Debra Marshall

Debra Gale Marshall (formerly McMichael and Williams; born March 2, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestling valet, professional wrestler, and actress.

Before her involvement in wrestling, she competed and won the title of 1987 Mrs. Illinois America in Elgin, Illinois and went on to compete in the Mrs. America pageant that same year in Las Vegas, Nevada.

She later competed and won in the 1992 Mrs. Texas USA pageant held in Houston, Texas and went on to compete in the National Mrs. USA pageant.

Marshall also attended the University of Alabama.

She is best known for her time with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1995 and 1998 as Queen Debra and with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) between 1998 and 2002 as simply Debra.

Marshall began her career in professional wrestling in 1995, accompanying her husband Steve "Mongo" McMichael to the ring in WCW.

Marshall first appeared in WCW in late-1995 and early-1996, making occasional unnamed appearances as an audience plant, and as part of a group of valets for the team of Hulk Hogan and "Macho Man" Randy Savage.

In April 1996, she began appearing regularly as a valet for her husband, Steve "Mongo" McMichael as he transitioned from commentator to wrestler.

Based on her real-life participation in beauty pageants, Debra took on the role of a beauty-pageant queen character, giving herself the nickname "The Queen of WCW" and often making remarks about other wrestlers and valets in kayfabe interviews.

At The Great American Bash 1996, Steve McMichael and his partner Kevin Greene competed against two of the Four Horsemen (Ric Flair and Arn Anderson).

Flair won the match after Mongo and Debra turned on Greene by hitting him with a steel briefcase, joining the 4 Horsemen.

She managed the stable with Miss Elizabeth and Woman.

The briefcase later became one of Debra's signature objects.

At Bash at the Beach in July 1997, Debra turned on Mongo during his WCW United States Heavyweight Championship match against Jeff Jarrett by handing Jarrett the steel briefcase, which he then used to knock Mongo out and thus to win the match.

Next, Debra briefly managed Goldberg and Alex Wright.

On the November 24, 1997 edition of Nitro, Wright fired Debra after she accidentally distracted him, causing a loss to Prince Iaukea.

After her divorce from McMichael, Debra left WCW.

She joined the WWF in 1998, where she managed the tag team of Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart until Hart's in-ring death in May 1999.

Later that year, she won the WWF Women's Championship from Sable in an evening gown match.

In October 1998, Marshall rejoined Jarrett in the WWF.

At the beginning of her WWF career, known as Debra McMichael and later simply as Debra, she played the part of a shrewd businesswoman, wearing business suits.

She also played the part of Jarrett's girlfriend.

In late 1998, Jarrett began a feud with Goldust that culminated in December at Rock Bottom: In Your House in a "Striptease match".

During the match, Debra hit Goldust over the head with Jarrett's trademark guitar, enabling Jarrett to win.

WWF Commissioner Shawn Michaels, however, disqualified Jarrett, and Debra had to strip due to the match's stipulations.

As she stripped, The Blue Blazer (Owen Hart) and Jarrett covered her up.

Debra, however, began utilizing a new strategy during matches, distracting Jarrett's opponents by unbuttoning her blouse.

She would willingly take off her blouse to show the crowd her "puppies", a nickname originally bestowed upon her chest by wrestler Road Dogg and later utilized by commentator Jerry Lawler.

The strategy helped Jarrett and partner Hart defeat The Big Boss Man and Ken Shamrock to become World Tag Team Champions in January 1999.

In February, Debra feuded with female professional wrestler Ivory, making her in-ring debut in a mixed tag match on Monday Night Raw, which ended in a no contest.

Immediately after the bell rang, she attacked Ivory and hit her with Jarrett's guitar.

The same month, Jarrett and Hart retained the tag title in a tag match against Ivory's associates Mark Henry and D'Lo Brown at St. Valentine's Day Massacre with Debra's assistance.

In March, the team lost their tag title to the team of Kane and X-Pac.

She also competed in her first singles match, against Ivory but lost via disqualification after Jacqueline and Terri Runnels attacked Ivory during the match.

As Debra continued to manage Jarrett and Hart, a potential storyline developed where Hart and Debra would have an affair, but the creative team or Owen himself more likely vetoed the idea before it played out on-screen.

A team name was also in the works—Debra favoring "Talent and Attitude" (T&A)—but Hart died in May 1999 at Over the Edge.

Later in the event, Debra and Jarrett lost a mixed tag team match against Nicole Bass and Val Venis.

She later appeared on-screen with her second husband Stone Cold Steve Austin until 2002, when the duo left the company.

Raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Marshall became a track-runner, cheerleader, and Homecoming Queen in high school before attending the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York City.

She then became a flight attendant.