Perry is also an actress, dancer and singer. From an early age, she aspired to be a ballet dancer and has received formal training. She danced with Latvian National Ballet at the age of 14. She has majored in dance and acting from Florida State University.
She has worked as a backup dancer for performers such as Keri Hilson, Nelly, Pink and Usher.
Perry was part of a girl group called No Means Yes which was signed to Ne-Yo’s record label.The group released one single and recorded two others before disbanding in 2010.
She has acted in The Game (2011), Pitch Perfect (2012), and the 2015 sequel Pitch Perfect 2. She has also appeared in an episode of Banshee in 2013.
Perry had absolutely no wrestling background prior to signing with the WWE. She signed with the company on June 2013 and was sent to their developmental branch NXT.
She made her debut in NXT on October 23, 2013 as “Lana” who was on the episode scouting Alexander Rusev. She next appeared on the November 6 episode, where she became Rusev’s social ambassador. She used a Russian accent to introduce her gimmick and developed a character who majored in Foreign Affairs and Business and Social Media Marketing in college.
Rusev and Lana started appearing together on WWE SmackDown as Lana began dedicating Rusev’s matches to her “hero”, President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, as well as developing an Anti-American, russophilic gimmick.
She drew some controversy ahead of Rusev’s match at Battleground, where she blamed the United States for the current world events and praised Putin. Some media outlets hinted that she was referring to the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which happened three days before Battleground. However, the WWE cleared the suspicions and issued an apology for anyone who had misunderstood the segment and was offended.
Rusev won the United States Championship from Sheamus on November 3, but lost it to Cena in WrestleMania 31, after he accidentally crashed into Lana, knocking her off the ring apron.
At Payback, Cena defeated Rusev in a “I Quit” match after Lana quit on Rusev’s behalf which soured relations between the two. Lana instead turned to Dolph Ziggler to end her association with Rusev. The storyline also included Summer Rae but fizzled out without making a noise.
On October 11, Lana confirmed that she had gotten engaged to Rusev. Their wedding celebration was interrupted by Roman Reigns, whom Rusev fought in a match with Reigns for Lana’s honor, a week later but lost.
She developed a fuel with SmackDown Women’s Champion Naomi but failed to defeat her. She participated in the first ever women’s Royal Rumble as the 13th entrant and was eliminated by Michelle McCool.
| Total Matches | Wins | Losses | Draws |
| 196 | 66 | 130 | 0 |
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Lana
34 years (24 March 1985)
Gainesville, Florida, United States
