Temecula woman strives to be a diva

By: JOHN HALL - Staff Writer | Saturday, August 7, 2004 8:17 PM PDT ∞

TEMECULA ---- Even as a cheerleader for her first two years at Temecula Valley High, Christy Hemme says she was shy and often teased for being too skinny.

Boy, how things change.

Now, at 23, Hemme performs in front of thousands of people across the country as a member of the Purrfect Angelz burlesque dance team, she earned first-place honors in her first fitness competition in June, she was a "Juggy" dancer on Comedy Central's recently canceled "The Man Show," has appeared in a number of music videos, and her photos have been displayed in numerous calendars and magazines, including French Maxim, Stuff and Rolling Stone.

And she's now one of eight remaining contestants vying for a $250,000 prize to become a World Wrestling Entertainment Diva.

Though Hemme lives in Los Angeles most of the time to be near the entertainment industry she works in, she calls Temecula her home.

Born and raised in Temecula, Hemme graduated from Temecula Valley High in 1998 at age 17.

"Growing up, I was such a dork," she said last week from her family's home south of Temecula, not far from the San Diego County line. "I was quiet and reserved, but I still felt inside that I was a strong, confident person."

Hemme said she didn't date in high school and was often teased by other kids.

Raising the gaze of her bright blue eyes to the ceiling of the home, she recalled how a boy she had a huge crush on in high school once said something that devastated her.

"He came up to me once and told me I could be cute, but I was too skinny," Hemme said.

"Now, anytime I see a kid who looks like they maybe don't fit in, or is being teased for something, I feel so bad for them because I've been there," she said.

Hemme said she's not the type to say "look at me now" to those who made fun of her growing up. She says she's the same girl ---- adding that she's been blessed with the chance to be have an entertainment career she loves.

"I'm not shy when I'm in front of a lot of people; I just don't have that bone in my body," she said.

That's a good thing since her latest entertainment endeavor, probably her biggest yet, puts her smack-dab in front of millions of pro wrestling fans.

Hemme is one of the contestants for WWE's Diva Search which, if she wins, would bring her a $200,000 cash prize and a $50,000 yearlong contract with the company as a diva.

The live contest is broadcast each Monday on Spike TV as part of WWE Monday Night Raw.

The show is broadcast from a different city each Monday, with Cleveland being Hemme's destination this week.

Voting by viewers after each show has whittled the initial 10 women ---- which started with thousands entering the contest nationwide ---- down to eight. Hemme says she's confident she can win over both the viewing audience and the WWE company to select her as the final diva.

"I love (pro) wrestling," she said. "I watched it all the time, even as a kid. The Undertaker was my favorite."

Hemme said she feels like all she's done in her modeling and entertaining career ---- the dancing, the fitness work, and performing in front of tens of thousands of people ---- has prepared her for being a WWE diva.

"I always felt like all that was leading up to something, I just didn't know what it was," she said. "I knew instantly, in my heart, when I found out about this contest that this is what I wanted to do."

Hemme described a WWE diva as a "valet" for the wrestlers.

Spoiler alert! For those who believe pro wrestling is real, don't read the next couple of paragraphs.

"The divas get involved in the storyline," Hemme said. "The writers will sometimes include them in things like catfights, doing skits and even some wrestling" ---- which she says she'd love.

In pro wrestling, the bad-guy wrestlers are called "heals" and the good guys are known as "baby faces," Hemme said. Divas are assigned to a particular wrestler and also can be good or bad.

Hemme said, if selected to be a diva, she wants WWE to decide which she should be. "But I think it would be fun to be evil," she said with a not-so-evil giggle.

Growing up in Temecula, Hemme volunteered at the area's high-profile events, such as the Great Temecula Tractor Race and the Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival.

After graduating from TVHS, Hemme started doing bikini modeling. She moved to Los Angeles at 18 to find fame, but says it took a while for her to learn to stop just having fun and concentrate on a career.

While she got some modeling work as a blonde, her natural hair color, things really took off for her when she decided to become a redhead ---- like her mother, Susan, who died two years ago.

Hemme and her mother, who took part in fitness competitions, were very close and worked out together regularly. Hemme said she couldn't set foot in a gym for about a year after her mom died.

Then she found the inner strength to train for a fitness competition, coincidentally the same one her mother won in 2001. Hemme took first place and says she knows her mom is proud of her.

Her family has always been very close and Hemme says her father, Robert, approves of her career.

"It's weird, because just about everything I do is kinda sexy," Hemme said with a shy grin. "It's cute 'cuz I know my dad is telling all his friends about what I'm doing."

Hemme said she runs all her potential photo shoots and other work by her younger sister, Deena, 21, who also models. "She's my very bestest friend in the entire world," Hemme said. "I always ask her if she thinks Dad would approve before I do anything."

Even with a place in Los Angeles to stay close to the contacts she needs for her career, she says Temecula will always be home.

"I love Temecula, it's my getaway," Hemme said, calling it the polar opposite of L.A.

"It makes me so happy to come back here, it's so clean and nice," she said. When she makes the trip back home ---- at least every other week ---- Hemme said she stays with her family.

Her grandparents live in Escondido, an aunt and uncle live in Murrieta, and her sister and 14-year-old brother, David, are in Temecula.

One of the best parts of her Temecula trips, she said, is seeing her niece, 3-year-old Jaydin ---- Deena's daughter.

"I never knew I could love something so much," Hemme said of her niece, who she named. "It's the happiest moment of my week."

Contact staff writer John Hall at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2628, or jhall@californian.com.

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