[8] She spent several years of her childhood in the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, where her father worked as a Christian missionary.

The students, known as the FSU Cowgirls, entered the public consciousness after being acknowledged by commentator Brent Musburger during a game between the Florida State Seminoles and the Miami Hurricanes that aired on ABC in September 2005.

[10][11][12] Perry parlayed the exposure into a modelling career, appearing in photoshoots in publications such as the RIDGID Tool Calendar and working as a spokesmodel for the energy drinks Matrix and Red Bull.

I am so thankful to this day for that experience because I do not think I would have ever gotten the role in Pitch Perfect if I hadn't overcome my fear to open my mouth and sing.

[7]Perry went on to work as a backup dancer for performers such as Keri Hilson, Nelly, Pink, Usher, Akon, and Rich Boy.

[16] Lana made her main roster debut on the January 31 episode of SmackDown, where she and Rusev in the following weeks appeared in a series of self-promotional videos and speeches.

[17][18][19] In early May, Lana began dedicating Rusev's matches to her "hero", President of Russia Vladimir Putin, as well as adopting an anti-American, Russophilic gimmick.

[20][21] Lana made some controversial comments during an in-ring promo prior to Rusev's match at Battleground, blaming the United States for current world events and praising Putin.

Although she did not directly mention it, some media outlets said Lana was making reference to the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which happened three days before Battleground, to help build heat for Rusev in his feud against Jack Swagger.

[24] Following the November 3 episode of Raw, Rusev defeated Sheamus on WWE Network to capture the United States Championship.

On the February 29, 2016, episode of Raw, Lana confronted Brie Bella during a backstage segment, arguing that Bella's fans only supported her out of pity for having a "bad husband",[42] On the March 14 episode of Raw, she distracted Brie during a tag team match against Team B.A.D.

[47] As vignettes hyping her televised return aired, Lana resumed in-ring competition under her new gimmick at NXT live events that same month.

[51][52] On June 18, Lana was defeated by Naomi in her first televised singles match at Money in the Bank after a distraction by Carmella.

Lana would compete in the WWE Mixed Match Challenge, teaming with Rusev, where they defeated Elias and Bayley in the first round.

Throughout late July 2018, Lana was booked with Rusev and Aiden English against Andrade "Cien" Almas and Zelina Vega.

[64] On the March 8, 2021, episode of Raw, Lana and Naomi challenged Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship but they were unsuccessful.

On the May 3, 2021, episode of Raw, Lana and Naomi challenged Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship again but they were unsuccessful.

[68] On the September 23 episode of AEW Collision, Perry (now known as "CJ") gave an interview with Lexy Nair in which she stated that Miro had "lost his way" and that she would be managing other clients.

She made her in-game debut in WWE 2K15 as a non-player character, appearing during Rusev's entrance and victory celebration.

[80] She married Bulgarian professional wrestler Miroslav Barnyashev (better known by his ring names "Rusev" and "Miro") on July 29, 2016.