Bianca Belair is an American wrestler and former track and field athlete. She is well known for winning the WWE Raw Women’s Championship during Wrestlemania 38. 2021 Bianca made history by winning the 2021 Women’s Royal Rumble match. When Bianca Belair joined the WWE, she wanted to position herself as the best female wrestler in the company. That is because she came from an athletic background, where she won most of the competitions in which she participated. Thus, her competitive nature gave her the advantage to face any challenge, especially with wrestling being a new endeavor. Indeed, Belair has become a fan-favorite and has won many championships, including clinching the WWE Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships.
Bianca Belair Profile Summary
| Full Name | Bianca Nicole Blair |
| Nickname | Bianca Belair, Bianca Blair, Binky Blair |
| Gender | Female |
| Date of Birth | April 9, 1989 |
| Age (as of 2022) | 33 |
| Zodiac Sign | Aries |
| Place of Birth | Knoxville, Tennessee, United States |
| Current Residence | Orlando, Florida |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Black |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Height (feet) | 5’7” |
| Weight (pounds) | 141 |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Eye Color | Dark Brown |
| Mother | Travonda Blair |
| Father | Leonard Blair |
| Siblings | 2 Brothers |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Partner | Kenneth Crawford (aka Montez Ford – m. 2018) |
| Children | Jeffery, Leonard Jr., Jermaine, Jasta |
| School | Austin-East Magnet High School |
| University | University of South Carolina, Texas A&M University, University of Tennessee |
| Profession | Professional Wrestler, Athlete |
Bianca Belair Was An All-SEC Track Star At The University Of Tennessee
Long before she was main-eventing WrestleMania, setting records in the Royal Rumble, using her trademark ponytail to beat the crap out of Becky Lynch, or even thinking about becoming a professional wrestler, Bianca Belair, whose real name is Bianca Blair Crawford, was a standout collegiate hurdler at various colleges throughout the American South. In a 2017 ESPN profile on Belair, it was pointed out that Blair spent parts of her six-year track career competing for the University of South Carolina, Texas A&M, and the University of Tennessee, where she became an All-American and All-SEC athlete for her accomplishments on the track.
But as she told ESPN in the sprawling chronicle of her athletic career, Belair didn’t aspire to continue her track career as a professional athlete, describing it as a chapter she “needed to close and move on from.”
Bianca Belair Is The Longest Reigning African-American World Champion In WWE History
At the time of this writing, according to WWE, Belair has been the Raw Women’s Champion for more than 300 days, placing her behind only WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns (800+ days) regarding longest-reigning current champions. Not only does this put Belair near the longest-reigning Raw Women’s Champion (that honor still belongs to Becky Lynch), but it also makes the EST of WWE the longest-reigning African-American World Champion in the company’s history.
Back in October 2022, when Belair crossed the 200-day mark, WrestleOps (via Fightful) pointed out that her reign, which started at WrestleMania 38 that April, was the longest single reign by an African American singles world champion in the company’s history. She eclipsed names like The Rock, Mark Henry, and Belair’s longtime rival, Sasha Banks.
Also read: Everything to Know about Bill Bradley Documentary: Rolling Along
Bianca Belair And Sasha Banks Became The First African-American Women To Main Event WrestleMania
After spending more than a year behind closed doors, WWE finally opened up to fans with the two-day WrestleMania 37 in April 2021, which provided an incredible weekend of wrestling and some of the most iconic moments in recent memory. This included the SmackDown Women’s Championship match between defending champion Sasha Banks and challenger Bianca Belair, which ended up being a near-perfect match and an incredible way to close out the event’s first night.
On top of that, the match became part of history, as it was the first time in WrestleMania that two African-American women faced off in the main event, according to WWE.
Pro Wrestling Illustrated Named Bianca Belair The Top Female Wrestler In The World In 2021
Each year, Professional Wrestling Illustrated publishes the PWI Women’s 150 (the same concept as the PWI Men’s 500), highlighting the world’s best and brightest female wrestlers. In 2021, five years after making her professional debut, Belair was named the best female wrestler in the world, beating out the likes of Utami Hayashishita, Deonna Purrazzo, Britt Baker, and Thunder Rosa in the Top 5.
ESPN named Belair “Female Wrestler of the Year” in its annual wrestling awards the following year. In the breakdown of her 2022, which included an outstanding pair of matches against Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 38 and SummerSlam, ESPN writer Marc Raimondi described the Raw Women’s Champion as “an up-and-comer no longer,” instead referring to her as a “full-fledged superstar.” More to watch on ESPN:
Also read: All You Need to Know About US Open Tennis 2023 TV Schedule
Wrapping Up
Bianca Belair, born on April 9, 1989, went from a track and field star to a groundbreaking WWE superstar. Known for her historic WrestleMania 38 win, she’s the longest-reigning African-American World Champion. Pro Wrestling Illustrated named her the top female wrestler in 2021, and ESPN awarded her “Female Wrestler of the Year” in 2022. Bianca’s journey showcases breaking barriers and making history in professional wrestling.