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.
Most of your favorite celebrities either studied acting in college or went straight from high school into a life of the arts. But, hey, not all of them. Some celebrities actually have advanced college degrees.
Turns out Mayim Bialik is just as much of a genius as the one she plays on The Big Bang Theory. She earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles, focusing on obsessive compulsive disorder among people with Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare condition in which the hypothalamus malfunctions.
Little known fact: Natalie Portman skipped the premiere of Star Wars: Phantom Menace because she was studying for her high school exams. She had two papers published in scientific journals while she was still in high school, and graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in Psychology.
Before he was looking for answers on X-Files, David Duchovny was just trying to find the answers for English finals at Princeton University90. David graduated from Princeton in 1982 with a B.A in English. He continued to feed his love of literature by receiving a master’s degree in English Literature at Yale University. David was an excellent writer and poet. His work consistently received praise by his fellow classmates and teachers at Yale. His writing was even nominated for a college prize by the Academy of American Poets.
Sigourney Weaver graduated from Stanford University in 1971 with a bachelor’s in Literature. It was while studying at Stanford that Sigourney realized her true passion in life was to become an actress. Shortly after graduation, she attended Yale for their well-known drama program. She would go on to receive a master’s in Acting from Yale University and become friends with fellow famous actress Meryl Streep.
Meryl Streep is considered one of the most successful actresses of all time. She is also one of the most highly educated. Before collecting an array of Oscars, Meryl collected diplomas. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in 1971. Meryl has a habit of being unsatisfied with impressive accomplishments as her acting career has shown, so she attended Yale University and earned a master’s degree in Acting.