Gina Carano's Real Name: Gina Joy Carano

Quick answer: Gina Carano's full name is Gina Joy Carano. She was born on April 16, 1982, in Dallas, Texas, and works under Gina Carano—the civil form of her birth name.

Real name and early life

ESPN and major entertainment profiles identify Gina Joy Carano, born April 16, 1982, in Dallas, Texas (ESPN bio facts; TV Insider). Carano is the family surname; Gina and Joy are given and middle names. Her father, Glenn Carano, was a backup quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. She grew up partly in Las Vegas, starred in high-school basketball at Trinity Christian, and attended the University of Nevada before focusing on Muay Thai and mixed martial arts in her early twenties.

Career highlights

Carano became one of the most visible pioneers of women’s MMA, compiling a 7–1 record through EliteXC and Strikeforce before losing the inaugural Strikeforce women’s title to Cris “Cyborg” Santos in August 2009. She appeared as Crush on American Gladiators and crossed into film as the lead of Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire (2011), then Fast & Furious 6, Deadpool, and Cara Dune on Disney+’s The Mandalorian until her 2021 dismissal by Lucasfilm after social-media controversies. The documented full name used across fight and film billing is Gina Joy Carano.

Muay Thai success preceded MMA; she was among the first women to headline major televised cards and appeared on an ESPN The Magazine Body Issue cover. Acting remained a parallel track after the Cyborg loss, with Soderbergh’s call coming within days of that fight according to later ESPN interviews.

Name notes for searchers

Fight nickname “Conviction” appears on Sherdog and ESPN fighter cards; it is a ring nickname, not a legal name change. Prefer ESPN’s biographical listicles and major press for Joy as the middle name when stubs list only Gina Carano.