Meet Chyna’s Siblings: Kathy Laurer and Sonny Laurer

Joanie Marie Laurer — known globally as Chyna, the groundbreaking WWE superstar hailed as “The Ninth Wonder of the World” — revolutionized women’s wrestling and became an enduring pop culture icon.

Born on December 27, 1969, in Rochester, New York, Chyna’s rise to fame was forged through hardship, resilience, and sheer determination.

Her early life was marked by instability and trauma. Growing up in a fractured home, she endured her parents’ divorce at age four, her father’s alcoholism and violent outbursts — including a stabbing incident involving her mother — and frequent relocations between 1973 and 1983.

Poverty, an unstable family environment, and several step-parents added to her struggles. By her teenage years, Chyna faced significant personal challenges, including an eating disorder at 13 and an inappropriate encounter with a teacher. At 16, after her mother attempted to send her to rehab, she left home to live briefly with her father before striking out on her own.

Despite the chaos surrounding her childhood, Chyna excelled academically and artistically. She played the violin and cello, attended Penfield High School, completing her senior year in Spain, and went on to earn a degree in Spanish Literature from the University of Tampa in 1992.

Fluent in multiple languages, including French and German, she was also part of ROTC and briefly joined the Peace Corps in Guatemala before returning to the U.S. to pursue a different path.

While her ethnic background was never publicly detailed, Chyna later converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 2012 and 2015. Her family included her parents, Janet Laurer and Joe Laurer, with whom she had complicated relationships — though she reconciled with her mother later in life before her father’s passing in 2014.

She shared her early years with her siblings, including her sister Kathy Laurer, who supported her through odd jobs like belly dancing and pager sales, and her brother Sonny Laurer.

Chyna’s wrestling career began in the mid-1990s, and she quickly shattered boundaries within the WWE. She became the first woman to compete in the men’s division, the first and only woman to win the Intercontinental Championship, and one of the first to participate in the Royal Rumble. Her powerful physique, commanding presence, and trailblazing performances redefined what was possible for women in professional wrestling.

Outside the ring, her personal life was often tumultuous. She dated fellow wrestler Triple H (Paul Levesque) from 1996 to 2000 — a relationship that ended amid professional and personal complications — and later became engaged to Sean Waltman (X-Pac) in 2003, a volatile partnership marred by domestic disputes and legal issues.

Chyna never married and had no children. Standing 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) tall, she was celebrated as much for her physical prowess as for her groundbreaking achievements in a male-dominated industry. Tragically, she passed away on April 17, 2016, at the age of 46.

Though her life was marked by struggle and controversy, Chyna’s legacy endures — as both a pioneer for women in sports entertainment and a symbol of strength, vulnerability, and perseverance.

Kathy Laurer

Kathy Laurer, Chyna‘s older sister, was a constant presence in the family’s unstable world, often stepping into a protective and supportive role for her younger sibling.

Born to the same parents, Janet and Joe Laurer, Kathy shared the hardships of a childhood defined by poverty and parental discord. The Laurer family relied on welfare, frequently relocating to low-rent apartments in Rochester, where the siblings qualified for free school lunches and received modest clothing allowances from their grandparents twice a year.

Their father Joe‘s alcoholism fueled violent episodes, including a harrowing incident where he chased their mother with a butcher knife, stabbing her in the leg in front of the children—a memory Kathy has recounted vividly.

When their parents divorced around Chyna‘s fourth birthday, Kathy, along with Sonny and Joanie, navigated a series of stepparents and relocations that uprooted their lives multiple times between 1973 and 1983.

As adults, Kathy remained one of the few anchors in Chyna‘s life. After Chyna recovered from a serious car accident in her early 20s, Kathy helped her secure a job selling beepers. She even joined her in performing as belly dancers—a quirky side gig that reflected their bond amid Chyna‘s budding fitness pursuits.

This sisterly support extended into Chyna‘s wrestling career, where Kathy offered emotional grounding. However, their relationship was tested by Chyna‘s escalating struggles with addiction and mental health issues later in life.

In March 2003, Kathy made a desperate, unannounced visit to Chyna‘s California condo, pleading with her to seek treatment for substance abuse. The encounter turned explosive; Chyna, under the influence, refused entry and later severed contact, bombarding Kathy with threatening messages for years.

Kathy, now Kathy Hamilton, later shared in interviews that she lived in fear, describing the ordeal as witnessing “the devil” invading her sister’s body.

Following Chyna‘s tragic death on April 20, 2016, from an accidental overdose at age 46, Kathy emerged as a voice of reflection and advocacy. She spoke candidly about the factors behind Chyna‘s downfall, including the pain of losing her WWE spot—the one place where Joanie felt truly accepted—and the irreconcilable differences in her high-profile relationship with Triple H, such as disagreements over starting a family.

Kathy‘s insights painted a portrait of a sister who, despite her larger-than-life persona, grappled with deep vulnerabilities rooted in their shared traumatic upbringing.

Sonny Laurer

Sonny Laurer, Chyna‘s older brother, grew up alongside his sisters in the same fractured Rochester household, forging a quiet but enduring connection through their common experiences of instability.

As the eldest of the three Laurer siblings, Sonny witnessed the same domestic violence and economic hardships that scarred his family. With Joe Laurer‘s drinking leading to infidelity and abuse—culminating in beatings of their mother Janet in front of the children—Sonny, like Kathy and Joanie, learned early to navigate a world of uncertainty.

The divorce shattered the family unit when Chyna was just four, leaving Sonny to adapt to the revolving door of stepparents: three for their mother and one stepmother on their father’s side.

Frequent moves and the stigma of welfare defined their youth, yet these trials instilled a resilience that Chyna would channel into her athletic and professional pursuits. Biographies consistently note him as Chyna‘s older brother, born to Janet and Joe, and part of the tight-knit trio that relied on each other for survival.

Unlike Kathy, who actively intervened during Chyna‘s later crises, Sonny‘s role appears more subdued, focused on the unspoken solidarity of siblinghood. He shared in the modest family rituals, such as the biannual shopping trips to Sears funded by their grandparents, which provided rare moments of normalcy amid the chaos.

In the wake of Chyna‘s passing, Sonny has not been as vocal in media accounts, but his existence underscores the broader family narrative of endurance. Sources describe the Laurer siblings as survivors of a “less than ideal” environment, where alcoholism and instability loomed large. Yet, they emerged with individual strengths—Chyna‘s in the spotlight, Sonny’s perhaps in quieter fortitude.

His relationship with Chyna, while less documented, represents the foundational brother-sister tie that grounded her before fame pulled her into a whirlwind of success and sorrow.

Chyna‘s story is one of triumph and tragedy, but her siblings, Kathy and Sonny, remind us that even icons are shaped by family. Their shared history of hardship highlights the human side of a wrestling legend, a legacy that continues to inspire discussions on mental health, addiction, and unbreakable familial bonds.