DATE: October 27, 2000
Valerie Pringle: You know, you can’t run out of superlatives with the WWF. They invented showbiz it seems, and this is one of the biggest stars in wrestling today - Chyna. She’s on the cover of Playboy magazine; you might have seen that. She’s got her own exercise video out now, “Chyna Fitness, More Than Meets the Eye.” The biggest guns and the tightest buns are not what it’s all about, but honey, it seems to be what you’re about.
Chyna: (laughing) Okay, maybe a little bit.
Valerie Pringle: (laughing) I know, they matter…
Now I should say, you’re real name is Joanie Laurer (she pronounced it as “Lorer”)…
Chyna: Joanie Laurer (she pronounced it as “Lauer”), yes…
Chyna: …from Rochester, New York.
Chyna: Yes.
Valerie Pringle: Now I remember I was reading a profile of you, in TALK Magazine. It was describing this journey, because people look at this creation you are…
Chyna: Yes.
Valerie Pringle: …and think, how does one get there? How does one even think this up?
Chyna: You know, it’s been a lifelong process for me. I do have my autobiography coming out in January, and people say, you’re too young to have an autobiography, you know, what are you going to talk about?
Valerie Pringle: How old are you?
Chyna: 29.
Chyna: But the truth is that it took a long time and many many years of dedication to develop my body, and I’ve gone through all ends of the spectrum, from being, you know, ridiculed and having people say horrible things about my physique to now having people say wonderful things and having, you know, a physique that’s, you know, the wine glass amongst the beer mugs.
Valerie Pringle: So you started out, though---your home life was not fabulous at all, the situation with your mom and your parents was in fact ugly, and you left early. Were you a athletic strong kid then, but made fun of, or…
Chyna: Well, I just think, first of all, when you’re 15, 16 years old you’re going through so many changes. I think most adults, the big mistake they make with children now is that they forget, they forget about what it’s like to be a kid.
Valerie Pringle: …..or pubescent or teenager. You wouldn’t go back there for all the tea in China.
Chyna: No, I wouldn’t, and no pun intended. (smiles)
Valerie Pringle: That was brilliant!
Chyna: (laughs) It’s a very difficult period in your life, I think, male, female…
Valerie Pringle: So, you were a big strong kid, you looked a little different because you had some jaw surgery- you had sort of a bigger jaw, you had…
Chyna: I had an underbite, I had…
Valerie Pringle: …red hair, that’ll kill ya. (NB. Pringle is a redhead.)
Chyna: …red hair. (laughs) I had a large physique and I think that because of my childhood, I really took solace in working out, and started developing an identity for myself through working out. And I think that most celebrities today that come from a distraught childhood and that was their excuse for drugs or for alcoholism, and I really believe that still through it all you make your own life choices, and I chose to focus on myself in a different way, and that was my body for me.
Valerie Pringle: When did the idea of being a wrestling star ever come into this, because they’re really weren’t women there and there weren’t women that looked anything like you.
Chyna: Right, and there weren’t a whole lot of women on TV that look Iike I do. I think that there’s been movies and certain television actresses where they try to make them look larger than life and they try and make them look big and strong, but they still really went for the T and A thing, and here I was, larger than life.
Valerie Pringle: How tall are you?
Chyna: 5’10”. But I mean, they’re not looking for too many 180 pound, 5’10” women for the next Creed video, I mean, you know…So, I didn’t have much of a chance in the television world, and while watching wrestling one night I decided that maybe that’s how I could make my mark, and of course I didn’t want to do things the easy way, I decided that I’d have to go in and wrestle with the men. And that’s what I did. I trained with all men and I trained very hard and it was my niche, and I wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Valerie Pringle: Wow. Ya Know, you’ve got to be tough, I bet you’re tough…
Chyna: Yes….
Valerie Pringle: And you did, one of the things, you’re very up front about it, you say, well yes, I’ve had plastic surgery, I’ve had, what, two breast surgeries and some jaw surgery.
Chyna: Right. Yes, I had a very severe underbite, which I got taken care of, which I had to do anyway. I got breasts because that that was the one thing I couldn’t fix on my body, and I am still a woman and I like to be feminine.
