Gina Carano is a former mixed martial arts fighter and is now an actress, television personality, and fitness model. She had 8 professional MMA fights before she retired to pursue a career in acting where she had major roles in films like Haywire (2011) and Deadpool (2016). In this article, we’ll take a look at her net worth in 2021.
| Net Worth | $4 million |
| Age | 39 |
| Salary | $25,000 – $50,000 per The Mandalorian Episode |
| Sponsors | N/A |
| Profession | MMA Fighter / Actress |
Gina Carano’s Net Worth in 2021 (estimate): $4 million
Gina Carano’s net worth in 2021 is estimated to be $4 million. This is according to multiple reputable sources such as Celebrity Net Worth.
Before we explore her transition from fighting ring to the silver screen, we’ll take a look at her beginnings.
Gina Joy Carano was born in Dallas County, Texas, on April 16, 1982, but was raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her mother, Dana Joy Carano, is a casino executive, while her father, Glenn Carano, was a former NFL player and Super Bowl champion for the Dallas Cowboys.
During her high school years at Trinity Christian High School in Las Vegas, Carano played volleyball and softball. She also led the girls’ basketball team to a state title. After graduating, she attended the University of Nevada, Reno, for a year before transferring to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she earned a major in psychology.
Before starting a career in mixed martial arts, Carano was a professional Muay Thai fighter. She held a record of 12-1-1 during her Muay Thai career. She then received an offer to take part in the first-ever sanctioned female MMA bout in Nevada under the World Extreme Fighting promotion.
Carano’s professional MMA debut was on June 10, 2006, where she fought Leiticia Pestova at the bantamweight division. She made quick work of Pestova as she knocked her out with just 38 seconds in the 1st round to secure her first professional victory.
She was then invited to fight at the World Pro Fighting Championships on September 15, 2006, as Carano was slated to face Rosi Sexton. She won via knockout once again. But this time, Carano landed a solid right hook after a clinching battle at the tail-end of the 2nd round.
On December 8, 2006, Carano faced Elaina Maxwell at Strikeforce: Triple Threat. She won via unanimous decision, her third straight professional MMA victory. The match was also the first female fight in the history of the Strikeforce promotion.
She was then scheduled to fight Julie Kedzie on February 10, 2007, under the Elite Xtreme Combat organization. Carano proceeded to defeat Kedzie via unanimous decision, and the fight was dubbed as the “Fight of the Night”. Carano and Kedzie’s fight was also the first televised female fight on Showtime.
Gina Carano got her first submission win on September 15, 2007, when she faced Tonya Evinger at EliteXC: Uprising. She impressed critics with her impressive ground game as she secured a rear-naked choke to make Evinger tap out towards the end of the 1st round.
Her next fight was against former HOOKnSHOOT Champion Kaitlin Young at EliteXC: Primetime. Unfortunately, Carano failed to make weight a day before the fight. She agreed to forfeit 12.5% of her show purse to Young so the fight can remain on the card. Carano went on to win the fight via TKO by doctor stoppage at the end of the 2nd round.
Her next fight was up against Kelly Kobold at EliteXC: Heat. However, the events leading to the fight were filled with controversy on whether Carano would make weight before the fight. She then assured that she would make weight as she hired a nutritionist to help her with her diet program. After three attempts at the weigh-in, Carano eventually made weight at 141 pounds.
The fight was an intense one as both fighters were exchanging takedown attempts. Kobold even managed to takedown Carano at the end of the 2nd round before the bell rung. However, Carano masterfully worked through the gaps whenever they were separated. At the end of the 3rd round, Carano unleashed a flurry of kicks that landed on Kobold’s chin, but she managed to stay on her feet. Gina Carano was declared the winner via unanimous decision.
Strikeforce eventually purchased the assets of ProElite, the owner of EliteXC, which meant that Carano was now included in the Strikeforce roster.
Her first fight with the promotion was scheduled on August 15, 2009, against Cris Cyborg at Strikeforce: Carano vs Cyborg — this marks the first time two women headlined a major MMA event.
Strikeforce created their first Women’s Championship for the bout called “Strikeforce Women’s Featherweight Championship” — it was later renamed as “Strikeforce Women’s Lightweight Championship”.
Both fighters put up a great fight, but Carano lost via TKO in the last second of the 1st round after a barrage of punches by Cyborg.
Gina Carano never fought another professional MMA bout after her loss to Cris Cyborg.
As for her acting career, Gina Carano first starred in the 2005 film “Ring Girls”, it was a movie about five American women from Las Vegas trying to take on the ultimate challenge of fighting the best Muay Thai fighters in the world. She then starred in the 2007 Ring Girls spin-off called “Fight Girls”, which is a reality series similar to “The Ultimate Fighter” wherein she served as a mentor. This, obviously, helped to contribute to Gina Carano’s net worth in 2021.
Carano appeared in multiple projects such as American Gladiators, Blood and Bone, and as a purchasable character named “Natasha” in the 2008 video game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3.
In 2011, Carano was cast in her first leading role in the 2011 spy film “Haywire” along with veteran actors Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, and Antonio Banderas. Her performance earned her a nomination for Best Actress in an Action Movie at the 2013 Critics Choice Awards.
She then starred in the 2014 film “In the Blood”. In 2013, Carano co-starred in Fast & Furious 6 as part of Special Agent Luke Hobbs’ Diplomatic Security Service Team. Critics were in praise of her performance, especially during her fight scenes with Michelle Rodriguez.
In 2016, Carano portrayed the role of Angel Dust in the movie Deadpool. In 2018, she was announced as part of Lucasfilm’s first live-action Star Wars television series titled “The Mandalorian”. She played the character Cara Dune and has appeared in the first two seasons of the show.
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Unfortunately, Lucasfilm let go of Gina Carano in February 2021 after a series of controversial posts she made on social media since 2020 as she mocked the use of face masks during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. She also repeated the claims of voter fraud during the 2020 presidential elections, as well as clashing with activists who criticized her lack of support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
It is still unknown whether her character in The Mandalorian would be recast, considering that she was supposed to lead a Mandalorian spin-off called “Rangers of the New Republic”.
Aside from her many movie and TV appearances, Carano was also heavily featured in magazine and website rankings during the height of her MMA career from 2008 to 2009.
In the Spring 2008 issue of Big Biz Magazine, Carano was named the “Hottest Woman in America”. She was also ranked No. 5 on Yahoo!’s Top Ten Influential Women of 2008 list.
In 2009, she was ranked No. 16 on Maxim’s Hot 100 list. She was also one of the cover athletes, along with Serena Williams, for the October 2009 edition of ESPN The Magazine’s Body issue
With all of the projects that she has done throughout her career, were you surprised with Gina Carano’s net worth in 2021?
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