Maryse Ouellet

Early life and career

Ouellet was born in Montreal, Quebec, but grew up in Edmundston, New Brunswick. In high school, Ouellet was the only girl in her class, and ran the school's fashion show. She also began developing a range of makeup products. Ouellet began her modelling career as a beauty pageant contestant, winning Miss Hawaiian Tropic Canada 2003 and finishing second at the International Finals of Miss Hawaiian Tropic 2004. She was also on the cover of Playboy's 2007 Girls of Canada calendar.

Diva Search and developmental territories (2006–2008)

In mid-2006, Ouellet tried out for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s Diva Search. She made the final cut and was one of the top eight contestants, but was the second person eliminated on July 24. Despite her elimination, she was invited to observe workouts and the training facility at WWE's developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), along with Brooke Adams. Ouellet later said that she was "very, very excited", as it was her "dream to become a WWE Diva".

Ouellet was officially signed to a WWE developmental contract on August 24, 2006 and was assigned to OVW for training. She made her in-ring debut at an OVW live event in December 2006. In March 2007, she began wrestling in dark matches prior to the OVW television tapings. In mid-2007, Ouellet began managing Sylvain Grenier. When Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) opened in mid-2007, Ouellet was transferred to the new developmental facility, and on September 25, she made her FCW debut as the valet of Ryan O'Reilly along with Lacey Von Erich. Ouellet then started competing in singles and tag team competition, before managing Ted DiBiase, Jr. in December 2007, and was at ringside when he captured the FCW Southern Heavyweight Championship. She continued making sporadic appearances in FCW until January 2008.

Early years (2006–2008)

On the September 22, 2006 episode of SmackDown!, Ouellet, known as simply Maryse, was shown on the TitanTron welcoming the Montreal viewers in French to the season premiere of SmackDown! on the CW Network. Maryse made her first official televised appearance on the May 21, 2007 episode of Raw to present American rapper Timbaland's new music video for the single "Throw It on Me", in which she had appeared.

By the time she began appearing regularly on SmackDown at the beginning of 2008, she had adopted a snobby attitude and become a villainous character. On the March 7, 2008 episode of SmackDown, Maryse competed in a swimsuit contest against Victoria, Michelle McCool, Cherry, and Eve Torres, which ended in a brawl between Maryse and Torres. The following week, she was the first eliminated from another swimsuit competition. On March 28, Maryse competed in a "Wet and Wild" match, teaming with Victoria against Cherry and McCool in a losing effort. On a "SmackDown after the bell" video on WWE's website, the tag team Deuce 'n Domino dumped Cherry, who had been their manager, and replaced her with Maryse. Maryse then insulted Cherry, only for Cherry to slap her. On the May 16 episode of SmackDown, Maryse made her in-ring debut in a loss to Cherry, though she defeated Cherry in a rematch the following week. On the June 6 episode of SmackDown!, SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero announced the creation of the WWE Divas Championship, and that same night the Divas competed in a Golden Dreams match to qualify for the championship match at The Great American Bash, which was won by Natalya. On the July 4, 2008 episode of SmackDown!, she competed again in another Golden Dreams match to face Natalya for the championship, however she failed to win. For several weeks, Maryse competed in six-person tag team matches with Victoria and Natalya against Cherry, Michelle McCool and Maria. She suffered a minor broken nose after receiving a bulldog from Maria in August 2008.

Divas Champion (2008–2010)

Maryse began a rivalry with Michelle McCool in September 2008, challenging her for the WWE Divas Championship at Unforgiven, and in a rematch the following week on SmackDown, but failed to win on both occasions. On the September 23 episode of ECW, Maryse defeated McCool in a non-title match. After a month-long absence, Maryse returned at Survivor Series pay-per-view event in November, participating in a five-on-five Divas elimination tag team match, eliminating Kelly Kelly, Mickie James and Candice Michelle; Maryse was the sole survivor of her team, but was ultimately eliminated by Beth Phoenix. At the Armageddon pay-per-view on December 14, Maryse teamed up with Jillian Hall, Victoria and Natalya in a losing effort to McCool, Maria, Kelly Kelly and Mickie James in an Eight-Diva Santa's Little Helper tag team match. On December 19, Maryse pinned Maria to become the number one contender for Michelle McCool's Divas Championship. The following week on SmackDown, Maryse defeated McCool, with Maria as the special guest referee, to win her first Divas Championship. On December 28, at a house show in Raleigh, North Carolina, Maryse dislocated her knee in a tag team match against The Bella Twins (Nikki and Brie). It was later announced that the injury was not major, and therefore only missed a few weeks action. On the January 23, 2009 episode of SmackDown, Maryse returned and sat at ringside commentating during a Divas' tag team match. She returned to in-ring action on February 20, teaming with Michelle McCool in a win against Maria and Eve Torres, where she pinned Torres.

