Joanie Laurer, best known as former WWE wrestling star Chyna, was found dead in her home by police Wednesday night. She was 45.
TMZ confirmed the news on late Wednesday night along with representatives from the Redondo Beach Police Department in a release forwarded to FOX Sports.
According to the report, police were dispatched from a 911 call by a friend of Laurer, who said she was found not breathing inside her apartment after failing to answer her phone for several days.
Laurer was pronounced dead at the scene; no cause of death has been announced.
A message on Laurer's official Facebook page paid homage to the veteran wrestler after news of her passing was made public.
Laurer made her WWE debut in 1997 working alongside Triple H (real name Paul Levesque) acting as his bodyguard until she eventually transitioned to a performer in the ring.
Billed as "The Ninth Wonder of the World", Laurer is famously remembered as part of D-Generation X — a stable of wrestlers including Triple H, Shawn Michaels and X-Pac (Sean Waltman) that headlined many of the biggest matches in WWE at the time.
Laurer was responsible for a number of firsts during her WWE career, including becoming the first woman to enter the Royal Rumble match, first woman to enter the King of the Ring tournament, and the first woman to win the Intercontinental title. Laurer also helped to revolutionize women's wrestling during her stint in the WWE while bringing a physically imposing presence that was unmatched during her era in professional wrestling.
Laurer left WWE in 2007 before making sporadic appearances in both New Japan Pro Wrestling as well as TNA in 2011.
Laurer also modeled in magazines and appeared in films and reality shows, as well as writing an autobiography titled "If They Only Knew".
