Porn, Drugs & Suicide Attempts: Inside Chyna's Tragic, Dark Past
Sept. 22 2016, Updated 8:15 p.m. ET
Joanie "Chyna" Laurer once ruled the wrestling and reality TV worlds. But before she succumbed to a suspected drug overdose at just 46 last night, she led a troubled life of addiction and mental health issues.
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As a child, Chyna claimed, she lived in an alcoholic home. She moved out at just 16 years old.
Joanie Laurer seen outside Tribeca Cinema
After retiring from wrestling in 2001, the star made a splash in the porn industry, beginning with her sex tape, 1 Night in Chyna, co-starring then-boyfriend Sean Waltman. The continued to star in adult films until 2013.
Chyna does Playboy….Again!
She started scaring fans with her bizarre behavior. In January 2005, she stripped naked and jumped into a fish tank at NYC's Coral Room, the New York Post reported.
via FTP
Later that same night, she allegedly took off her clothes and jumped onstage at Scores' strip club in Manhattan. Managers "told her she had to stop," a source told the Post.
Ron Galella Archive – File Photos
She was reportedly also arrested that year for assaulting Waltman following a night out at the Playboy mansion in L.A. "Unfortunately my two children witnessed and heard all of this," Waltman later said.
Ron Galella Archive – File Photos
In 2007, Chyna checked into Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, claiming she had a problem with alcohol. But later on, she denied having substance abuse issues. "I don't think I drink too much," she insisted to her castmates, including Brigette Nielsen and Crazy Town's Seth "Shifty" Binzer.
Exxxotica Miami Beach – May 20,2012
On the Surreal Life, Chyna confessed that she regularly went to bed at 7 am, and disturbed costars with her hyper, wild nighttime antics.
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On her 38th birthday in 2008, she was reportedly hospitalized when friends noticed cuts on her arms. She was allegedly so intoxicated, doctors couldn't perform a psych evaluation.
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Less than years later, she reportedly overdosed on sleeping medication, and was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital.
31st Annual American Music Awards – Arrivals
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Last summer, Chyna came clean about many of her problems. During a radio interview on Opie and Jim, she admitted she had a history of suicide attempts following the 2004 release of her sex tape, and once spent a month in a mental hospital. "It was like I was a monster," she said.
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In a tragic turn, Chyna was discovered dead in her Redondo Beach, California, home last night. Cops reportedly suspect she overdosed on drugs.
Sons of Hollywood Host Party at the Stoli Hotel
"I am a champion and have been working for many years to uphold the reputation of who I am and what my father always wished me to be — a successful, well-spoken, literate, intelligent woman with a sense of humor who enjoys life," she said in 2005, before her Surreal Life debut. Now, fans and fellow celebrities are celebrating her legacy in the wrestling world.
