Amercian Model-Maria Kanellis Hot

Maria Louise Kanellis (born February 25, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, model, and professional wrestler, also known simply as Maria. She is best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment, and is working for Ring of Honor as the valet of real life boyfriend Mike Bennett.

Kanellis's career began as 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. She also posed for the April 2008 cover of Playboy magazine, which was incorporated into a storyline on Raw. She released her debut album Sevin Sins on April 13, 2010 on iTunes.

Kanellis was born in Ottawa, Illinois. She has two younger siblings; a brother named Bill and a sister Janny. Kanellis grew up with an interest in playing sports, particularly volleyball, basketball, and softball and graduated from Ottawa Township High School in 2000, before spending some time as a student at Northern Illinois University. Before her career in wrestling began, Kanellis regularly competed in beauty pageants.

She competed in the Raw 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 at the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) training facility under head trainer Paul Heyman. 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. Maria was given the dumb blonde gimmick despite having brown hair. She quickly earned a reputation as the oblivious backstage reporter—Maria seemed to ask the wrong questions, irritating and amusing WWE Superstars and Divas.

In early 2006, Maria defeated Victoria in a match. Afterward, she was attacked by Vince's Devils (Victoria, Torrie Wilson, and Candice Michelle), but she was saved by Ashley Massaro. During a commercial break that night, Vince McMahon announced a Gauntlet Bra & Panties Match for New Year's Revolution between all five girls that had previously been in the ring. At New Year's Revolution, Maria was the first to enter the Gauntlet match and eliminated Candice Michelle and Torrie Wilson before being eliminated by Victoria. The match was ultimately won by Massaro. On April 10, episode of Raw, Maria received a shot at the WWE Women's Championship, but was defeated by the defending champion Mickie James.

Maria teamed with John Cena to take on Edge and Lita in the main event on the February 6 episode of Raw. Maria scored the victory after a spear meant for Cena hit Lita. One month later, Maria lost a singles match to Lita after missing a clothesline and falling prey to Lita's DDT. After the match, Edge was preparing to spear Maria, but Mick Foley ran in to help her. On October 16, Maria won a Fatal Four Way Bra and Panties match against Victoria, Candice Michelle, and Torrie Wilson to advance to the semi-finals in a Women's Championship Tournament. Maria, however, lost in the semi-finals of the tournament to Lita.

Maria began an on-screen romance with Santino Marella in June 2007. She also resumed competing in the ring occasionally, often jobbing, or losing quickly, in short matches. On the November 5 episode of Raw, Marella was confronted by the returning Stone Cold Steve Austin for criticizing his movie, The Condemned. As a part of the storyline, the argument ended as Marella received a Stone Cold Stunner from Austin, who then went backstage, only to return with a Budweiser beer truck to hose down Marella and Maria with beer.

Maria confirmed via her Twitter account that she would be appearing at Ring of Honor's Final Battle pay-per-view on December 23, 2011. She accompanied her real-life boyfriend Mike Bennett, in a three-way elimination match against Jay Lethal and El Generico for the ROH World Television Championship. At the event, Bennett was unsuccessful in winning the title. Kanellis continued accompanying Bennett at the January 7, 2012, tapings of Ring of Honor Wrestling, where she was dubbed the "First Lady of ROH".

Kanellis started dating fellow wrestler CM Punk in late 2005. They met during their tenures at OVW. In June 2007 it was reported that they had broken up. In a December 2011 interview, Kanellis confirmed she was dating Mike Bennett.