Kelly Kelly (Barbara Jean Blank) is a WWE diva, model, and reality television star from the United States. Kelly began her professional career as a model, and she was finally seen by WWE and invited to appear on one of their shows. Kelly was eliminated from the Divas Royal Rumble in one of her first matches. Her antics, such as Kelly’s Expose in the ring, for which she earned a lot of flak from her then-boyfriend, are more well-known than her wrestling ability. She was renowned for being an exhibitionist, and she once performed a striptease in front of an audience. She was revived in 2007 as part of Extreme Expose, another WWE striptease segment. In 2011, she won her first major wrestling title, the Divas championship, in which she defeated Brie Bella. Kelly began her rivalry with Beth Phoenix over the championship, which she successfully defended several times before losing in a Hell in a Cell match. Kelly began to come in and out of WWE due to a variety of causes after a few more feuds. Kelly has also appeared in a number of TV episodes as an actress.
Childhood and Adolescence
Kelly was born Barbara Jean Blank to a Jewish father and a Christian mother in Florida on January 15, 1987. She grew up in Jacksonville for the majority of her childhood.
She was drawn to gymnastics and wrestling as a child and spent most of her childhood participating in these sports. She was also a cheerleader in high school and intended to work in journalism at first.
She majored in Broadcast Journalism in college and modeled for swimsuit brands, which inspired her to pursue her modeling career further.
Kelly joined WWE and left her journalistic career behind when WWE approached her to become a member during her modeling days.
Despite having no prior expertise in professional wrestling, Kelly joined WWE and said goodbye to her journalism career.
The Career of Kelly
Kelly was approached by WWE management about a developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling, which he accepted in May 2006.
She began her WWE career as a referee and announcer but soon moved on to wrestling. In one of her first matches, she competed in a Divas Battle Royale, which she lost, and in late 2007, she was recruited into Florida Championship Wrestling.
In 2006, she joined the WWE roster as the youngest diva, earning the nickname Kelly Kelly from chairman Vince McMahon. She was introduced to the audience as an exhibitionist, performing stripteases in front of the crowd.
Aside from a few minor scuffles with other wrestlers, her striptease became a weekly event on WWE and was dubbed Kelly’s Expose, which was supposedly a major hit with the crowd.
Her lover Knox stopped strip taunting her and she began attending him to his fights, where she was seen to have feelings for another wrestler, CM Punk, in one storyline. Kelly made a reappearance with her striptease show, this time titled Extreme Expose, in early 2007, after finally breaking up with Knox.
After winning a Battle Royale on Raw, she was given her first title chance for the WWE Women’s Championship. She had to face Beth Phoenix, the champion at the time, and she lost the match.
She continued to feud with other female wrestlers without achieving any notable victory or claiming a title.
Her most recent triumph came in the style of Battle Royale in a Raw episode in 2009, which she won after losing at Wrestlemania 15. With the victory, she became the first woman to compete in the WWE Divas Championship.
She won the title shot against Maryse but was eventually disqualified and lost the title. A rematch was held, and this time she was victorious.
In another attempt to win the championship, she competed in a fatal four-way match for the title shot but failed, and her losing streak to become the number one contender for the title lasted for weeks.
She was traded from Raw to Smackdown in the 2010 WWE draft, and she made her debut on April 30 in a tag team bout with Beth Phoenix, defeating Michelle McCool and Layla. The tag team rivalry lasted several weeks before abruptly ending.
Her next big match came at Money in the Bank, when she was given the opportunity to win the WWE Women’s Championship, but she was unable to do so.
She returned to Raw after being drafted in the 2011 Supplemental Draft, and in Over the Limit, she challenged Brie Bella for the WWE Diva’s Championship, which she lost.
However, she was selected as the number one contender for the title shot by the audience a few weeks later, and this time she defeated Bella and won her first WWE Diva’s Championship. Kelly defeated Phoenix to retain her title at Summerslam, however, she lost the belt in a Hell in a Cell match.
She failed to reclaim her championship in a rematch, and she was defeated once more in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match.
Kelly’s contract with WWE expired in September 2012 and was not renewed. She listed a few injuries as causes, as well as her desire to pursue her modeling profession further.
She went on to compete in a few independent wrestling events, but they were all canceled due to Hurricane Sandy. In December, she was a part of North East Wrestling.
She confirmed her return to WWE in 2017, but this time as an ambassador. She’s made a few appearances so far, but none of them have resulted in a fight.
Aside from wrestling, Kelly has appeared in a Timbaland music video called “Throw it on Me” and has modeled for FHM.
Other television appearances followed, including ‘The Price is Right and ‘WAGs.’ She also made a guest appearance on the television show ‘Days of our Lives.’
Her Personal Experiences
Kelly Kelly is currently based in Malibu, California, after moving around a lot. Trish Stratus, whom she admired as a child, has often been credited as her influence.
Kelly had been married to wrestler Andrew Martin for a long time before he died in 2009. She announced her engagement to Sheldon Souray, a well-known ice hockey player, in 2014, and the couple married in Mexico in 2016.
Estimated Net worth
Kelly Kelly is a professional wrestler and model from the United States with a net worth of $2 million.