Stephanie Nicole Garcia-Colace (born November 21, 1983), known by her stage names Nikki Bella and Nikki Garcia, is an American professional wrestler and television personality. She is also known for her appearances in reality TV series and other ventures. Born sixteen minutes before her twin sister, Brianna, to parents Jon Garcia and Kathy Colace, Garcia-Colace was born in San Diego, California, and raised on a farm in Phoenix, Arizona. She is also a native of Scottsdale, Arizona. She is of Italian and Mexican descent. Keen soccer enthusiasts, she along with her twin sister played for the Scottsdale club in elementary school.
Early Career and Debut in WWE
Nicole was signed to a developmental contract with her sister by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in June 2007 and was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), WWE's then-developmental territory, in Tampa, Florida. At a FCW house show on September 15, 2007, Nicole and her twin Brie, called The Bella Twins, made their in-ring debut by defeating Nattie Neidhart and Krissy Vaine with Victoria Crawford as the special guest referee. She quickly started a scripted rivalry with Neidhart and Crawford, competing in a series of matches against them throughout October 2007. As a part of their on-screen personas, she and Brie would switch places behind the referee's back if one of them was hurt. She also occasionally competed in mixed tag team matches, teaming with male wrestlers including Kofi Kingston and Robert Anthony.
Starting in December 2007, she managed Derrick Linkin, however, the storyline was cut short when Linkin was released in January 2008. She and Brie then resumed their feud with Neidhart and Crawford, wrestling them throughout much of 2008. After Neidhart was called up to the WWE roster in April 2008, Milena Roucka took her place in the feud. Nikki also competed in bikini contests, and wrestled against other competitors including Katie Lea Burchill and Daisy.
SmackDown and The Bella Twins
On the August 29, 2008, episode of SmackDown, Brianna debuted as Brie Bella, defeating Victoria. She quickly began a scripted rivalry with Victoria and Victoria's accomplice, Natalya, and had a series of matches against them. In each match, Brie would roll out of the ring and go underneath it, emerging and appearing revived, and then win the match. On the October 31 episode of SmackDown, when Brie went under the ring, Victoria grabbed her legs, but a second pair of legs kicked her off, implying that a second person was under the ring. The following week on SmackDown, Brie defeated Victoria and then ran under the ring to escape Natalya and Victoria, but Victoria and Natalya both reached for Brie under the ring, resulting in both Nicole and Brie being pulled out.
On April 15, 2009, The Bella Twins were both drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2009 supplemental draft. On April 27, Brie made her Raw in-ring debut in an eight-Diva tag team match, which her team won. On October 12, the Bellas were traded back to Raw as part of a tri-branded Divas trade, where they predominately appeared in backstage segments with the weekly guest stars and only occasionally competed in matches.
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On the January 4, 2010, episode of Raw, Brie participated in a tournament for the vacant WWE Divas Championship, but lost to Maryse in the first round, when a switch resulted in Nikki being pinned. In June 2010, they developed a feud with Jillian Hall, when Brie defeated her after switching places with Nikki. The following week, Nikki defeated Hall after switching with Brie. The feud was exacerbated when the Bellas acted as the special guest referees during one of Hall's matches.
In 2010, the Bella Twins took part of the all-female third season of NXT, mentoring Jamie. Jamie was the first rookie Diva eliminated on the October 5 episode of NXT. In November, the twins began a storyline with Daniel Bryan, when Brie accompanied him to the ring for his match. The Bellas began feuding with Eve Torres after they appeared as lumberjills during a Divas Championship match between Torres and Natalya on the February 14 episode of Raw.
Return to WWE and Total Divas
On the March 11, 2013, episode of Raw, The Bella Twins returned to WWE in a backstage segment with Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow). On the March 15 episode of SmackDown, they attacked The Funkadactyls (Cameron and Naomi), and the following week interfered in matches between Team Rhodes Scholars and Brodus Clay and Tensai, but were attacked by The Funkadactyls. The twins made their in-ring return facing and defeating The Funkadactyls on the March 27 episode of Main Event after interference from Cody Rhodes, and also defeated them on Raw five days later. The Bella Twins were scheduled to participate in an eight-person tag team match with Team Rhodes Scholars against Tons of Funk (Clay and Tensai) and The Funkadactyls at WrestleMania 29 on April 7, but the match was canceled due to time restraints, and instead took place the following night on Raw, where The Bella Twins and Team Rhodes Scholars were defeated. The twins continued their feud with The Funkadactyls, defeating them in standard tag team, and six-Diva tag team matches. In June, Nikki suffered a fractured tibia.
Upon the debut of the Total Divas reality television program in July, The Bellas returned and started a feud with their co-star on the show, Natalya.
