wwwe maria was born on February 25, 982 in Ottawa, Illinois. She was raised alongside her sister and brother. maria grew up with an interest in playing sports, particularly volleyball, basketball, and softball.^[5] She graduated from Ottawa Township High School in 2000, before spending some time as a student at Northern Illinois University.^[6]

maria was first asked to pose for Playboy when she was nineteen years old, but she turned down the offer.^[5] In 200, she was a contestant on the reality show, Outback Jack.^[6][7] She made it to the final three before being eliminated.^[8] Before her career in wrestling began, maria also regularly competed in beauty pageants.

She competed in the Raw Diva Search in 200, deciding to enter the contest after seeing an advertisement while watching Raw.^[9] 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 during one segment. Maria began making appearances at the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) training facility under 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 backstage interviewer in November 200.^[5] 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 2005, Maria began to get very physical - in, and out, of the ring. She was defeated in her first official match on the January 0, 2005 edition of Raw by Christy Hemme in a Lingerie Pillow Fight. 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 by Trish Stratus and Mickie James.^[0] In another physical moment, Stratus slapped Maria so hard that one of her fillings legitimately fell out. On November , Maria competed in a non-title Diva Battle Royal at the Eddie Guerrero tribute Raw show. Maria stood by herself for most of the match, only getting involved when she saw the opportunity to eliminate a competitor, a strategy that proved effective as she eliminated both Jillian Hall and Victoria. She was in the bottom three but was eliminated by both Melina and Trish Stratus. On the November 28 edition 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 a match with Kurt Angle out of spite, and Maria was laid out with the Angle Slam.^[2] As a result, one week later, Maria testified in the trial against Bischoff as General Manager. As Mick Foley questioned her, she answered, unusually intelligently, "Last week Bischoff abused his power in a way that was both malicious and capricious, and it’s this rash discourse that has led to a locker room of disdain and mutiny, and it should be grounds for his immediate dismissal."

2006–present

In early 2006, Maria defeated Victoria in a match for an upset victory. Afterwards, she was attacked by Vince's Devils, but she was saved by Ashley Massaro. During the commercial break that night, Vince McMahon announced a Bra & Panties Gauntlet match for New Year's Revolution between all five girls that had previously been in the ring.^[5] 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, however, was ultimately won by Massaro.^[0]

Santino Marella and Maria were on on-screen couple in 2007 and 2008.

Maria teamed with John Cena (who earlier that evening kissed her to calm her nerves) to take on Edge and Lita in the main event on the February 6 edition of Raw. Maria scored the victory after a spear meant for Cena hit Lita.^[6] 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.^[7] On October 6, 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.^[8] Maria, however, lost in the semi-finals of the Tournament against Lita.^[9]

On the January , 2007 edition of Raw, Maria attempted to interview Kevin Federline, but was instead slapped by Melina and called a "bitch." This led to a match between the two later that night, with Melina winning with a roll up following a failed attempt at a dropkick. At New Year's Revolution, Maria and Candice Michelle ran to the ring during the Women's Championship match between Victoria and Mickie James to stop Melina from interfering, helping their friend Mickie to retain the championship.^[20] For two consecutive weeks afterwards, Maria had two tag team partners—Mickie James and Jeff Hardy, respectively—to take on Melina and a partner. She lost the match with James,^[2] but won the other with Jeff.^[22] As a part of her entrance when teaming with Hardy, she mimicked the dance he performs at the top of the entrance ramp, a moment she later claimed as a favorite in her career.

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 edition 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.^[2] After former Playboy cover-girl Ashley Massaro's return in early 2008, maria engaged in backstage segments where Ashley suggested Maria should be on the cover of Playboy, including at the Royal Rumble, to the disdain of Marella.^[2] As a part of the Playboy storyline, Maria defeated Beth Phoenix on February 8, ending her undefeated streak, to "earn the right" to be on the cover of the magazine. During her Playboy cover unveiling, Maria's cover was plastered over with images of Marella.^[9] After Marella offered an ultimatum of posing for the magazine or staying with him as a couple,^[25] she stated, "“No man and no one is going to make this decision for me" and broke up with her on-screen boyfriend. In her first match at WrestleMania