in trying out for their reality show, Tough Enough. At that moment, I knew I could become a WWE superstar, but I was a little skeptical about getting there through a reality competition. After I was picked for the show, we filmed for about 10 weeks and I made it to the finals, but I came up short.”
After making a name for herself on WWE RAW and SmackDown, Rose recently moved back to the NXT brand. WWE will be relying on her to help some newcomers on NXT and share her experience with the women’s lockerroom.
#3. WWE Superstar Eva Marie made a name for herself as a model
Eva Marie is no stranger to WWE. The female superstar kicked off her wrestling career in 2013 and became a major part of the company. She was released from her contract in 2017 but made her return to WWE in 2021.
Marie graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a business degree and moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting and modeling opportunities. She came across a casting call for WWE in 2013 by chance at a time when the company was holding a Diva Search competition.
Eva Marie spoke about the entire experience during an appearance on the Mikhaila Peterson Podcast:
“So, I was 28 when I got my first [opportunity], they call it a Diva Search,” shared Marie. “They don’t do it anymore. But what they’d do is go around to all the large cities and do a big old cattle casting call, looking for the next WWE Diva. After I graduated college, I moved to Los Angeles because I was like ‘I have my business degree, but I’m not ready to go into the business world, per se.’ My parents were like ‘What are you doing? This is not the route we want you to go’. But I decided ‘Hey, I have my degree, I have that to fall back on. Let me go dabble’. I finished college in Orange County, California, moved to Los Angeles [and] dabbled in a little bit of modeling and acting. I was like ‘Ooh, I like this.’"
She has starred in several television commercials and has also graced the covers of many top magazines including Rukus, Import Tuner Magazine and Glam Fit Magazine.
Marie is currently working with Doudrop on the RAW roster. She has become a prominent part of the women’s roster again. It is only a matter of time before she makes her way into the RAW Women’s Championship or WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship picture.
#2. Alexa Bliss was a fitness model before joining WWE
Alexa Bliss has proven herself to be one of the hardest workers in WWE today. She came to the main roster without winning any titles on WWE NXT. After working hard and making her character work, Bliss has won seven title reigns in WWE.
The Goddess is playing a great character on RAW at the moment. Before becoming a wrestler, Bliss performed as a cheerleader and bodybuilder. She was successful at bodybuilding and fitness modeling early in her career.
Bliss chose to go healthy after some health problems landed her in the hospital. She never looked back, working hard on herself and her health to become a bodybuilder and fitness model before trying out for WWE.
Speaking to the New York Post, Bliss said of her bodybuilding and modeling career:
“That was kind of the kick in the butt. Their diets got me comfortable eating food again. It was a very, very long process because this was like a four or five-year battle. I was training nearly every day and taking posing classes. It was gruelling, but I went on to become one of the youngest people to get a pro card [at age 20].”
The former RAW Women’s Champion has proven that hard work and determination really do pay off.
#1. Former WWE Divas Champion Maryse was a model
Maryse has been away from the WWE ring for a long time now. However, she is still a major part of the company and has her own reality TV show known as Miz & Mrs.
The two-time Divas Champion has been with the company for over fifteen years now and has had some good matches and rivalries with top superstars. Before she became a wrestler, Maryse modeled for several different companies. She started modeling at a young age and tried to make it big by competing in different beauty pageants.
In 2003, Maryse won Miss Hawaiian Tropic Canada and she finished as the runner-up in the International Finals of Miss Hawaiian Tropic 2004.
Speaking to WWE.com, Maryse revealed that it was very difficult for her to overcome professional jealousy early in her career:
“When I started in this business, I was 15 years old, and no matter the places I went, there were always really negative people around. There’s a lot of competition and jealousy. I learned that you have to just believe in what you’re doing.”
She is now one of the most famous female WWE Superstars out there and has starred in a few movies in her career. She played prominent characters in the movies Santa’s Little Helper and The Marine 5: Battleground which also stars her husband, The Miz.
