Layla El Layla El Barrami ( June 25 , 1977 ) is an English dancer , model and retired professional wrestler of Moroccan descent . She is best known for her time at WWE as a WWE Diva and appearing on the SmackDown brand as Layla . She was the final WWE Women ' s Champion and is also a former one - time WWE Divas Champion . After attending a performing arts college , El was a dancer for Carnival Cruise Lines , the Miami Heat franchise of the National Basketball Association , and also danced for Kanye West at the MTV Video Music Awards . In 2006 , she was a contestant in the 2006 WWE Diva Search , which she won to earn a contract with the company . Initially appearing on the SmackDown brand , she was moved to the ECW brand in January 2007 , where she formed the Extreme Exposé dance troupe with Kelly Kelly and Brooke Adams . In 2008 , she was drafted to the Raw brand , where she began managing William Regal . The following year she returned to the SmackDown brand , where she formed an alliance with Michelle McCool known as Team Lay - Cool . In May 2010 , Layla won the WWE Women ' s Championship for the first time , making her the first British woman to hold the championship . She is also the first Diva Search winner to have won the championship , and the final recognized WWE Women ' s Champion when the title retired in 2010 . In April 2012 , Layla won the WWE Divas Championship and held the title until September 2012 . Dancing career . El was a dancer for Carnival Cruise Lines . Following that , she began dancing for the National Basketball Association ' s Miami Heat franchise , where she danced for two years . As part of the Miami Heat dance troupe , she received a championship ring . During this time , she appeared on - stage with John Legend as one of his backup dancers . She also danced for P . Diddy and Kanye West at the MTV Video Music Awards . World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE . Diva Search and early appearances ( 2006 – 2007 ) . El ' s first foray into professional wrestling occurred when her trainer suggested she try out for the $ 250 , 000 WWE Diva Search contest in 2006 . After a casting call , she was selected as one of the finalists . During the contest , she won a week ' s worth of " immunity " on the 14 July episode of " SmackDown ! " after winning Sgt . Slaughter ' s " Diva Boot Camp " obstacle course — despite having jumped over several tires in the tire hop section of the course and not having both of her feet cross the finish line due to her doing a split . She won another competition , the " Diva Search Talent Show " on the 11 August episode of " SmackDown ! " , when she danced dressed as a police officer . She won the Diva Search on 16 August . She made her first " official " WWE appearance at the 2006 SummerSlam pay - per - view in a backstage segment with several other divas . During the segment , the other women initially taunted and teased her before revealing that " it was all in fun " and part of an " initiation " of sorts . Afterward they dragged her into the showers , fully clothed , where they proceeded to spank her while laughing . The week after SummerSlam , El made her debut as a member of the SmackDown ! brand in an interview with Mike " The Miz " Mizanin — although he did not allow her the chance to say much , spending most of the time talking about himself . Subsequently , she did not appear on WWE television for almost a month , reappearing on the 22 September episode of " SmackDown ! " and getting into a confrontation with both Kristal and Jillian Hall . At October ' s No Mercy pay - per - view event , she embarrassed The Miz by tricking him into getting a lap dance from Big Dick Johnson while he was blindfolded and expecting it to be from her as a birthday gift . On 20 October , Layla participated in a dance contest with the other SmackDown ! Divas , and was chosen as the winner by the judges , Nick and Aaron Carter . Despite this , The Miz , who was acting as emcee , declared Kristal the winner . The following week , Layla made her official in - ring debut in a " Diva Trick - or - Treat Battle Royal " . The match ended in controversial fashion when she was pulled from the ring by The Miz , allowing Kristal to win . On the next episode of " SmackDown " , Layla teamed with Big Vito in a loss to The Miz and Kristal in a mixed tag team match . Continuing to feud with Kristal , Layla had her singles match debut on the December 1 episode of " SmackDown ! " , when she lost to Kristal . In her final match for the SmackDown ! brand , Layla teamed with Ashley Massaro to defeat Kristal and Jillian Hall in a tag team match on December 22 . Extreme Exposé ; managing William Regal ( 2007 – 2009 ) . On 23 January 2007 , Layla was moved to the ECW brand where she joined Brooke and Kelly Kelly to form Extreme Exposé . The trio performed a weekly dance segment on " ECW " , which Layla choreographed , for the next several months . In June 2007 , The Miz was moved to the brand , prompting a storyline in which all three members of Extreme Exposé were attracted to him . When Kelly shifted her attentions towards Balls Mahoney , Layla , Brooke , and Miz openly mocked her . On 1 November , Brooke was released from her WWE contract , and Extreme Exposé dissolved as a group . In the process , Layla