Danielle Louise Moinet

Biography

Danielle Louise Moinet (born November 28, 1983) is an American model, actress and retired professional wrestler and American football player. She is best known for her tenure in WWE from 2011 to 2017, under the ring name Summer Rae. Moinet was a main cast member on the reality show Total Divas during its second and third seasons. Before joining WWE, she played with the Chicago Bliss of the Lingerie Football League.

== Early life == Moinet was born in the New York City suburb of Manhasset, New York. Her father is French, while her mother is English. She grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, and attended Enloe High School and East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, where she was a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority.

== Football career == Moinet played with the Chicago Bliss of the Lingerie Football League (LFL) from 2008 to 2011. She played as a cornerback and was the team's captain. On June 30, 2011, Moinet played in the LFL All-Star Game at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada which was her final game in the LFL. She was one of two players in the game from the Chicago Bliss.

== Professional wrestling career ==

=== WWE (2011–2017) ===

==== FCW and NXT (2011–2014) ==== In November 2011, it was reported that Moinet had signed a contract with WWE and was assigned to their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). Moinet made her televised debut on the December 18 episode of FCW TV, appearing in an in-ring promo with Abraham Washington. She also served as the ring announcer for FCW TV for several months. Changing her ring name from Kylie Summers to Summer Rae, she was prevented from interfering in a match between Seth Rollins and Rae's new client Brad Maddox by the debuting Paige on the March 5 episode of FCW TV. On the March 11 episode of FCW TV, Rae became the FCW General Manager. On the March 15 episode of FCW TV, Rae decided to deactivate the Queen of FCW crown, leaving Raquel Diaz as the last champion. Rae made her in-ring debut on April 6 at an FCW live event, where she lost to Sofia Cortez in an elimination triple threat match, which also involved Paige. After the dissolution of FCW, Rae went on to become a ring announcer for the rebooted NXT in 2012. Rae transitioned into an in-ring competitor on the January 30, 2013 episode of NXT when she attacked Paige due to her jealousy of Paige's popularity and success. After Paige continued to confront Rae, Rae was defeated against Paige on the May 1 episode of NXT. Rae competed in the NXT Women's Championship tournament on the June 19 episode of NXT to crown the inaugural champion and defeated Sasha Banks in the first round, but lost to Emma in the semi-finals on July 10. Rae's post-match attack on Emma started a feud between them. Emma later defeated Rae in a dance-off to become the number one contender, but Rae retaliated by injuring Emma in the storyline, then issued a title challenge to the new NXT Women's Champion Paige, which she accepted. On the August 14 episode NXT, Paige defeated Rae to retain the title. For weeks, Rae began to influence Sasha Banks to make herself relevant, leading to Banks turning heel on the September 11 episode of NXT, by attacking NXT Women's Champion Paige. Banks and Rae, collectively known as the Beautiful Fierce Females, faced Paige and Emma on the October 16 episode of NXT, where they won. Rae and Banks continued to face Paige and Emma in singles matches, including aligning themselves with Charlotte.

After a four-month absence from the brand, Rae returned on the June 6 episode of NXT, briefly distracting Charlotte during her match. After the match, Rae led an attack on Bayley, only to be chased off by Paige and Emma. On the June 26 episode of NXT, during a match with the debuting Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Sasha Banks backed away from Rae when reaching out for help, hinting at Rae's removal from the stable. The following week, Banks disbanded the BFFs in a backstage segment. The following week, Rae defeated Bayley in a number one contender's match, earning a NXT Women's Championship match against Charlotte. On the July 24 episode of NXT, Rae received her title shot against Charlotte, however she failed to capture the championship.

==== Fandango's dance partner (2013–2014) ====