April Jeanette Mendez, known professionally as AJ Lee, is an American author, mental health advocate, and professional wrestler of Puerto Rican descent.
Born on March 19, 1987, in Union City, New Jersey, Mendez grew up in a turbulent household plagued by poverty, frequent evictions, and periods of homelessness.
As the youngest of three children to parents Janet Acevedo, a homemaker and home health aide, and Robert Mendez, an automotive engineer, she found solace in comic books, video games, and her brother’s obsession with professional wrestling.
Diagnosed with bipolar II disorder at 20, a condition she shares with her mother, Mendez channeled her challenges into fuel for her ambitions, dropping out of college amid financial woes to fund her training.
She married fellow wrestler CM Punk (Phil Brooks) in 2014, and the couple, who renewed their vows in 2023, resides in Chicago with their rescue dog.
Beyond wrestling, Mendez co-founded Scrappy Heart Productions to champion underrepresented stories, serves on boards for mental health organizations, and advocates for animal welfare through the ASPCA.
Siblings
AJ has two older siblings, Erica and Robert Mendez, serving as both anchors and catalysts in her life.
Erica, born in 1984, provided a sisterly bond that offered emotional refuge amid the chaos of evictions and parental battles with addiction and mental illness, a theme Mendez explores candidly in her memoir.
Though Erica and Robert maintain lower profiles, avoiding the spotlight of Mendez’s WWE stardom, their influence echoes in her advocacy work.
Career
Mendez’s odyssey into professional wrestling began in 2007 on New Jersey’s independent circuit, debuting as Miss April under the tutelage of Jay Lethal, whom she briefly dated, honing her skills through grueling matches that tested her 5-foot-2 frame against larger opponents.
Paying $1,500 out of pocket for a WWE tryout in 2009, she earned a developmental contract and reported to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), rebranding as AJ Lee and capturing the inaugural FCW Divas Championship in December 2010, a feat that made her the territory’s first dual-title holder after also winning the Queen of FCW crown.
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Her main roster call-up came in September 2011 on SmackDown, where her “crazy chick” persona—mirroring her real-life bipolar experiences—quickly propelled her into high-profile storylines, including romantic entanglements with stars like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan that blurred kayfabe and reality.
A pivotal 2012 arc saw her appointed Raw General Manager amid scandalous on-screen drama, only to vacate the role in emotional resignation, cementing her as a narrative powerhouse.
She claimed her first WWE Divas Championship in 2013, embarking on a record 406-day cumulative reign across three victories, including a landmark 295-day stretch defended at WrestleMania XXX against foes like Kaitlyn and Aksana.
Feuds with the Bella Twins and Paige defined her peak, blending athleticism with psychological depth, though a nagging neck injury forced her 2015 retirement at 28, after publicly critiquing WWE’s gender inequities.
Post-ring, Mendez pivoted to authorship with her 2017 New York Times bestseller Crazy Is My Superpower, a raw memoir on mental health and triumph, followed by screenwriting credits on Netflix’s Blade of the 47 Ronin.
In a stunning twist, she returned to WWE in September 2025 on SmackDown, confronting Becky Lynch in a mixed-tag alliance with Punk against Lynch and Seth Rollins.
Accolades
In WWE, Mendez etched her name in history as a three-time Divas Champion, tying the record for most reigns and holding the title for a cumulative 406 days, including the longest single run at 295 days—a benchmark shattered only by the Women’s Revolution she helped inspire.
Her 2012 ascension included the Slammy Award for Diva of the Year, repeated in 2014, while Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers crowned her Woman of the Year for three straight years from 2012 to 2014, a feat unmatched in the publication’s history.
Developmental dominance came early with the FCW Divas Championship in 2010 and the Queen of FCW title, underscoring her rapid rise.
Beyond belts, Mendez’s memoir Crazy Is My Superpower debuted as a New York Times bestseller in 2017, earning praise for its unflinching portrayal of mental health struggles and empowering underdogs.
Advocacy accolades abound: the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) bestowed the 2018 Multicultural Outreach Award and 2020 Leaders of Mental Health Award, recognizing her role as an ambassador alongside stints with the Jed Foundation and ASPCA for animal welfare.
She graces the Board of Directors for UCLA’s Friends of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, and her co-founding of Scrappy Heart Productions amplifies Latina voices in media.
Additional nods include inspiring action figures, video game portrayals in WWE titles, and a 2019 biographical nod in Fighting with My Family.
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