she's tough, she's buff, she's not taking prisoners
Chyna was a great fantasy: The dominatrix with the Amazon body appealed to men and women alike. But Joanie Laurer, who played Chyna for six years, knew when it was time to retire her. "I don't know one woman out there who doesn't want to feel strong and beautiful, dress up in fun costumes and tell somebody to go take a hike. I brought that character to life because I wanted to live vicariously through Chyna, too. But the fact of the matter is that it was fake, just a character on TV."
Since her first appearance in Playboy's November 2000 issue, Joanie has left wrestling to pursue other acting roles. She has seen her tell-all autobiography become a best-seller, broken up with her longtime boyfriend, starred in a play in Canada, moved to California, created her own website (bodybyjoanie.com) and is now in negotiations for a TV series. And she's never felt stronger nor happier.
"I had become a role model because of the physical aspects of Chyna," she says. "But when Joanie emerged in my book, showing I was a person who'd had a series of struggles in her life and come out on top, people started to relate to me on a different level. It wasn't until that time-that I really began to appreciate who I am."
Joanie says men aren't nearly as intimidated by her as they used to be. She recalls that when she first started wrestling, there weren't many strong women on TV or in print, "unless it was of a freakish nature. So while people used to treat me really mean, now I don't believe I've had one negative comment in the past year. I have more guys coming up to me, and more dates than I can shake a stick at. I love it!"
Joanie's new passion is acting. "I love comedy," she says. "People have no idea what a goofball I am." Still, she realizes that "it would be a shame not to play on my physicality. I'm a given for a superhero. My role models growing up were Wonder Woman and the Bionic Woman. Now it's time to put some substance behind the boobs."
