AJ Lee born, April Jeanette Mendez, is known for her 'crazy chick' persona throughout her stint in the WWE. However, what many didn't know about Mendez is that she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and considered herself hiding in plain sight while portraying her character AJ Lee. While mainly known as a heel throughout her pro-wrestling career, her athleticism and aggressive style of fighting drew fans towards her. Standing at only 5'2 and weighing 115lbs, Lee was able to attach herself to other wrestler's bodies with ease and execute moves like the Shiranui, Guillotine Chokehold, and her finisher, the Black Widow.
Lee began her professional wrestling career under the Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU) promotion in 2007 where she won the WSU/National Wrestling Superstars Queen of the Ring tournament and WSU Tag Team Championship alongside partner Brooke Carter. In May 2009, Lee made the jump to the WWE where she wrestled under the Florida Championship Wrestling and NXT subdivisions of the platform. In 2011, Mendez became a mainstay act in the WWE and served as general manager of RAW for time. Throughout Lee's six-year stint in the WWE, AJ Lee held the WWE Divas Championship a record-tying three times and held the title for a record 406 days total. In 2015, Mendez retired from wrestling and became New York Times Best Seller for her 2017 memoir, Crazy Is My Superpower.
Chefs made their way into celebrity land a while ago. But how many celebrities that weren’t trained as professional cooks are actually whizzes in the kitchen? Here are several that come to mind.
Actress Julia Roberts is confident about her cooking skills. “I’m quite a good cook,” she told E! News. “I’m like a closet home ec teacher…I can really cook anything.” Roberts has said she often cooks fish for herself and her kids. And speaking of her three children, “They think that I’m a good cook,” Roberts told People. “They actually told me that I should open a restaurant.” She also relishes cooking for the holidays, particularly shredded Brussel sprouts. Roberts hasn’t published a cookbook, but we did find recipes attributed to her for peach crisp and banana hemp muffins. Or you can make the same summer salad the actress supposedly eats.
Chrissy Teigen started off as a supermodel. Then her love of cooking filtered into her professional life too. At this point, she’s created recipes for a limited Blue Apron release and also just launched her own home and cooking line at Target named “Cravings,” after the two cookbooks she’s released. Teigen describes cooking as “a time of peace” for herself. So maybe peace out to her tuna melt sandwich or the fried chicken wings that are a favorite of her husband, John Legend.
Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, comes from a cooking Italian family. Her father started his own restaurant in New York and also published a cookbook. And apparently, Lady Gaga has inherited the family’s cooking genes. Her Instagram account occasionally features photos of her culinary activities. Sure, sometimes it’s topless cooking. But other times it’s more poignant like in the post she shared about her bringing food to the family of her dear friend who passed away. Want to try a Gaga/Germanotta family favorite? Check out her recipe for whole wheat pasta with a sweet fennel sauce.