Meet the Bella Twins, the WWE Female Superstar Act

Pow! Bam! The beautiful Bella twins revolutionized the way we think of women’s wrestling. Now they’re busting out of the ring and putting a hammerlock on reality TV.

- Jessica Rodriguez

NIKKI & BRIE Garcia-Colace may be identical twins, but let’s get this straight: Nikki is 16 whole minutes older. Those 960 seconds of separation might be one of the longest periods these wrestling superstars have ever been apart, because since their birth it’s been all about sisterhood. Does it ever get to be too much? “For like two minutes in the day,” says Nikki. “I feel like it’s a 32-year marriage,” Brie chimes in. “You have your moments where she can chew her food a certain way and it bugs me. But we will always be together. I couldn’t imagine not having her in my life.”

Inseparable, yes, but also fearsome, talented, and ambitious. They’re the Bella Twins, the WWE female superstar-act complete with championship belts, high-profile relationships (Nikki is dating John Cena, the wrestling superstar and Amy Schumer muse, and Brie is married to retired WWE superstar Daniel Bryan), and a hit show (E!’s Total Divas), with their own spin-off, E!’s Total Bellas, premiering this fall. So if the ladies couldn’t stand being around each other, they would really hate life, because their career revolves around being sisters who kick ass and love hard.

For all that, perhaps their biggest accomplishment is changing the stereotype of women in wrestling as sexy arm candy (such as “Macho Man” Randy Savage’s Miss Elizabeth) or hyper-muscular superwomen (the late Joanie “Chyna” Laurer). Like their UFC counterpart Ronda Rousey, the Bella Twins have heralded the advent of fight champions who look like real women and can truly work a ring, not just adorn one.