Carmella (wrestler)

Leah Van Dale (born October 23, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, dancer and model. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs under the ring name Carmella. She is a former WWE SmackDown Women's Champion, WWE Women's Tag Team Champion and WWE 24/7 Champion. In June 2013, Van Dale signed a contract with WWE and was assigned to their developmental brand NXT in Orlando, Florida. In October 2014, she aligned herself with Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady, becoming their manager. In July 2016, she made her main roster debut on SmackDown. In June 2017, Carmella became the winner of the inaugural women's Money in the Bank ladder match. In April 2018, she became the first woman in WWE history to successfully cash-in her Money in the Bank opportunity, when she defeated Charlotte Flair to win the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship. In 2019, Carmella won both the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal and the WWE 24/7 Championship. In November 2021, after being drafted to Raw as part of the 2021 Draft, Carmella formed an alliance with Queen Zelina and the two went on to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. Leah Van Dale was born on October 23, 1987 in Spencer, Massachusetts. She is the daughter of Paul Van Dale, a former mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, who worked as a jobber for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE) in the 1980s and 1990s, making the younger Van Dale a second generation wrestler. Van Dale is of Italian and Dutch descent. She grew up in Spencer, Massachusetts, where she graduated from David Prouty High School in 2006. She graduated from University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 2010. Van Dale was a cheerleader for the New England Patriots for three seasons, ending in 2010. She successfully auditioned for the Los Angeles Lakers dance team, appearing as a Laker Girl during the 2010–2011 season. Van Dale applied to be part of WWE Tough Enough in 2010, but withdrew from the selection process after being accepted as a Laker Girl and moving to Los Angeles.