A WWE star
who became one of the most popular female wrestlers in history has been found
dead at the age of 46.
Chyna, whose
real name was Joan Marie Laurer, was found dead in Redondo Beach, southern
California, on Wednesday.
Police said
they were called by a friend who had become concerned at not hearing from her
for several days.
In a
statement, Sergeant Shawn Freeman said: "The exact nature and cause of the
death, as well as the general time of death is under investigation by the Los
Angeles County Coroner's department."
Chyna's
manager Anthony Anzaldo told NBC she had been "found lying
peacefully" on her bed.
TMZ quoted
anonymous sources as saying police were investigating a possible drug overdose,
adding that prescription bottles - but no illegal drugs - were found at the
home.
According to
Chyna's website, she turned to fitness to escape a difficult childhood and rose
to be considered a female "pioneer" in the male-dominated sport of
wrestling.
She billed
herself as the "Ninth Wonder of the World" - her wrestling
predecessor Andre the Giant had already called himself the eighth.
The peak of
her fame was in the late 1990s when she became the first woman to compete in
the Royal Rumble.
After
leaving wrestling in 2001, she appeared in Playboy Magazine and on several
reality television shows, including The Surreal Life in 2005.
She made six
adult films between 2004 and 2013, including Avengers XXX: A Porn Parody,
before heading to Japan to teach English for a while.
Throughout
her career she struggled with addiction and in 2008 she appeared on Celebrity
Rehab with Dr Drew.
A 13-minute
YouTube video was published last week in which she spoke about trying to set up
a fresh food business but she appeared muddled and slurred some of her words.
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