turned heel and entered an ongoing rivalry with Kelly that included more active in - ring roles . They were on opposite sides of a 10 - Diva tag team match at Survivor Series , which Layla ' s team lost . In December , Layla formed an alliance with Victoria , which expanded to include Lena Yada in January 2008 , and the trio continued to feud with Kelly . At WrestleMania XXIV , Layla was a ' lumberjill ' for the Divas ' tag team lumberjill match . The following month , Layla was part of the winning team in a six - on - six Divas match at the Backlash pay - per - view . As part of the 2008 Supplemental Draft in late June , Layla was drafted to the Raw brand . On the 7 July episode of " Raw " , Layla made her debut in a tag team match with Jillian Hall , losing to Mickie James and Kelly Kelly , who had been revealed as the newest member of the Raw brand earlier that night . She soon entered a storyline with Jamie Noble in which Noble attempted to impress her with his matches , only to be squashed — easily defeated — by his opponents . On 1 September , Noble was able to defeat William Regal , which impressed Layla . The following week , however , Layla chose to align herself with Regal , after he defeated Noble in a rematch . On the following episode of " Raw " , Layla reinforced her decision , telling Noble that she had finally found a worthy man in Regal . Over the next few months , Layla competed only sporadically in matches , spending most of her time managing Regal , and was present at ringside when Regal defeated Santino Marella on 10 November to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship . On 5 April Layla competed in a Divas battle royal at WrestleMania XXV , but the match was won by Santina Marella . Lay - Cool ( 2009 – 2011 ) . On 15 April 2009 , Layla was drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft . She started a scripted rivalry with Eve Torres , and lost both a dance contest and an arm wrestling match to Torres , before losing a match to her on the 29 May episode of " SmackDown " . After Torres defeated Layla again on the 18 June episode of " WWE Superstars " , the two shook hands . She then formed an alliance with Michelle McCool , later called Team Lay - Cool . Team Lay - Cool began a scripted rivalry with Mickie James in October , making fun of her weight and vowing to make her leave SmackDown just after her debut for the brand . At the Survivor Series pay - per - view , McCool ' s team lost to James ' team . At Layla interfered in the WWE Women ' s Championship match between McCool and James , helping McCool to retain the championship . In January 2010 , at the Royal Rumble , Layla came out in a fatsuit mocking James prior to the championship match between McCool and James ; however , the mockery backfired , as James attacked Layla and used that as a distraction to quickly defeat McCool to win the championship . On the 12 February episode of " SmackDown " , Layla and McCool defeated James in a handicap match made by Official SmackDown Consultant Vickie Guerrero , who had been accidentally humiliated by James backstage . Guerrero then joined the Lay - Cool alliance , accompanying them to the ring and interfering in their matches . At the Elimination Chamber pay - per - view , Layla and McCool defeated Raw ' s Gail Kim and Maryse in an inter - brand Divas tag team match . At WrestleMania XXVI she was on the winning team in a 10 - Diva tag team match . On the 14 May episode of " SmackDown " , Team Lay - Cool faced the WWE Women ' s Champion , Beth Phoenix , in a two - on - one handicap match . Layla pinned Phoenix to win the Women ' s Championship for the first time , becoming the first British woman to hold the championship . She is also the first Diva Search winner to have won the championship . Following her win , Team Lay - Cool began calling themselves the co - Women ' s Champions . On 1 June , it was announced that Lay - Cool would be mentoring Kaval during the second season of " WWE NXT " . On 18 July , Layla had her first title defense when she defeated Kelly Kelly at the Money in the Bank pay - per - view . On 30 July , SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long informed Lay - Cool that there was only one Women ' s Champion , and they had a week to decide who it would be . The following week , Lay - Cool revealed that they had cut the championship belt into two , turning it into a friendship charm and circumventing Long ' s orders . In September , Layla and McCool challenged WWE Divas Champion Melina to a championship unification match at Night of Champions . McCool participated in the match and won with Layla ' s help to unify both championships into the WWE Unified Divas Championship . Layla unofficially became the co - champion , and defended the championship against Melina the following night on " Raw " . After both members of Lay - Cool had successfully defended the championship against Natalya , they faced her in a two - on - one handicap match at Survivor Series , which Natalya won to become the new Divas Champion . Following Survivor Series , Natalya and Phoenix formed an alliance to continue the feud with Lay - Cool , and at the pay - per - view in December , Lay - Cool lost to them in the first Diva ' s Tag Team Tables match in WWE history . Lay - Cool