WWE Diva of the Day: Maria Kanellis

Maria Kanellis was born on February 25, 1982 in Ottawa, Illinois.

The WWE Diva was actually a contestant on the 2004 reality show, Outback Jack before competing on the WWE RAW Diva Search later that year 2004. Even though she did not win the contest, Maria was hired, along with several other contestants.

Initially, Kanellis was brought on to RAW as a backstage interviewer and was given a "dumb blonde" gimmick, playing on mistakes she made in previous weeks.

In 2005, competed in her first official match. It took place on the January 10, 2005 edition of RAW. In it, Maria faced off against Christy Hemme in a Lingerie Pillow Fight, but lost after being hit with a pillow by Lilian Garcia and then tripped by Hemme.

Maria continued to improve in the ring until her big match in February 2006 as a partner of John Cena. The Champ even kissed her before the match.

In June 2007, Maria began an on-and-off romance with Santino Marella, appearing in segments together as an on-screen couple.

Now - Ashley Massaro'ss return earlier in the year - Kanellis has been engaging in backstage segments where Ashley attempts to suggest Maria should be on the cover of Playboy, but Santino interrupts. We all know better, of course: she'll be on there. And naked!