Gina Carano facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gina Carano
Carano at GalaxyCon Richmond in 2024
Born	Gina Joy Carano (1982-04-16) April 16, 1982 (age 43) Dallas County, Texas, U.S.
Other names	Conviction Crush
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight	143 lb (65 kg; 10.2 st)
Division	Featherweight
Reach	66+1⁄2 in (169 cm)
Style	Muay Thai, Gaidojutsu
Fighting out of	Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Team	Jackson's MMA
Trainer	Greg Jackson
Years active	2006–2009 (MMA)
Mixed martial arts record
Total	8
Wins	7
By knockout	3
By submission	1
By decision	3
Losses	1
By knockout	1
Notable relatives	Glenn Carano (father)

Gina Joy Carano (born April 16, 1982) is an American actress and a former mixed martial artist. She competed in sports like Elite Xtreme Combat and Strikeforce from 2006 to 2009. During this time, she won 7 fights and lost only 1. Many people called her the "face of women's MMA" because she was so popular, but Gina herself didn't like that title.

Gina Carano and Cris Cyborg were the first women to be the main event in a big MMA fight in 2009. This happened during their match at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg. After losing her first professional MMA fight to Cyborg, Carano decided to stop competing.

After leaving the fighting world, Carano started acting. Her first big movie role was the main character in the action film Haywire (2011). She also appeared in Fast & Furious 6 (2013) and Deadpool (2016). From 2019 to 2020, she played Cara Dune in the first two seasons of the Disney+ Star Wars series The Mandalorian. She was no longer part of the series in 2021 after some controversial statements she made online.

Early Life and Education

Gina Carano was born in Dallas County, Texas, and grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her mother was Dana Joy Cason, and her father, Glenn Carano, was a casino executive and a former professional football player. Gina is the middle child of three sisters. Her parents divorced when she was seven, and she was raised by her mother. She has mentioned that her family celebrates an "Italian festival" every year, even though she has only a small amount of Italian heritage.

Carano went to Trinity Christian High School in Las Vegas. There, she helped lead the girls' basketball team to win a state championship. She also played volleyball and softball. After high school, she studied psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno for one year and then at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for three years.

Mixed Martial Arts Journey

Gina Carano began her sports career in Muay Thai, which is a type of martial art. Her boyfriend at the time, Kevin Ross, who was a professional Muay Thai fighter, encouraged her to get involved. After having a great record of 12 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw in Muay Thai, Gina was asked to join the first-ever official female MMA fight in Nevada. She fought Leiticia Pestova and won in just 38 seconds.

She was then invited to fight Rosi Sexton in Las Vegas. Carano won this fight by knocking out Sexton in the second round.

Early MMA Success

On December 8, 2006, Carano fought Elaina Maxwell at Strikeforce: Triple Threat. She won the fight by a unanimous decision, meaning all the judges agreed she won. This was the first female fight ever held in Strikeforce.

On February 10, 2007, she fought Julie Kedzie on a Showtime EliteXC show. Carano won again by unanimous decision, and their fight was even called the "Fight of the Night." This was the first time a female MMA fight was shown on Showtime.

Carano continued her winning streak on September 15, 2007, at another Showtime EliteXC event. She defeated Tonya Evinger by using a rear-naked choke, which was her first win by submission. She showed everyone she could handle herself on the ground before making Evinger give up.

On May 31, 2008, Carano defeated former HOOKnSHOOT Champion Kaitlin Young at EliteXC: Primetime. Before this fight, Carano had trouble making the required weight. She weighed in a bit over the limit, but she agreed to give up some of her earnings to Young, and the fight still happened.

Championship Fight

Carano before her 2009 fight against Cris Cyborg

After Strikeforce took over parts of another fighting company, Gina Carano became part of Strikeforce. It was announced that Carano would fight Cris Cyborg on August 15, 2009, at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg. For this fight, Strikeforce created its first Women's Championship.

Carano lost this fight to Cyborg by TKO (Technical Knockout) in the first round. This was her first professional MMA loss.

Gina Carano has not fought professionally since August 2009.

Acting Career

Gina Carano started her acting journey in the 2005 film Ring Girls, which was a documentary about five American women who wanted to fight the best Muay Thai fighters. In 2007, she was a mentor on the Oxygen reality show Fight Girls, helping new fighters. She also appeared as "Crush" on the NBC show American Gladiators.

She was in the video game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 in 2008, playing a Soviet sniper named Natasha. In 2009, she appeared in the film Blood and Bone.

Major Film Roles

In September 2009, Carano got the main role in the spy thriller Haywire (2011), directed by Steven Soderbergh. Critics praised her strong physical presence in the movie. She described one of her fight scenes with co-star Michael Fassbender as very intense, saying they were "brutal to each other."

In 2012, Carano was chosen for the action thriller In the Blood (2014). She also appeared in Fast & Furious 6 (2013) as Riley Hicks, a member of a special agent's team. Many critics liked her performance in this movie, especially her fight scenes.

She played Angel Dust in the popular 2016 film Deadpool.

The Mandalorian and Beyond

In 2018, Gina Carano was cast in The Mandalorian, which is Lucasfilm's first live-action Star Wars TV series. She played the character Cara Dune and appeared in seven episodes across the first two seasons. She initially thought she would be playing a different kind of character and was surprised to find she would be one of the few characters whose face was clearly seen.

In February 2021, Carano shared a social media post that caused controversy. Lucasfilm stated that she was no longer working for the company, saying her posts were "abhorrent and unacceptable." She was also dropped by her talent agency.

A week later, Carano announced she would be working on new film projects with a conservative media company. One film, White Knuckle, was planned but later canceled because Carano did not want to follow certain health guidelines for filming. Instead, she worked on a Western film called Terror on the Prairie, which was released in June 2022. In November 2021, she was cast as a secret service agent in My Son Hunter.

In February 2024, Carano filed a lawsuit against Lucasfilm and Disney, claiming she was wrongly fired and faced discrimination. This lawsuit is supported by Elon Musk. The case is scheduled to begin on September 25, 2025.

Awards and Recognition

Gina Carano has received several honors for her work. She was featured in a story for the ESPN series E:60. She was also a top search on Google and Yahoo! that year.

She was also one of the athletes on the cover of ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue in October 2009.

She was nominated for a Critics Choice Award in 2013 for best actress in an action movie for her role in Haywire.

Awards Received

• 2008 World MMA Awards Female Fighter of the Year
• 2012 AOCA / Awakening Outstanding Contribution Award
• 2012 ActionFest Film Festival, Chick Norris Award for Best Female Action Star

Mixed Martial Arts Record

Filmography

Film Roles

Television Appearances

Video Game Roles

See also

In Spanish: Gina Carano para niños

• List of Strikeforce alumni
• List of female mixed martial artists
• List of female kickboxers