LEAH Van Dale’s incredible career has seen her grace the field, court and ring.

The daughter of mixed martial artist and WWE jobber Paul Van Dale, she was born in Spencer, Massachusetts.

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Carmella has enjoyed a stellar WWE careerCredit: Instagram @carmellawwe

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The superstar wrestler began her career as a cheerleaderCredit: Not known, clear with picture desk
While attending Dartmouth in her home state, she joined the New England Patriots as a cheerleader for three seasons and left in 2010.

After graduating, she applied to be in WWE Tough Enough.

But Van Dale withdrew from the selection process after successfully auditioning to be a Laker Girl and moving to Los Angeles for the 2010-2011 season.

She eventually joined the WWE in 2013 and made her NXT debut the following year – adopting the ring name Carmella.

In April 2018, she became the first woman to successfully cash in her Money in the Bank opportunity by defeating Charlotte Flair to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship.

The following year she won the Women’s Battle Royal and 24/7 Championship.

Carmella’s success continued after moving to RAW in 2021 as she formed an alliance with Queen Zelina and lifted the Women’s Tag Team Championship belt.

She married fellow WWE star Matthew Polinsky – aka Corey Graves – in 2022 and is the stepmother to his three children.

The former cheerleader has taken a break from the ring to have her first child – a boy named Dimitri Paul Polinsky, who was born in November.

Carmella has shared the pain she went through in past miscarriages.

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“I think because of my past, it was hard to get excited off the bat about this one, but I was cautiously optimistic,” she told Good Morning America ahead of the birth.

“I try to have a good mindset, a positive mindset this time around, and it’s working. So I’m very happy about that.

“It’s kind of this weird space where I’m excited, but also just a little apprehensive because of the miscarriages.

“It’s unfortunate that it robs you of the true excitement that should be there.

“When it happened again with the ectopic, I just [felt] like this is so crazy.

“I just thought you get pregnant, you have a baby.

“Of course, you’ve heard of miscarriage, but I don’t know anyone personally that has gone through it, especially multiple times.

“So, when I went through it the second time, and it was a health issue for me as well, and not just the fact that I was losing a baby, I mean, my life was on the line.

“It was just traumatizing and the most devastating thing that I’ve gone through.

“Because you’re not only going through this extreme medical condition, but you’re also going through the loss of your child.”

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Carmella leaps at Bianca Belair on RAWCredit: AP

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The superstar made Money in the Bank historyCredit: WWE