Joanie Laurer — who went from being a top professional wrestler as “Chyna” to being a porn star — is dead at the age of 45!
Her body was found by police at her apartment in Redondo Beach, Calif., after a concerned friend asked them to check on the residence.
Chyna was one of the biggest stars of the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) through the ’90s. The muscular brunette became popular enough to pose nude for the November 2000 issue of Playboy.
Sadly, Chyna also soon began to have problems with drug abuse as her career spiraled downward into making adult films.
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The striking beauty — who once told The National ENQUIRER that she was “a real girlie-girl” — first shocked wrestling fans by making a sex tape with fellow wrestler Sean Qaltman (aka “X-Pac”) in 2005.
It was released commercially in 2004 as “1 Night in China.” The contract that Chyna signed with the WWF didn’t allow her to use her wrestling name to promote her porn career.
Chyna would continue to make make adult films over the years, with her last X-rated turn being a role as The She-Hulk in two porn parodies of comic-book movies.
Shortly after the release of their sex tape, Sean had claimed that Chyna was addicted to drugs and alcohol. She also began to appear dazed and confused while making public appearances, and her attempts to become a rock star with a band called The Chyna Dolls soon fell apart.
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Chyna ended up on “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” at the beginning of 2008. On December 27 of that same year, she was rushed to a hosptial after being found with multiple cuts on her arms.
Her alcohol level was too high for the hospital physicians to perform a psychological evaluation.
At the time of her death, the down-and-out wrestler was working on a documentary called “The Reconstruction of Chyna” that was meant to launch a major career comeback.
Wrestling insiders recently declared that Chyna’s porn past would keep her out of the WWE Hall of Fame — out of fears that children would find pornographic images when looking up her name on the internet.