Divas Champion and the "Revolution"
In June, The Bella Twins became villains once again by employing Twin Magic, which helped Nikki retain the title against Paige on the June 1 episode of Raw and at Money in the Bank on June 14. During the feud with Paige, Alicia Fox allied with them to form Team Bella. At The Beast in the East on July 4, Nikki retained the title against Paige and Tamina. After weeks of Team Bella outnumbering Paige, Naomi, and Tamina, Stephanie McMahon called for a "revolution" in the WWE Divas division and introduced the debuting Charlotte and Becky Lynch as Paige's allies, while NXT Women's Champion Sasha Banks debuted as an ally to Naomi and Tamina, which led to a brawl between the three teams. Nikki then lost to Charlotte in a tag team match on the August 3 episode of Raw, and to Banks on the August 17 episode of Raw in a non-title match. The three teams faced off at SummerSlam on August 23 in a three team elimination match, in which Team Bella first eliminated Team B.A.D.
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Feud with The Miz and John Cena
Maryse's attack sparked a feud between the two, which actually involved Bella's real real-life boyfriend John Cena and Maryse's real-life husband, The Miz. This led to a mixed tag team match between the two couples at WrestleMania 33 on April 2, which Cena and Bella won.
Royal Rumble and Departure from WWE
After being medically cleared, on the January 7, 2022, episode of SmackDown, Nikki participated in the women's Royal Rumble match at Royal Rumble on January 29; she entered at #24, eliminating Alicia Fox and Sarah Logan before being eliminated by her sister Brie, who was also in the match. On March 14, 2023, on their podcast The Nikki & Brie Show, Nikki and Brie announced that they and WWE had mutually agreed to not renew their contracts, as the twins wanted to start a new chapter in their lives. On February 1, 2025 at Royal Rumble, Nikki Bella made a surprise return to WWE as the final entrant in the 2025 Women's Royal Rumble match. On the July 7 episode of Raw, Bella announced that she would enter the Evolution Battle Royal for a women's world championship match at Clash in Paris. At the event on July 13, Bella finished in fourth place, being eliminated by Jax. The next night on Raw, Bella defeated Chelsea Green in her first singles match since 2018. On the August 1 episode of her and her sister's podcast show Nikki and Brie, Bella revealed that she suffered an injury on the July 28 episode of Raw while battling Piper Niven during an eight-woman tag team match, with her breast implants being dislocated and then afterwards pushed down into her ribs after she received an elbow drop. Over the next few weeks, she started feuding with Women's Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch. On the November 10 episode of Raw, Bella attacked Women's World Champion Stephanie Vaquer after her successful title defense against Raquel Rodriguez, turning heel for the first time since 2018.
Here's a summary of Nikki Bella's achievements:
| Achievement | Details |
|---|---|
| WWE Divas Champion | Two-time champion, with the second reign lasting 301 days |
| WWE Hall of Fame | Inducted in 2021 as The Bella Twins |
Other Media and Ventures
The twins guest starred on the television series Psych, in the 2014 episode "A Nightmare on State Street". Nikki and Brie were a part of the main cast for the reality television show Total Divas, which began airing in July 2013, and starred in their own spinoff entitled Total Bellas. The show premiered on E! On November 21, 2016, Nikki and Brie unveiled their new YouTube channel, "The Bella Twins". The Bella Twins appeared in YouTuber Lilly Singh's video "When Someone Tries to Steal Your BFF" on March 2, 2017. On August 21, 2017, Nikki and Brie launched their own wine label called Belle Radici in collaboration with Hill Family Estates and Gauge Branding. Nikki Bella was one of the celebrities competing on the 25th season of Dancing with the Stars. On November 1, 2017, Nikki and Brie launched Birdiebee, a lifestyle intimates and activewear brand. In 2021, Nikki and Brie launched another wine label called Bonita Bonita Wine. They also launched their own baby gear collection in partnership with Colugo. Nikki appeared on America's Got Talent: Extreme serving as a judge alongside Simon Cowell and Travis Pastrana.
Personal Life
Nikki Bella’s Dominant Moments 🔥
Nikki began dating John Cena in 2012. On July 31, 2020, Nikki gave birth to their first child, a son. The couple married on August 26, 2022. On August 29, 2024, Chigvintsev was booked into Napa County Jail on a felony domestic violence charge which involved him inflicting corporal injury on a spouse. However, Nikki would not publicly discuss the incident, with her representative describing it as a "private matter." Almost two weeks after Chigvintsev's arrest, on September 11, 2024, Nikki filed for divorce. In court documents, Nikki cited "irreconcilable differences" with Chigvintsev and sought "legal and physical" custody of their child, but also requested that Chigvintsev be allowed to have child visitation. Both were granted restraining orders against each other. Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley declined to file criminal charges against Chigvintsev, stating there was not enough evidence to prove he inflicted injury to his wife. Nikki sought full custody of the child when she filed for divorce, requesting Chigvintsev have supervised visitation with their son and undergo anger management classes.
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