Valerie Pringle: (joking) You mean those things don’t work? You mean those things with a spring don’t grow your breasts? (laughs)
Chyna: (smiles) And you know, the thing that I love about myself is there are many women out there that can go out and get breasts and that’s their, you know, M-O, and me, I’ve had years and years and years of dedication to get my body to look like this, and no one can take this away from me. (places her hands on her shoulders)
Valerie Pringle: No. And you had to, you went to Hugh Hefner, right? I would have thought he would have come to you, because you’re this big WWF star, to get you on the cover of Playboy, that’d be something else. But you had to talk him into it?
Chyna: Well, I didn’t really have to talk him into it. I think that I sort of had to put the idea into his head, and specifically one of the reasons why I did Playboy is because, you know, I go out there every night, I am this big strong woman, I mean, I beat people up and it’s very easy to get stereotyped a certain way because of the way you look and I wasn’t allowed…
Valerie Pringle: Well, you are scary, honey. I wouldn’t want to go in the ring with you.
Chyna: (laughs) …I wasn’t allowed to show, you know, a feminine side as well, and you know, the real Joanie Laurer behind all of the muscle and intimidation.
Valerie Pringle: Well, that tattoo across your little pubic line is quite something. Did that hurt?
Chyna: (smiles) Yes.
Valerie Pringle: (laughs) I bet it all hurt. Like you’re willing to put up with this kind of hurting thing.
Chyna: I like the abuse, what can I say? (smiles)
Valerie Pringle: Really!
Valerie Pringle: Now, you know, I thought it was awful, this is sort of a sidebar story---Bret Hart. Bye bye. Concussion. Gone. It’s awful.
Chyna: It happens. I mean, I think…
Valerie Pringle: Well, you are tough, you are tough.
Chyna: You know, I, the reason I do a lot of this stuff is because this is a business where people come and go, there’s very few top stars, it’s a very difficult life, you’re under a lot of pressure, you’re on the road 250 plus days out of the year. It’s difficult to have personal relationships, you know, this is a really…you got to take it while it comes and you have to be willing to give 120%, you know, and…
Valerie Pringle: Yeah, I guess, and what, you belong to Vince McMahon, I guess, if you’re in the WWF, I mean if this was your dream…
Chyna: In many respects.
Valerie Pringle: Yikes.
Chyna: I mean, you have to take an opportunity and do what you can with it as well, and that’s why there are people who are on top of this business for many many years. Bret Hart was on top of this business for many many years. But just that, I mean, you know, he did this for a very long time, I mean, maybe there are some other things in his life that he needs to do now.
Valerie Pringle: So what do you do, do you ever think of that?
Chyna: Well, I’m still doing it, I mean, I…
Valerie Pringle: You’re just in the middle of the eye of the tornado, I guess.
Chyna: Yes, and I’m doing as much as I can right now. Again, I said the next big project for me is autobiography. There’s been a lot of discussion about certain feature films and, um, I’m just living my moment.
Valerie Pringle: If there’s a story to be told, what’s your story, what are you an example of? What’s the moral of the Joanie Laurer story?
Chyna: Well, I think for men, but especially for women, you have to look at me and say that I am not the typical success story. And I have really learned to change my life, and the fact that I have taken a lot of insecurity and pain and I’ve really replaced that with faith in myself and you know, it’s a lesson in self-acceptance. And I think when you put that out to other women and young women, they all are able to relate to me a certain way. Maybe they don’t look like me, but maybe they know that it was a very difficult road for me, because of the way I looked, even though it was a very positive thing, but you know, we’re fighting an image of supermodels and most women who are very unhealthy and on drugs, and which, to me, most of the time is a very negative image and we have to fight that.
Valerie Pringle: Well, it’s some story. I’ll look forward to talking to you again when you come back with your autobiography. We’ll find out more.
But anyway, I mention, if you’re interested, there’s the Chyna fitness video, and of course, Playboy. (holds both up to camera) We might have one of these at our home, I’m not sure. (laughs) Very nice to meet you.
Chyna: Thank you, Valerie.
COMPANY: CTV Network
INTERVIEWER: Valerie Pringle