Mary Louis "Maria" Kanellis-Bennett (born February 25, 1982) is an American professional wrestler, manager, promoter, actress and model currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and is also the co-owner and founder of the independent promotion Women's Wrestling Army (WWA). Prior to signing with AEW, she wrestled for Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor (ROH), and WWE.
Outside of wrestling, she is known for her 2008 Playboy magazine pictorial and 2010 appearances on the Celebrity Apprentice television series.
Kanellis' career began as a contestant on the reality show Outback Jack in 2004. In the same year, she placed fifth in the Diva Search, and was later hired by WWE as a backstage interviewer. Kanellis began competing in the ring as a professional wrestler in 2005 and received the Slammy Award for Diva of the Year in 2009. She released her debut album Sevin Sins in 2010 and departed WWE that year. After departing WWE, she worked for Ring of Honor (ROH) and Impact Wrestling - then Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) - often appearing with her husband Mike Bennett. In TNA, she is a former TNA Knockouts Champion. Along with Bennett, she returned to WWE from 2017 to 2020 and held the WWE 24/7 Championship once, and as it was during her pregnancy, that made her the first ever pregnant champion in WWE history.
Early life
Kanellis was born in Ottawa, Illinois. She has Greek origins. She has two younger siblings; a brother and sister named Bill and Janny, respectively. Kanellis grew up with an interest in playing sports, particularly volleyball, basketball, and softball. She graduated from Ottawa Township High School in 2000, and then went on to study at Northern Illinois University. Before her career in wrestling began, Kanellis regularly competed in beauty pageants.
Professional wrestling career
World Wrestling Entertainment (2004–2010)
Diva Search and beginnings (2004–2005) Maria competed in the Diva Search in 2004, deciding to enter the contest after seeing an advertisement while watching Raw. Even though she only placed fifth in the contest, she was hired by the company. She stood out in the contest by giving fellow contestant Carmella DeCesare the finger after being eliminated from the contest. Maria began making appearances in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), WWE's then-developmental territory. She contributed booking ideas, and her work at OVW earned her a spot on the Raw brand roster. Maria was brought on to Raw as a ditzy backstage interviewer and the host of WWE KissCam in November 2004. Her gimmick involved her asking wrong questions, irritating and amusing the roster.
In 2005, Maria began wrestling and was defeated in her first official match on the January 10, 2005, episode of Raw by Christy Hemme in a Lingerie Pillow Fight. On the March 14 episode of Raw, one of Maria's fillings legitimately fell out after she was slapped by Trish Stratus. She also competed in a Fulfill Your Fantasy Diva Battle Royal at Taboo Tuesday for the WWE Women's Championship, but was the first to be eliminated. On November 14, Maria competed in a non-title Diva Battle Royal at the Eddie Guerrero tribute Raw show, where she was one of the last three women left but was eliminated by Melina and Trish Stratus.
On the November 28 episode of Raw, Maria interviewed then-Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff, and asked him whether or not he thought he was going to be fired. He then booked her in a match with Kurt Angle out of spite, where Maria was laid out with the Angle Slam and nearly put in an Ankle Lock while unconscious before being saved by John Cena. As a result, one week later, Maria testified in the trial against Bischoff, who was being fired because of his controversial actions as general manager.
Various relationships (2006–2008)