Maryse made her first appearance on Raw on March 2, as a commentator for a match involving the WWE Women's Champion Melina, with Maryse attacking her after the match. The following week, Maryse made her in-ring debut on Raw in a champion vs champion lumberjill match, which she defeated Melina. The rivalry extended to a tag team match on SmackDown on March 13, where Melina and Maria defeated McCool and Maryse. On March 27 episode of SmackDown, Maryse made her first championship defense, losing by disqualification after the returning Gail Kim attacked Maryse and McCool, and thus retained the championship. On April 5, Maryse competed in a 25-Diva Miss WrestleMania battle royal at WrestleMania XXV, but she was eliminated by Beth Phoenix and the match was won by Santina Marella (Santino Marella dressed in drag). Maryse made her last appearance on SmackDown on April 24, retaining her championship against Gail Kim.

As part of the 2009 WWE Draft on April 13, Maryse was drafted to the Raw brand, and in the process, the Divas Championship became exclusive to Raw. She made her first appearance as part of the brand on April 27, teaming with Beth Phoenix, Rosa Mendes, and Jillian Hall in a loss to Santina Marella, Mickie James, Brie Bella and Kelly Kelly. Maryse then began feuding with Mickie James after she cost James a number one contender's battle royal, which was eventually won by Kelly Kelly, by spraying hairspray in her eyes. The following week, Maryse lost a championship match against Kelly by disqualification, meaning the championship did not change hands, and won a subsequent rematch by pinfall two weeks later on June 8. At Night of Champions on July 26, Maryse lost the Divas Championship to James. Despite being only the second Divas champion, her reign of 216 days remained the longest in the title's history for nearly five years, until AJ Lee surpassed her reign in January 2014.

After losing the championship, Maryse underwent to a legitimate knee surgery. She returned on the November 23 episode of Raw, disguised as The Gobbledy Gooker, as the guest timekeeper for a Thanksgiving-themed 6-Divas tag team match. After the match, she revealed herself by attacking the Divas Champion Melina. The following week, Maryse made her in-ring return teamed with Jillian Hall in a tag team match against Melina and Gail Kim, where Maryse pinned Melina. On the December 7 episode of Raw, Maryse defeated Gail Kim by dirty tactics, and following the match, Maryse proceed to attack Kelly Kelly, who was working as ring announcer, ordering her to announce she was the next Divas Champion, but was stopped by Melina.

In early 2010, a tournament was held for the newly vacated WWE Divas Championship due to Melina's injury. Maryse entered the tournament, and defeated Brie Bella and Eve Torres in the first round and semi-finals, respectively, to advance to the finals. The tournament's finals were originally scheduled for Elimination Chamber on February 21; instead, the match was changed by the SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero to a interbrand tag team match, where Maryse teamed with her scheduled opponent Gail Kim against LayCool (Michelle McCool and Layla), which was won by LayCool as a result of Maryse abandoning Kim during the match. The following night on Raw, Maryse defeated Kim in the finals to win the championship, becoming the first Diva to have held it twice.

On March 15 episode of Raw, Maryse defeated Kelly Kelly in a non-title match, attacking her after the match before being attacked by Eve Torres and Gail Kim, and saved by LayCool, then joining with them and Vickie Guerrero. On March 26 episode of SmackDown, Maryse teamed up with LayCool, Guerrero and Alicia Fox defeating Beth Phoenix in a 5-on-1 handicap match before being attacked by Kim, Eve, Kelly and Mickie James. At WrestleMania XXVI, on March 28, she was part of the winning team of a 10-Diva tag team match with LayCool, Fox and Guerrero against Phoenix, James, Kim, Torres and Kelly Kelly, but the following night on Raw, she was pinned by Torres in a rematch. Maryse lost the Divas Championship two weeks later to Eve Torres on the April 12 episode of Raw, and was unsuccessful to regain it at Over the Limit pay-per-view in May. At Fatal 4-Way on June 20, Maryse failed to regain the title in a Fatal Four-Way match that also involved then-champion Eve, Gail Kim, and Alicia Fox, which Fox would win pinning her to become the champion.

