Maria Louise Kanellis (born February 25, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and model, currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) performing on its SmackDown brand as Maria.
Kanellis was a contestant on the reality show Outback Jack in 2004. In the same year, she placed fifth in the Raw Diva Search, but was later hired by WWE as a backstage interviewer. Kanellis began competing in the ring as a wrestler in 2005. It was not until 2007, however, that she received her greatest push in the company, as the on-screen love interest of Santino Marella. As a result, she received more air time and began winning more matches than she had previously. She also posed for the April 2008 cover of Playboy magazine, which was incorporated into a storyline on Raw.
Kanellis has two younger siblings; a sister, Janny and a brother, Billy.
She dated fellow wrestler CM Punk, which she confirmed after pictures of the two kissing surfaced on the Internet.They met during their tenures in Ohio Valley Wrestling.Maria has stated in an interview with The Sun that they have separated.
Maria had been asked to follow in the footsteps of other WWE Divas and pose for Playboy, but she initially refused because she did not wish to embarrass her sister, who was still in high school at the time.After refusing the offer to pose a few times even before WWE, she eventually posed for the cover of the April 2008 issue, with an accompanying nude pictorial. For the pictorial, Maria chose her own wardrobe and made the black hooded jacket she wore in one of the photos.
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