invoked their rematch clause in January 2011 , prompting the scheduling of a two - on - one handicap match for the Royal Rumble . At the Royal Rumble however , the anonymous Raw General Manager changed the match to a fatal four - way , also involving Eve . Eve went on to pin Layla and become the new Divas Champion . Lay - Cool began to fall out following the loss of the Divas Championship , and began to appear in a series of vignettes in which they were attending couples therapy . On the 22 April episode of " SmackDown " , McCool attacked Layla during one of their storyline therapy sessions . During the 2011 WWE Draft on 25 April , Layla lost a match to Eve and was attacked afterward by McCool , but was able to fight her off . On the 29 April episode of " SmackDown " the pair faced each other in a match , which ended in a double countout . As a result , the pair faced each off in a no countout , no disqualification , loser leaves WWE match at the Extreme Rules pay - per - view on 1 May , which Layla won . Layla announced that she had suffered a knee injury at Extreme Rules on " SmackDown " on 13 May , and was interrupted and attacked by Kharma to write her off television . Later that month , it was confirmed that Layla had legitimately torn both her Anterior cruciate and Medial collateral ligaments and required surgery . Divas Champion ; Alliance With Kaitlyn ( 2012 - 2013 ) . Layla made her in - ring return at a Florida Championship Wrestling event on 22 March 2012 . She returned to the main WWE roster at the Extreme Rules pay - per - view on 29 April , replacing Beth Phoenix , who was not medically cleared to compete , in a match for the WWE Divas Championship . Despite interference from Brie Bella , Layla defeated Nikki Bella to win the Divas Championship for the first time . The following night on " Raw " , she successfully defended the championship against both Nikki and Brie in a triple threat match , and retained the championship against Phoenix at the Over the Limit pay - per - view in May . On the June 11 episode of Raw , Layla teamed up with Santino Marella in losing effort to Beth Phoenix and Ricardo Rodriguez after being pinned by Phoenix , leading to a title rematch six days later at the No Way Out pay - per - view , where Layla again successfully retained her title . Layla then competed at the Money in the Bank pay - per - view in a six - Diva tag team match along with Kaitlyn and Tamina Snuka against Beth Phoenix , Natalya , and Eve Torres with her team coming out victorious after Layla pinned Phoenix . On the August 20 episode of Raw , Kaitlyn won a Divas battle royal to become the # 1 Contender to Layla ' s Divas Championship . However , at the Night of Champions pay - per - view , Kaitlyn was injured following an attack by a masked person , thus forfeiting her title shot to Eve Torres , who took her spot in the match and went on to defeat Layla to win the Divas Championship . On the September 27 episode of WWE Superstars , Layla defeated Eve Torres in a non - title match to earn a shot at the Divas Championship . Layla received her title opportunity on October 15 episode of Raw , however , would be unsuccessful in regaining the title from Eve . Layla received another shot at the Divas Championship on 28 October at Hell in a Cell , but was again defeated by Eve in a three - way match , also involving Kaitlyn . On the 12 November episode of Raw , Layla was defeated by Kaitlyn in a # 1 Contender ' s Match for the Divas Championship . On 16 December at the pay - per - view , Layla competed in a # 1 Contender ' s " " Santa ' s Little Helpers " " Divas battle royal to face Eve for the championship , but was unsuccessful in winning the match . On both the January 4 and February 15 episodes of SmackDown , Layla was defeated by Tamina Snuka in a pair of singles matches . After Kaitlyn won the Divas Championship and retained the title at the Elimination Chamber , Layla began displaying a villainous persona due to jealousy of Kaitlyn . On the February 22 episode of " SmackDown " , Layla teamed with Kaitlyn in a victorious effort against Aksana and Tamina . During their entrance and after the match , Layla obsessively stared at Kaitlyn ' s championship and held it before giving it back to Kaitlyn . On the March 7 episode of " Superstars " , Layla finally defeated Tamina in a singles match after reversing her " Samoan Drop " into a roll - up . The following night on " SmackDown " , Layla accompanied Kaitlyn to a match against Tamina Snuka , but would accidentally distract Kaitlyn after Snuka attacked her , causing Kaitlyn to lose the match . On the March 15 episode of " SmackDown " , Layla once again teamed with Kaitlyn in a winning effort against Aksana and Tamina , with Layla tagging herself in to pin Aksana after she was hit by Kaitlyn ' s spear . The angle was rumored to result in Layla turning heel and competing against Kaitlyn for the Divas Championship at WrestleMania 29 , but it was dropped . However , on April 7 , Layla considered turning heel in an interview by stating that she wanted her Divas Championship back ; claiming that being a nice girl isn ' t getting her anywhere . On the April 22 episode of Raw , Layla participated in a # 1 Contender ' s match for the Divas Championship , but was unsuccessful due to AJ Lee faking unconsciousness . On the April 26 episode of SmackDown , Layla competed in singles competition against Aksana in a winning effort . At the Payback pay - per - view , Layla would return comforting Kaitlyn after her loss against AJ Lee . The following night on the June 17 episode of Raw , Layla along with the face Divas accompanied Kaitlyn to confront AJ Lee , which Kaitlyn would end up attacking Lee while Layla and the Divas laughed . She would again accompany Kaitlyn on the June 24 episode of Raw in singles competition against Aksana , with Kaitlyn emerging victorious regardless of an attempted distraction by AJ Lee , who was dressed up as Kaitlyn ( with a blonde wig and muscle suit ) , mocking her the night the secret admirer was revealed with the help of Big E . Langston . At the Money in the Bank pay - per - view , Layla accompanied Kaitlyn where she unsuccessfully challenged Lee for the Divas Championship . Heel Turn ; Various Feuds ( 2013 - 2015 ) . On the August 2 " SmackDown " , Layla turned heel and betrayed Kaitlyn by protecting AJ during a Divas Championship match , costing Kaitlyn the match and the title , and left with AJ to cement her heel turn . In the weeks that followed , the evil Layla defeated Kaitlyn in singles action and in a tag team match with AJ as her partner . Layla began aligning with Aksana and Alicia Fox in various matches against the Total Divas , with every one of them resulting in defeat . Beginning in late 2013 , Layla took a hiatus from WWE due to ongoing personal issues . On March 14 , 2014 , Layla returned to WWE at a live event in Waco , Texas ; teaming with Alicia Fox in a losing effort to Natalya and Eva Marie . Layla made her televised return on the March 18 edition of " Main Event " , where she teamed with Fox in a losing effort to The Funkadactyls ( Naomi and Cameron ) . On the following edition of " Main Event " , Layla took part in a 10 - Divas tag team match , and earned a victory when Tamina pinned Naomi . On the April 11 episode of " SmackDown " , Layla accompanied Fandango to the ring as his new dance partner . During the match , Santino Marella was going to strike with The Cobra until Layla snatched The Cobra and Fandango picked up the win with a roll - up . On the April 14 edition of " Raw " , Layla and Fandango defeated Emma and Santino Marella in a mixed tag team match . On the May 19 edition of " Raw " , Layla was attacked by the returning Summer Rae . The continuing attacks led to a match between the two at Money in the Bank , which was officiated by Fandango and won by Layla . On the July 11 edition of " SmackDown " , Layla and Summer Rae were set to face off in a rematch officiated by Fandango , but both Divas attacked Fandango and ended up dancing with each other , turning Layla into a babyface . Both Layla and Summer , referring to themselves as " SLayers , " would constantly distract Fandango during his matches and causing him to lose . In their first match as a team , Layla and Rae lost to Paige and AJ Lee on the July 18 episode of " SmackDown " . The Slayers won their first match as a team on the September 2 edition of " Main Event " by defeating Rosa Mendes and Natalya . Layla and Rae became villains due to the " Total Divas " storyline feud with Rae and Natalya , and she was at ringside when Rae was defeated by Natalya on the September 22 edition of " Raw . " Layla and Rae defeated Natalya and Rosa Mendes in a tag team match four nights later on " SmackDown " , however , Layla would defeat Mendes in singles action on the September 29 edition of " Raw . " On the following night ' s edition of " Main Event , " Layla and Rae were defeated by Brie Bella in a handicap match set up by Nikki Bella . In January 2015 , Layla underwent surgery for an unknown injury . She returned on the April 18 edition of " Main Event " and defeated Emma . On July 29 , 2015 , WWE announced in an exclusive interview that Layla has retired . Modeling . Since winning the Diva Search contest El has also done some modelling work . She has been featured in the magazines " King " , " Smooth " , and was the cover - girl for the first issue of " Liquid " . She also posed for " FHM " with the other members of Extreme Exposé . Layla , along with Beth Phoenix and Candice Michelle , appeared in the February 2009 issue of " Flex Magazine " . Other media . In April 2007 , Layla and other WWE Divas , Kelly Kelly , Brooke , Torrie Wilson , Ashley and Maryse , were filmed for Timbaland ' s music video " Throw It On Me " featuring The Hives . During the week of 5 November 2007 , Layla appeared on five episodes of " Family Feud " with other WWE superstars . On 6 February 2008 she appeared on " Project Runway " with several WWE Divas as part of the week ' s challenge . She also appeared on the 13 April 2008 episode of " Celebrity Fit Club Boot Camp " as a trainer . Personal life . El was born and raised in England , and is of Moroccan descent . Her father is of Spanish descent . El ' s mother died in August 2008 . She attended a performing arts college in London . She has previously lived in Miami , Florida , and Los Angeles , California . El began dating fellow wrestler Richard Young , best known by his ring name Ricky Ortiz , in mid - 2014 , and announced their engagement on July 28 , 2015 on Twitter .