AJ Lee

Who they were

Personal life Mendez with her husband CM Punk at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2026. Mendez regards herself as a tomboy [ 1 ] and has an interest in comic books, anime, and video games. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] She has the numerical date of her first WWE Divas Championship win tattooed in tally marks on the back of her neck. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] Mendez began dating fellow WWE wrestler Phillip Brooks, better known as CM Punk , in August 2013, [ 7 ] and they married on June 13,

April Jeanette Mendez is an American professional wrestler and author. As a wrestler, she has been signed to WWE since September 2025, where she performs under the ring name AJ Lee.

Early life

Educated at: Memorial High School, New York University Tisch School of the Arts, and New York University.

Early life April Jeanette Mendez was born on March 19, 1987, [ 1 ] in Union City, New Jersey . [ 2 ] Her mother, Janet Acevedo, was a homemaker and later a home health aide , while her father, Robert Mendez, was an automotive engineer . [ 3 ] She is the youngest of three children, [ 3 ] [ 4 ] and is of Puerto Rican descent. [ 5 ] In describing her childhood, Mendez said her family struggled with poverty, mental illness, and drug addiction. [ 6 ]

Path and career

Professional wrestling career Early career (2007–2009) In March 2007, Mendez enrolled in a wrestling school close to her home, where she was trained by Jay Lethal . [ 1 ] Around late 2007, [ 1 ] she began to perform on the New Jersey independent circuit under the ring name Miss April. [ 2 ] She joined the New Jersey–based promotion Women Superstars Uncensored (WSU) in October 2008. After little success in her first months, Miss April formed a tag team with Brooke Carter ,

Professional wrestling persona AJ performing her finishing maneuver, the "Black Widow", on Paige Mendez's character is prominently associated with her mentally unstable gimmick used during her time in WWE. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] This persona, labeled the "crazy chick", [ 4 ] [ 5 ] caused Mendez to feel that she "was hiding in plain sight" due to her bipolar disorder. [ 4 ] Her diagnosis was not publicly disclosed until the publicity for her memoir, [ 6 ]

Writing and advocacy Mendez wrote Crazy Is My Superpower: How I Triumphed by Breaking Bones, Breaking Hearts, and Breaking the Rules , a memoir published by Crown Archetype on April 4, 2017. [ 1 ] The book covers her upbringing and career in professional wrestling. [ 2 ] It debuted at No. 10 on The New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover non-fiction. [ 3 ] Upon release, she described writing as "very much the next chapter" of her life. [ 2 ]

Why this date

AJ Lee appears on our March 19 calendar for 1987 as a birth entry.