Managing Ted DiBiase and NXT (2010–2011)

On the June 21 episode of Raw, after Ted DiBiase fired Virgil, Maryse became DiBiase's new personal assistant. At Money in the Bank, on July 18, Maryse accompanied DiBiase in his Money in the Bank ladder match for the WWE Championship contract, which she tried to pick the briefcase, but was stopped by John Morrison. Along with DiBiase, Maryse was announced as a mentor for Brodus Clay for the fourth season of NXT on November 30. On Raw, on December 13, Maryse was involved in a battle royal to determine the winner of the Diva of the Year Slammy Award, but was eliminated by Natalya. Clay traded his mentors, Maryse and DiBiase, for Alberto Del Rio on the January 25, 2011 episode of NXT. In late September 2010, Maryse was involved in an storyline with Goldust, in which he stole the Million Dollar Championship from DiBiase, and lost a subsequent mixed tag team match against Goldust and Aksana on October 26.

On March 8, Maryse became the co-host of NXT, alongside Matt Striker. As part of NXT Redemption, Maryse was involved in several romantic storylines, most notably with Yoshi Tatsu, Lucky Cannon, and Hornswoggle. In April, DiBiase made an ultimatum to Maryse for her to choose to continue on the NXT or continue with him. The following week, Maryse chose to continue appearing on NXT, disbanding their alliance in the process. In August, Maryse underwent surgery for an abdominal hernia and took time off WWE programming. After two months of inactivity, Maryse was released from her WWE contract on October 28.

Independent circuit (2012)

On October 5, 2012, Maryse appeared at the Family Wrestling Entertainment (FWE) event Back 2 Brooklyn, performing live commentary. She began appearing regularly for FWE, where she commentated during women's matches.

Managing The Miz (2016–present)

On April 4, 2016 episode of Raw, the episode after WrestleMania 32, Maryse returned during a WWE Intercontinental Championship match between the champion Zack Ryder and her husband, The Miz. During the match, Maryse slapped Ryder's father, who was in the front row, in order to distract Ryder and allowed Miz to capture the championship for the fifth time, thus becoming his manager in the process, where the two then became an on-screen power couple. She formally re-introduced herself three days later on the April 7 episode of SmackDown before once more helping Miz to retain his championship over Ryder. She then began to cut various promos with Miz as his host during the "Miz TV" segments, while calling themselves the "It" Couple.

Following a hiatus due to the shoot of a WWE film, Maryse returned to WWE television on the June 27 episode of Raw, where she helped Miz to retain his championship against Kane after she faked an ankle injury. After being drafted to Smackdown as part of the 2016 WWE draft which took place on July 19, Ouellet made her first appearance for the brand on July 26, where she co-hosted a Miz TV segment along her husband before being interrupted by Randy Orton, who challenged Miz to a non-title match, in which he was subsequently defeated. At Backlash, Maryse successfully helped Miz to retain the Intercontinental Championship by spraying something at Dolph Ziggler whilst Miz distracted the referee. The following week, SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan announced a rematch for the championship due Maryse's interference at Backlash. On September 20, Miz retained the championship over Ziggler. On October 9, at No Mercy Miz lost the Intercontinental Championship to Ziggler in a title vs career match when Maryse was banned from the ringside along with The Spirit Squad (Kenny and Mikey), who was contracted by her to help Miz, ending Miz's reign at 188 days. On November 8 episode of SmackDown, Maryse went on to speak in Miz's name due Miz refuse to speak with Daniel Bryan. At that night, Maryse accepted Bryan's offer to Miz face Ziggler the following week for the Intercontinental Championship in the 900th episode of SmackDown. Later that night, Bryan would state on Talking Smack that if Ziggler successfully retains his championship, The Miz and Maryse would be traded to Raw for someone else. On November 15 at the 900th episode of SmackDown, Maryse helped Miz to win the championship for the sixth time and also retain it at Survivor Series against Sami Zayn.

On December 20, episode of SmackDown, Maryse was banned from the ringside after an attempt to apply a eye poke on Apollo Crews during a championship match for Miz's Intercontinental Championship; After the match, Miz was interviewed by Renee Young who slapped him after a joke involving her and Dean Ambrose. On December 27, episode of SmackDown, Maryse confronted Renee Young in a backstage segment before Ambrose attacked Miz. On January 3, 2017, episode of SmackDown, Maryse slapped both Ambrose and Young in different occasions, before interfering in the championship match between Miz and Ambrose, slapping Ambrose again and being banned from ringside before Ambrose defeated Miz for the championship. Later on Talking Smack, Maryse was fined $5,000 for slapping Young.

