Mickie James

When asked to describe Mickie James in three words, the trio of smart, beautiful and talented quickly comes to mind.

An honors student who played the violin as a child, it was ironically a failed Trigonometry class in high school that sent Mickie into the sports-entertainment world instead of college. Of course, being the diligent woman that she is, Mickie did go on to get her college education, earning an associate’s degree in business administration and working on her bachelor’s all while traveling the world as a WWE Diva.

Still, it was a long road from childhood dream to World Champion. After training in Virginia, Mickie worked the independent circuit for several years, learning everything she could from such Legends as Ricky Steamboat, Ricky Morton and Bobby Eaton along the way. Finally, after nearly a decade of paying her dues, Mickie made it to WWE, where she has stepped into the ring both with and against long-time idols like Trish Stratus on the way to becoming a multiple-time Women’s Champion.