AJ LEE

Professional  wrestling  career  :  April  Jeanette  "AJ"  Brooks  is  an  American  professional  wrestler  signed  to  WWE  under  the  ring  name  AJ  Lee.  Mendez  began  her  career  performing  on  the  New  Jersey  independent  circuit  as  Miss  April,  mostly  in  Women  Superstars  Uncensored.  Wikipedia
Born:  March  19,  1987  (age  27),  Union  City,  New  Jersey,  United  States
Full  name:  April  Jeanette  Mendez
Height:  1.57  m
Nationality:  American
Spouse:  CM  Punk  (m.  2014)

April  Jeanette  "AJ"  Brooks  :  (née  Mendez;  born  March  19,  1987)  is  an  American  professional  wrestler  signed  to  WWE  under  the  ring  name  AJ  Lee.

Mendez  began  her  career  performing  on  the  New  Jersey  independent  circuit  as  Miss  April,  mostly  in  Women  Superstars  Uncensored.  After  joining  WWE  in  2009,  she  was  assigned  to  its  developmental  system,  Florida  Championship  Wrestling,  where  she  spent  the  following  two  years  before  getting  called  up  to  the  main  roster.  Meanwhile,  she  took  part  in  season  three  of  NXT  in  2010,  placing  third  in  the  competition.

In  2012,  she  rose  to  prominence  through  several  storylines,  such  as  relationships  with  wrestlers  feuding  over  WWE's  world  championships,  along  with  a  three  month  stint  as  the  General  Manager  of  Raw.  In  subsequent  years,  she  won  the  WWE  Divas  Championship  three  times,  her  first  reign  being  the  longest  in  the  title's  history  at  295  days.  She  also  won  the  Diva  of  the  Year  Slammy  Award  in  2012  and  2014  and  was  named  Pro  Wrestling  Illustrated's  Woman  of  the  Year  for  an  unprecedented  three  consecutive  years.

Early  life  :  Mendez  was  born  in  Union  City,  New  Jersey,  and  is  of  Puerto  Rican  descent.  She  has  two  older  siblings;  a  sister,  Erica,  and  brother,  Robert.  She  describes  her  family's  experience  while  growing  up  as  having  to  live  in  motels,  other  people's  houses,  and  their  car.

Her  brother's  childhood  interest  in  WWE  was  cited  as  an  influence  on  her  decision  to  break  into  the  male-dominated  world  of  wrestling,  and  she  cemented  her  ambition  to  pursue  a  professional  wrestling  career  when  she  was  12  years  old.  She  was  inspired  by  the  female  WWE  stars  that  came  before  her,  especially  Lita,  whom  she  met  as  a  child  at  an  autograph  signing.  A  video  of  the  encounter,  which  shows  the  young  Mendez  being  brought  to  tears  by  the  meeting,  has  surfaced  on  YouTube. As  an  homage  to  her  brother,  who  was  in  the  U.S.  Army,  Mendez  once  wore  camouflage  wrestling  attire.

After  graduating  from  Memorial  High  School,  Mendez  worked  several  part-time  jobs  in  order  to  save  up  the  money  she  needed  to  both  support  her  family  and  enroll  in  wrestling  school.  She  attended  New  York  University's  Tisch  School  of  the  Arts  in  New  York  City,  where  she  majored  in  film  and  television  production  and  writing,  until  family  and  financial  issues  led  to  her  dropping  out  six  months  into  her  studies