Sharmell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sharmell |
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Sharmell in 2009
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| Birth name | Sharmell Sullivan |
| Born | November 2, 1970 Gary, Indiana, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Spelman College |
| Spouse(s) |
Booker T
(m. 2005) |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Paisley Queen Sharmell Sharmell Sister Sharmell Storm |
| Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Billed weight | 125 lb (57 kg; 8.9 st) |
| Billed from | Houston, Texas |
| Trained by | WCW Power Plant Ohio Valley Wrestling Fit Finlay Molly Holly |
| Debut | January 1999 |
| Retired | 2023 |
Sharmell Sullivan-Huffman, born on November 2, 1970, is an American former professional wrestler, beauty queen, and dancer. She also worked as a professional wrestling manager, helping wrestlers. Many people know her as Queen Sharmell from her time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). She often appeared with her husband, Booker T. Sharmell first became famous in wrestling as part of the Nitro Girls dance group in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Her stage name then was Storm.
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Early Life and School
Sharmell Sullivan was a top student at Roosevelt High School in Gary, Indiana, in 1988. She was the valedictorian, meaning she had the highest grades. Later, she went to Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. She graduated in 1997 with a degree in mathematics.
Becoming Miss Black America
Sharmell won the title of Miss Black America in 1991. After this, she started a career as a professional dancer. She toured with many hip hop and R&B music groups. She even spent three and a half years dancing with the famous singer James Brown.
Professional Wrestling Career
Time in WCW (1999–2001)
Sharmell Sullivan joined the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) dance group called the Nitro Girls in December 1998. Her stage name was Storm. The Nitro Girls started to become more involved in WCW storylines. Sharmell then became a manager, also known as a valet, for a wrestler named The Artist. She changed her name to Paisley.
As Paisley, she had her first wrestling match on April 26, 2000. She wrestled against Tammy Lynn Sytch on the show WCW Thunder and won with a move called a DDT. After The Artist left WCW, Sharmell became the manager for Kwee Wee. She also teamed up with another former Nitro Girl, Tygress. They often worked together against Major Gunns, who was a manager for the Misfits In Action.
While in WCW, Sharmell was also part of a pop music group called Diversity 5. Other Nitro Girls like Fyre, Spice, Chae, and Tygress were also in the group. When Sharmell signed with the WWF in 2001, another Nitro Girl, Chiquita Anderson, took her place in the group.
Time in WWE (2001–2007, 2013, 2022-2023)
In 2001, before WCW was bought by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), Sharmell left WCW. She signed a contract with WWF to become a full-time wrestler and interviewer. However, she got injured during her training. This injury made her stop wrestling in the ring.
In November 2001, Sharmell started working as a backstage interviewer on the show SmackDown!. She did this until early 2002, when the company changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). After that, she left wrestling to open a clothing store in Houston, Texas.
Sharmell was hired again by WWE in the spring of 2005. She returned as a manager for her husband, Booker T. At first, she was a "face," meaning she was liked by the fans. They started a rivalry with Kurt Angle. In October, Sharmell began to "turn heel," meaning she started acting like a bad guy. She interfered in Booker's matches, seemingly without him knowing.
Her heel turn became clear when she helped Booker win the United States Championship from Chris Benoit. This happened on the October 21 episode of SmackDown!. The next week, Booker also turned heel, revealing he knew about her help all along.
Sharmell and Booker T then had a rivalry with The Boogeyman. At WrestleMania 22, during a match, The Boogeyman kissed Sharmell while his mouth was full of worms. He then won the match.
After Booker T won the 2006 King of the Ring tournament, he started calling himself "King Booker." Sharmell became "Queen Sharmell." As part of their new characters, they began speaking with fake British accents and acting very proud. On April 6, 2007, on SmackDown!, Sharmell turned on King Booker. She said he didn't care about her honor because he failed to beat Matt Hardy. Later that night, Booker attacked The Undertaker to try and impress Sharmell. This led to Booker getting hurt and taking time off.
On June 11, Sharmell and King Booker were moved from SmackDown! to Raw as part of the WWE Draft. In October 2007, Sharmell and Booker asked to leave WWE because they had disagreements about their characters. WWE agreed to let them go. Sharmell later appeared at the 2013 WWE Hall Of Fame to see her husband get honored. In 2021, WWE Network recognized Queen Sharmell as one of the women who made a big impact in WWE outside the ring. The next year, it was announced that she would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Sharmell appeared on the May 1 episode of Raw in 2023 with her husband to announce the draft picks for the 2023 WWE Draft.
Time in TNA (2007–2009)
Sharmell debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) at the Genesis event on November 11, 2007. She attacked Karen Angle during a championship match.
At Final Resolution on January 6, 2008, Sharmell and Booker T had a mixed tag team match against Robert Roode and Ms. Brooks. Sharmell won the match. After the match, Roode argued with Ms. Brooks. Sharmell tried to stop Roode but was hit in the face, which was part of the storyline to make it look like her jaw was broken. She returned at Destination X. After Booker T's match with Roode, she used a whip on Payton Banks and Roode. On April 13 at Lockdown, she and Booker T defeated Robert Roode and Payton Banks.
Sharmell was not seen much after Booker turned heel. But she returned at Victory Road during the main event between Samoa Joe and her husband. She showed she was a heel by making the three-count, which allowed her husband to "win" the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. When Booker joined a wrestling group called The Main Event Mafia in October 2008, Sharmell joined too.
On the November 20 episode of Impact!, Sharmell was challenged to a match against ODB at Final Resolution. She accepted. At Final Resolution, Sharmell and The Beautiful People lost to the team of ODB, Taylor Wilde, and Roxxi. Sharmell often argued with another manager in the Mafia, Jenna Morasca. This led to a fight backstage on the May 28 episode of Impact!. Sharmell then challenged Morasca to a match at Victory Road. Sharmell lost the match after Awesome Kong knocked her out, and Morasca pinned her. She then took part in the TNA Knockout Tag Title tournament. She teamed with Traci Brooks to represent The Main Event Mafia. However, they lost in the first round to Awesome Kong and Raisha Saeed. At Bound for Glory, Booker and Sharmell made their last appearance for TNA before leaving the company.
Other Appearances
In November 2007, Sharmell appeared on five episodes of the TV show Family Feud. She was on the show with other wrestlers like Batista, Candice Michelle, Booker T, Mr. Kennedy, Layla El, Michelle McCool, Maria, Ric Flair, and Jonathan Coachman.
Personal Life
Sharmell has a stepson named Brandon from a previous relationship Booker T had. She and Booker T started dating when they both worked for WCW. They got married in February 2005. Sharmell gave birth to twins, a boy named Kendrick and a girl named Kennedy, on August 5, 2010.
Awards and Achievements
Beauty Pageant
- Miss Black America
- Miss Black America (1991)
Professional Wrestling
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Worst Worked Match of the Year (2009) vs. Jenna Morasca at Victory Road
- WWE
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2022)
See also
In Spanish: Sharmell Sullivan para niños
