The Ravishing Russian has had quite a year. In addition to accompanying Rusev to the United States Championship once more, she made her in-ring debut at WrestleMania. Her and real-life beau Rusev recently tied the knot, and her first WWE movie Interrogation was just released. You can say that Lana has so much going on to keep her busy.
Lana has recently stepped up her game as Rusev’s manager. She exercised her bravery at Clash of Champions, where she blatantly interfered in the match by pulling the referee out of the ring as he was counting a pin for Rusev’s opponent Roman Reigns. Evolving to the part of heel manager was a great moment for her even though she ended up ejected from ringside.
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She might not be there as a wrestler just yet, but it’s safe to say that Lana has the manager role secured. But behind the cold and calculating Superstar, who is Lana? There is more to the Ravishing Russian other than her beauty. She happens to be extremely talented and is the Jill of all trades. Lana can do it all, and the entertainment industry was something she was born to be a part of.
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#1 The “Russian” background
Lana plays a Russian onscreen, but she isn’t Russian at all. Lana is actually an American but spent much of her childhood in the Soviet Union. Her family lived in Latvia, which was occupied by the Soviet Union until its independence was restored in 1991. Her father worked in the country as a Christian missionary. Lana lived in Latvia until she was 17 and then returned back to the United States.
The experience in Latvia plays well with her onscreen character and has served Lana immensely. Lana lives her character and it certainly helps her when it comes to managing Rusev.
#2 Modelling career prior to the WWE
The camera loves the Ravishing Russian and there is a good reason why. In addition to being blessed with good looks, Lana has had an extensive modelling career to which her portfolio includes nude modelling. Lana modelled for various companies, shot calendars and was also a spokesmodel for energy drinks such as Red Bull.
She began modelling professionally after attending Florida State University, where she was part of the FSU Cowgirls. Lana continues to model for WWE and has been included in several photo shoots with the company. She loves to post pictures on Instagram, working her modelling traits whenever she can. The phrase ‘if you got it, flaunt it’ applies to Lana.
#3 Lana has majored in acting!
Interrogation isn’t Lana’s first movie. In fact, Lana has had several acting roles prior to joining WWE. Her most popular role was in Pitch Perfect alongside actress Anna Kendrick. Lana reprised her role in Pitch Perfect 2 just last year. Other roles include single episodes on shows such as The Game and were in a music video for the band Paramore.
Lana majored in both acting as well as dancing at FSU. She also trained as an actress at the Groundlings School under two acting coaches. Interrogation may be Lana’s first WWE movie, but it is sure not to be her last.
#4 Lana has worked as a professional dancer
The Ravishing Russian has a dance background, starting when she was just a child. Her mother was a ballet dancer, and Lana followed in her footsteps. She was enrolled in a choreography school to work on her dancing. She would join the Latvian National Ballet at 14 and continued to dance when she enrolled in FSU as a dance major and part of the FSU Cowgirls.
When Lana moved back to the United States, she lived in New York City. She danced for several dance companies in the city including the Broadway Dance Center. Lana has also been a backup dancer for acts such as Pink, Akon and Usher.
#5 Lana was once signed by a record label as a singer!
When it is said that Lana has done it all, she really has done it all in a quest to make an impact in the entertainment industry. Lana showed off her acting and singing chops in Pitch Perfect but before that she was actually in a girl group that was signed to R&B star Ne-Yo’s record label. The group was called No Means Yes, which they only recorded three singles.
None of the singles would find success, but it helped Lana overcome her fear of singing and it essentially landed her the role on Pitch Perfect. This also helped her become a backup dancer as stated above.
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