Gina Joy Carano (born April 16, 1982) is an American model, actress, and mixed martial arts fighter. Carano appeared as the Gladiator "Crush" on American Gladiators. She has been referred to as the "Face of Women's MMA."
Carano was formerly the #3-ranked 145-pound female fighter in the world according to the Unified Women's MMA Rankings.
Carano was born in Dallas County, Texas, the middle daughter of Glenn Carano and Dana (Cason). She has two sisters. Carano has said that she is a "small percentage of Italian" descent. Her father played for the Dallas Cowboys as a backup quarterback from 1977–1983 and for the USFL Pittsburgh Maulers as a starter in 1984, their only year of operations.
She graduated from Trinity Christian High School in Las Vegas, Nevada where she led the girls basketball team to a state title. She played volleyball and softball. She attended the University of Nevada, Reno for a year and then University of Nevada, Las Vegas for three, where she majored in psychology.
Carano started her career in the sport of Muay Thai. After achieving a Muay Thai record of 12-1-1, Carano received an offer to participate in the first-ever sanctioned female MMA bout in Nevada. She was
