Gina Joy Carano (born April 16, 1982) is an American actress, television personality, fitness model, and former Mixed Martial Artist.
At the peak of her MMA career, she was ranked as the number one 145 lb fighter in the world. She also had a 12-1-1 record as a Muay Thai fighter before committing to Mixed Martial Arts. She hasn't competed in mixed martial arts since August 15, 2009, and has since moved on to begin a fairly successful big and small screen career. One of her more notable roles is Cara Dune in The Mandalorian.
Filmography:
- Fight Girls (2007)
- American Gladiators (2008): Crush
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (2008): Natasha Volkovanote
- Blood and Bone (2009): Veretta Vendetta
- Haywire (2011): Mallory Kane
- Fast & Furious 6 (2013): Riley Hicks
- In the Blood (2013): Ava
- Almost Human (2014): XRN "Danica"
- Deadpool (2016): Angel Dust
- Kickboxer: Vengeance (2016): Marcia
- The Mandalorian (2019–2020): Carasynthia "Cara" Dune
- Terror on the Prairie (2022)
- My Son Hunter (2022)
- Untitled adaptation of White Knuckle (TBA)
Tropes commonly used in her roles:
- Action Girl: She's an expert Muay Thai fighter and a former MMA champion, and nearly all of her roles take advantage of her combat experience. See also Dark Action Girl below.
- Amazonian Beauty: She's pretty muscular while being considered good looking enough to score a number of roles where her characters wear tight fitting and/or skimpy outfits.
- Dark Action Girl: She plays a lot of characters who have a shifty relationship with the "good" guys, while being a natural in Action Girl roles.
- Role-Ending Misdemeanor: In 2021, Carano's contract from The Mandalorian (and potential other Disney+ series set in the Star Wars universe) was not renewed following a series of controversial social media posts and comments, as described in this article. She's since found work in the conservative-oriented indie film industry, most notably in Daily Wire-produced films.
- What Could Have Been: She auditioned for the part of Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy before the casting of Zoe Saldaña.