Interview with WWE Superstar and ‘Total Divas’ Star Lana

By Jim Varsallone

October 30, 2017 11:34 PM

WWE Superstar Lana is in the cast of season seven of WWE ‘Total Divas’ on E!. The season premiere is 9 p.m. ET Wednesday, Nov. 1. Quite the talent, Lana is an actress, dancer, model, singer, social ambassador, manager and wrestler. She has a lot of energy. Photo Courtesy WWE

Lana is a Florida gal with international roots.

She was born in Gainesville (Gator country) but opted to attend college at rival Florida State University in Tallahassee. It turned out to be a good move.

In between was good, too. Lana grew up in the Latvian SSR, where her father worked as a Christian missionary. They lived in Latvia after it restored its independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991. Her parents are Portuguese and Venezuelan descent. She noted she can speak 3 1 /2 languages -- not as many as WWE Superstar Cesaro but still very impressive.

From an early age, Lana aspired to become a ballet dancer like her mom. She attended the Riga Choreography School (the ballet school of the Latvian National Opera) and began dancing with the Latvian National Ballet at age 14.

At 17, Lana returned to the United States. She initially lived in New York City, where she danced at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ballet Hispanico, Broadway Dance Center, and the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance.

With an extensive background in dance, Lana is watching ABC’s Dancing With the Stars, especially since her fellow WWE Superstar and “Total Divas” cast member Nikki Bella is one of the contestants.

Lana later enrolled at Florida State University, majoring in dance and acting. She received national attention at FSU baseball and football games as an original Florida State University Cowgirl.

In 2005, ABC broadcaster Brent Musburger made the FSU Cowgirls famous during the rival FSU/University of Miami football game in Tallahassee. As the national camera focused on those young ladies, Musberger said, “1,500 red-blooded Americans just decided to apply to Florida State.”

A former manager in WWE, this 32-year-old blonde beauty is currently a member of the SmackDown Live brand as the Ravishing Russian, combining her love for dance with wrestling. She is a jazzy wrestler who dances.

She signed with WWE in 2013, learning the art of wrestling via Coach Sara Amato (Sara Del Rey) at the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center in Orlando.

This WWE Superstar is billed from Moscow, Russia, parlaying her Latvian upbringing into a character with a sound Russian accent. She managed the Bulgarian Brute Rusev in NXT and later WWE Raw and SmackDown. She was termed his social ambassador. Now she is his loving wife.

Away from the ring, this dancer and wrestler is also an actress, model and singer. A member of the SmackDown Live brand, her primary focus these days is wrestling -- becoming the best wrestler she can be.

WWE Total Divas on E!

E! and WWE’s “Total Divas” returns for its fiery and fierce seventh season beginning Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Naomi (Trinity), Natalya (Nattie), Lana and Maryse will join newcomers Carmella, Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss. These WWE Superstars will give viewers an exclusive glimpse at the demands of their professional careers and the challenges of their everyday lives. The season finale, airing Jan. 31, 2018, will mark the show’s 100th episode.

For a sneak peek at the ladies, visit:

http://www.eonline.com/shows/total_divas

http://eonli.ne/1pw0k68

This season, the cast travels around the world as they embark on new journeys, cross new thresholds and make difficult decisions about their futures in and out of the ring. Naomi is hoping to hit the trifecta effect; keeping her marriage fresh to fellow WWE Superstar Jimmy Uso, maintaining a crazy schedule and taking a chance to stand out as the SmackDown Live Women’s Champion.

Veteran cast member Natalya challenges Naomi’s title reign in a heated rivalry for the SmackDown Live Women’s Championship, all culminating in a showdown at SummerSlam, season seven’s most anticipated event. With the stakes higher than ever, the women must put on the best match of their lives.

Meanwhile, The Bella Twins catch a case of “FOMO” during their time off from WWE. Together, they explore new ventures and contemplate when the best time would be to make their in-ring comeback. Off the heels of her whirlwind engagement to WWE Superstar John Cena, Nikki Bella gets ready to twist and twirl when she receives an offer from Dancing with the Stars that is hard to refuse.

While Nikki is celebrating her long-awaited engagement in Cabo San Lucas, her sister Brie Bella is working on balancing the demands of being a new mom to her baby girl Birdie and managing her and Nikki’s burgeoning businesses. To spend more time twinning, the ladies plan a road trip and head to San Diego for the summer with Brie’s husband, WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan in tow.

It’s Vegas or bust when Maryse’s husband Mike “The Miz” Mizanin refuses to leave Los Angeles after their second home burglary. With Maryse ready to head to Sin City, the two must decide where they will call home.

Lana struggles to prioritize her life as a newlywed and her new role on SmackDown Live. When her husband, WWE Superstar Rusev reveals he wants a baby, she is torn between living her dream in the ring or starting a family sooner than later.

New cast member Carmella thinks she hit the jackpot with her boyfriend WWE Superstar Big Cass who she believes is “the one.” However, with each of them planning on moving to opposite sides of the country, the future of their relationship depends on compromising on a new place to call home.

Nia Jax, cousin of Dwayne "The Rock” Johnson, is part of a coveted WWE legacy. Despite her famous linage, the dating world isn’t working out the way Nia hoped it would. The women help her explore who she is and what she wants in a partner.

With the growing rise of her career, Alexa Bliss is enjoying the fruits of her labor. But when her fiancé, NXT Superstar Buddy Murphy, visits during the biggest match of season seven, she is forced to confront her uncertainty about marrying him.

“Total Divas” is produced by WWE and Bunim/Murray Productions. Gil Goldschein, Jeff Jenkins and Russell Jay are Executive Producers for Bunim/Murray Productions. Kevin Dunn is Executive Producer for WWE. Nikki Bella serves as a Co-Executive Producer.

Season six of Total Divas averaged nearly 1-million total viewers and more than 600K P18-49 and ranked across the Top 10 original programs on Wednesdays in Primetime (8-11 p.m.) in ad-supported cable among key demos: P/W 18-49 and 18-34.

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/totaldivas

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/totaldivas

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/TotalDivas/

Hashtag:

#TotalDivas

WWE Social Media

Check out https://twitter.com/WWE

http://www.wwe.com/

TwitterWWENetwork