On February 12 at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Maryse was accidentally hit by Nikki Bella when Natalya pushed Nikki into her during a backstage brawl. On February 21 episode of SmackDown, Maryse was again hit by Nikki and Natalya backstage during their Falls Count Anywhere match, leading to Maryse attacking Bella with a lead pipe and causing her to lose the match. On February 28 episode of SmackDown, during the Miz TV segment, Maryse slapped Nikki's real-life boyfriend John Cena, causing Nikki to confront her. On March 7 episode of SmackDown, Maryse and Miz attacked Nikki and Cena after they won a match against James Ellsworth and Carmella. On March 14 episode of SmackDown, after another showdown between the couples, SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan announced a mixed tag team match at WrestleMania 33. Maryse and Miz would ultimately lose in what was Maryse's first match in over six years.

On April 10, Maryse was drafted to the Raw brand along with Miz as part of the "Superstar Shake Up", where they made their debut on the same night dressed as Bella and Cena, before being confronted by the Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose. On June 4, at Extreme Rules, Maryse was in Miz's corner when he won the WWE Intercontinental Championship for the seventh time by defeating Ambrose.

Other media

In April 2007, she appeared alongside fellow WWE Divas Ashley, Torrie Wilson, Brooke Adams, Layla, and Kelly Kelly in Timbaland's music video "Throw It On Me" featuring The Hives.

Ouellet also appeared in the January 2009 issue of Muscle & Fitness, along with Eve Torres and Michelle McCool. She and John Morrison were interviewed on Eurosport in the same year. She also made a special appearance on Redemption Song, which was hosted by WWE wrestler Chris Jericho, along with Candice Michelle, Mickie James, and Eve Torres. She has also appeared in several newspaper interviews, including Tokyo Headline, and was on the cover of Sessions Magazine in October 2010.

In 2012, Maryse was featured on the cover of Le Journal de Montréal, and on MDA Show of Strength with The Miz and other celebrities. In 2015, Ouellet had roles in Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! and in Santa's Little Helper, the latter starring Ouellet's husband, The Miz. In the same year, she appeared on the E! reality television series WAGS. In 2016, it was announced that Maryse would appear as a main cast member on the sixth season of Total Divas, which prompted her return to WWE. In June 2017, Maryse along with Miz were cover of the DUB Magazine with a Jeep car.

Maryse has appeared in four WWE video games. She made her in-game debut at WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010, later appearing in WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011, WWE '12, and WWE 2K18.

Other endeavors

Following her release from WWE in 2011, Ouellet announced her plans for a clothing and jewelry line named House of Maryse.

Beginning in late 2013, Ouellet began working as a realtor in Los Angeles after spending a year earning her real estate license.

Personal life

Ouellet is a native speaker of French, fluent in English, and she is able to read Spanish, although she cannot speak it. Ouellet has a tattoo of her late father's name, Guy, on her left wrist. She has a degree in business administration, and holds a black belt in martial arts. Her favorite actress is Scarlett Johansson, her favorite bands are Simple Plan and Nickelback, and she loves techno music. Ouellet is an avid supporter of animal rights and gay rights, and posed for the NOH8 campaign in 2011. Ouellet is Catholic.

Ouellet was inspired to become a professional wrestler by Lita. She cites Lita and Victoria as her dream opponents.

In July 2011, Ouellet asked a judge for protection from 61-year-old "crazed fan" Lee Silber, and filed a request for a permanent restraining order. She claimed that Silber had sent "numerous terrifying letters to my home and left more than 50 voicemails on my personal cell phone all of which are extremely disturbing and delusional." In the filed documents and an interview for TMZ, Ouellet stated that she "feared for [her] life". She also explained that she had beefed up her personal security, and noted that Silber was a "crazy stalker ... who needs to either be in a psychiatric hospital or jail!". On August 3, the court granted her the restraining order.

In 2013, Ouellet got engaged to longtime boyfriend and fellow wrestler Mike Mizanin, best known by his ring name The Miz. The two were married in The Bahamas on February 20, 2014. The couple reside in Los Angeles, California. On September 11, 2017, Ouellet and Mizanin announced they are expecting their first child.

In 2016, she legally obtained a firearm after someone attempted to break into her home. The incident was featured on an episode of Total Divas.

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments