# Joy Giovanni

Joy Giovanni, born January 20, 1978, is a retired Italian-American actress, model and professional wrestler, who is best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where she worked on the Smackdown! brand. She was the first and only winner of the WWE's Rookie Diva of the Year award.

## Modeling career

In 2001 Giovanni would win the L.A Model Expo. She would regularly pose as a swimsuit model. She would also compete in the 2004 and 2005 Lingerie Bowl events apart of the Los Angeles Temptations team.
Giovanni would also pose for Bench Warmer trading cards in 2004 and 2005. She would also be a guest judge for the G4 show Video Game Vixens.
She would feature in 2005 direct to DVD WWE special, Viva Las Divas. She would also feature in the WWE 2005 SummerSlam diva car wash photoshoot.
In 2006 Giovanni would land a role in Avenged Sevenfold's music video, Beast and the Harlot.

## Acting career

Giovanni would make cameo appearances as an extra in television shows; CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Monk, NCIS and Entourage in 2004, that same year she would also appear in the film Instinct vs. Reason. In 2005 she would play an air stewardess in the film When All Else Fails.
In 2007 Giovanni starred in the Rolfe Kanesky film; Pretty Cool Too, as June.

## Professional wrestling career
### World Wrestling Entertainment (2004-2005)

Giovanni would first appear for the WWE participating in the WWE 2004 Diva Search, where she would ultimately place third. Despite being eliminated, WWE would sign her to an official contract just a few days after her elimination, which aired live on the September 13 episode of RAW. During the WWE Diva Search, she would take part in the WWE Diva Dodgeball game at the WWE 2004 SummerSlam PPV apart of the winning team, Team Diva Search. She would also take part in the controversial, infamous Diss The Diva challenge hosted by Stacy Keibler, during an episode of RAW Giovanni alongside remaining diva search contestants; Amy Weber, Carmella DeCesare and Christy Hemme competed in a live shoot promo challenge, the segment has gained notoriety for being one of WWE's most explicit segments in history. Giovanni would call out contestant Carmella DeCesare stating; "Carmella, you talk a lot of shit, but look at you, you've got a gap so wide you could drive a truck right through there baby!". DeCesare would respond by outing Giovanni as a mother, something she had not told WWE higher-ups, as during this time there was a stigma against women having children in the industry. In a 2023 interview Giovanni revealed that she was confronted by Stephanie McMahon backstage about having a child.
Giovanni officially debuted on the Smackdown! brand in November of 2004 as a massage therapist and also acted as a special guest timekeeper. On the November 11 episode of Smackdown, Giovanni and Big Show hosted a Thanksgiving party, only to be confronted by Luther Reigns, who would hit Giovanni in the face with a pie, prompting a food fight in the ring. She was later confronted by Luther Reigns again, who tried to force Giovanni to go on a date with him, causing Big Show to save Giovanni, this promoted Giovanni to become Big Show's valet and became apart of the main storyline of Smackdown!. Giovanni would begin feuding with Amy Weber, they would get in to a catfight on the December 16 episode of Smackdown! after Giovanni gave John "Bradshaw" Layfield a candy cane at ringside. On the January 6 episode of Smackdown! Giovanni refused to sign Carlito's petition, resulting in him spitting an apple in her face. On the same episode of Smackdown! Kurt Angle was tricked in to walking in to Giovanni's locker room by Amy Weber to scare her during a shower which caused her to run backstage in a towel in to Big Show's arms. This prompted Show to chase Angle to the ring in defense of Giovanni and attack him, it would then be revealed as a trick by The Cabinet to get Show and Angle angry with each other. On the January 13 episode of Smackdown! Giovanni and Weber would get in to another catfight, Smackdown! general manager Theodore Long would schedule a singles match between Giovanni and Weber, banning Big Show and John "Bradshaw" Layfield from ringside, Giovanni would not show up to the ring for her match therefore losing by forfeit to Weber. Later on in the episode it was revealed Giovanni was kidnapped and discovered bound and gagged in John "Bradshaw" Layfield's limousine trunk by Kurt Angle to prevent the match from happening. On the January 20 episode of Smackdown! Angle was forced to issue an open apology to Giovanni, but when Big Show came down to the ring, Angle tried to leave only to be ushered back by The Cabinet, this turned out to be another ploy as Angle and The Cabinet all attacked Big Show. On the January 27 episode of Smackdown! Giovanni would throw a strawberry milkshake in Weber's face after overhearing her badmouthing Giovanni to the other Smackdown! divas. Giovanni would also hit Weber over the head with a fish bowl, resulting in her being removed from the Smackdown! arena. After Weber's abrupt departure from WWE in February 2005 due to an incident during an overseas tour, their feud was suddenly dropped. Giovanni stated in a 2023 interview with Ring The Belle, that she and Weber were working towards a singles match at the 2005 No Way Out PPV.
Giovanni would go on to win the first and only WWE Rookie Diva of the Year contest hosted by Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson at the 2005 No Way Out PPV, defeating rookie divas; Lauren Jones, Michelle McCool and Rochelle Loewen. The contest included 3 competitions; an evening gown competition, a talent contest in which she massaged host Torrie Wilson, and a swimsuit contest. Giovanni would win with over 65% of the votes. After winning the contest Giovanni and the fellow Smackdown! divas would become involved in brief feuds with the villainous Smackdown! divas; Dawn Marie and Melina. At WrestleMania 21 Giovanni would appear in multiple promo videos; including a Taxi Driver parody, she would also accompany the WWE 2005 Hall of Fame inductees to the WrestleMania stage. She began training to wrestle with Fit Finlay and The Undertaker and began appearing sporadically on Smackdown! in backstage segments with other wrestlers or in bikini and lingerie contests, including one on the April 7 episode of Smackdown! where she would be the runner-up in a Viva Las Vegas Divas bikini contest to Torrie Wilson. Giovanni would then become a ring girl, appearing more regularly where she would shoot t-shirts to fans in the crowd or venture in to the crowd to meet fans with Torrie Wilson. She would appear in the direct to DVD WWE Viva Las Divas special and be featured in the WWE 2005 SummerSlam diva car wash photoshoot. She would make her video game debut as a playable wrestler in WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW 2006, apart of the Smackdown! roster and women's roster.
Giovanni would be released from her contract due to budget cuts on July 6 2005, despite just signing a 3 year contract with the company.
After her WWE stint Giovanni would make multiple appearances at wrestling conventions. Giovanni and Weber would release a DVD with Big Vision Entertainment in 2009 labelled Amy vs. Joy. The DVD focused on their WWE feud and featured bonus interviews and clips, including clips of Giovanni training for an in-ring debut with former WWE superstar and MMA fighter; Daniel Puder.

### Sporadic WWE appearances (2009, 2018)

Giovanni returned at WWE's WrestleMania 25 PPV event making her official in-ring debut for the company in a 25-Diva battle royal to determine the first WWE Miss WrestleMania and to celebrate 25 years of women at WrestleMania. Giovanni would be one of the legend divas to return for one night only alongside former WWE divas; Miss Jackie, Molly Holly, Sunny, Torrie Wilson and Victoria. Giovanni would be eliminated second by The Bella Twins. She would also appear in attendance at the WWE 2009 Hall of Fame ceremony.
In 2018 Giovanni was referenced on the Smackdown! 1000 episode special in a rap celebrating 80 of the most memorable Smackdown! stars by American rapper Bodie.

## Personal life

Giovanni is of Italian descent. In 2010 she began working an internship for a chiropractor in Los Angeles, California, she also became recertified in massage therapy for a new business venture. She opened a massage therapy business in San Diego, California in 2014.
Giovanni has a son who was born October 20, 1998 and a daughter who was born November 19, 2000. Giovanni and her long time husband Joseph Giovanni filed for divorce in 2021.
As of 2025 Giovanni works as a psychic medium and tarot reader. She is active on all her social media accounts and is currently living in California. She also hosts a podcast titled Spirit Speakeasy.

## Filmography
### Podcasts

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2021 | Amy Weber Unleashed | Self; guest | 1 episode |
| 2023 | The A2theK Wrestling Show | Self; guest | 1 episode |
| 2023 | Ring The Belle | Self; guest | 1 episode |
| 2023 | Cafe de Rene with Rene Dupree | Self; guest | 1 episode |
| 2023 | The Geena The Latina Show | Self; guest | 1 episode |
| 2023- | Spirit Speakeasy | Self; host | All episodes |

### Film and television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Extra | 1 episode |
| 2004 | Monk | Extra | 1 episode |
| 2004 | NCIS | Extra | 1 episode |
| 2004 | Instinct vs. Reason | Extra | |
| 2004 | WWE RAW Diva Search Casting Special | Self; contestant | TV special |
| 2004 | WWE 2004 RAW Diva Search | Self; contestant | 3rd place, 9 episodes |
| 2004 | Entourage | Extra | 1 episode |
| 2005 | When All Else Fails | Air Stewardess | |
| 2005 | Viva Las Divas | Self | Direct to DVD |
| 2005 | Video Game Vixens | Self; judge | 4 episodes |
| 2007 | Pretty Cool Too | June | |
| 2009 | Amy vs. Joy | Self | Direct to DVD |
| 2009 | WWE: The Best of Smackdown! - 10th Anniversary 1999-2009 | Self | Documentary |
| 2011 | E:60 | Self; guest | 1 episode |
| 2012 | Undertaker: The Streak 20-0 | Self | Documentary, archive footage |
| 2018 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Extra | 1 episode |

### Music videos

| Year | Title | Artist | Role |
| 2006 | Beast and the Harlot | Avenged Sevenfold | Stripper |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | WWE Smackdown! vs. RAW 2006 | Joy Giovanni | Video game debut |

## Awards and accomplishments

World Wrestling Entertainment
* WWE Rookie Diva of the Year Award (2005)