Renee Paquette (September 19, 1985) better known as Renee Young is a Canadian sports broadcaster and actress who works for World Wrestling Entertainment as a backstage interviewer and host of WWE Active, Pay-Per-View Kickoff shows and WWE Talking Smack.
Early life
Paquette was born in Toronto, Ontario, and was raised in Ajax, Ontario. She was a child model. After high school, she applied to several colleges and began training in improvisational comedy. At the age of 19, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a comedic actress, but later moved back to Toronto and auditioned for films, music videos, and commercials.
Professional career
The Score (2009–2012)
Paquette began working for The Score in the later months of 2009 on the program called Right After Wrestling, later to be renamed Aftermath, where she presented alongside Arda Ocal and former WWE referee Jimmy Korderas.
WWE (2012–present)
Paquette signed with WWE in October 2012, where she was renamed as Renee Young, and made her on-screen debut on the 29 March 2013 episode of SmackDown, interviewing Randy Orton, Big Show, and Sheamus. Young had previously performed interviews exclusively for WWE Active since February 2013, and had also presented the 2012 Survivor Series pre-show alongside Scott Stanford. Young debuted on the January 23 NXT as a backstage interviewer.
Young began co-hosting the World Tour segments, which is a segment detailing the city they are filming in, showcasing various tourist attractions, before later being promoted as a third main presenter on The JBL and Cole Show, which is shown on YouTube and WWE.com. It received a Slammy Award for Favorite Web Show of the Year. She also presents WWE Vintage Collection alongside Hall of Famer Mean Gene Okerlund.
In September 2013, Young made her commentary debut on NXT. She began performing color commentary during NXT Divas' matches, before later becoming a full-time color commentator on NXT for several months. From July 3, 2014 to January 9, 2015, Young served as a color commentator on WWE Superstars, alongside Tom Phillips, which made her WWE's first full-time female announcer in more than a decade. In April 2015, Young began hosting her own show titled Unfiltered with Renee Young, in which she interviews fellow WWE employees, which airs on the WWE Network. In June, Young served as the co-host of the sixth season of Tough Enough, alongside Chris Jericho.
On the December 20, 2016 episode of SmackDown, Young interviewed Intercontinental Champion The Miz following his successful title defense against Apollo Crews. After Young asked Miz about his "obsession" with Dean Ambrose, Miz sarcastically responded by revealing Young and Ambrose's real-life relationship, prompting her to slap Miz. On December 27, Young was confronted by The Miz's real-life wife, Maryse, backstage on SmackDown. Maryse slapped Young the following week in retaliation. She also seemed unhappy with Samoa Joe's comments on the 1 January 2018 episode of Raw when he said that Ambrose became a stay-at-home husband after he injured Ambrose in storyline.
On August 9, 2018, it was announced by WWE that Young will join the commentary team for the August 13, 2018 episode of Raw in Greensboro, North Carolina, making Young the first woman that has called an entire episode of Raw. Her debut coincided with her real-life husband, Dean Ambrose's return from a lengthy triceps injury.
Other media
Before joining The Score, Paquette worked for BiteTV, where she presented a show about extreme sports and music called Rippin' It-N-Lippin' It during 2008 and 2009. She did a commercial for Oxy and had a part in a Tom Green music video. Prior to this, she had a cameo in the music video for Kelly Clarkson's 2005 song "Behind These Hazel Eyes". She also appeared in an national Noxzema commercial,and did a photoshoot for Toro Magazine.
Personal life
On being a wrestling fan, Paquette said: "I attended a few events and WrestleMania VI. My dad is a concert promoter and he'd get me into the events. I remember being backstage and meeting Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Chyna and Trish Stratus as a kid, so it's really funny to me that I ended up here. I went on a different path than wanting to become a WWE Superstar."
As of March 2015, Paquette confirmed that she was in a real-life relationship with WWE wrestler Jonathan Good, better known by his ring name Dean Ambrose.
Filmography
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | The Smart Woman Survival Guide | Cute Intern | Episode: "Go Big or Go Home" |
| 2010 | Gotta Grudge? | Herself | 8 episodes |
| 2011-2012 | Gillette Drafted | Herself | Judge, mentor |
| 2013 | Total Divas | Herself | Guest (Season 1) Recurring (Season 4–5): 14 episodes |
| 2013 | WWE: The Top 25 Rivalries in Wrestling History | Herself | Host |
| 2014 | WWE Countdown | Herself | Episode: "Coolest Catchphrases" |
| 2014–present | WWE Music Power 10 | Herself | Voice-over host |
| 2014–present | WWE Quick Hits | Herself | Host |
| 2015–present | Unfiltered with Renee Young | Herself | Host |
| 2015 | WWE Tough Enough | Herself | Co-host |
Web
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2013–2015 | The JBL and Cole Show | Herself |
| 2013–2015 | After Total Divas | Herself |
Awards and accomplishments
- WWE
- Slammy Award for Favorite Web Show of the Year (2013) - with Michael Cole and John "Bradshaw" Layfield for The JBL and Cole Show
External links
WWE.com Profile
Renee Young on Twitter
Renee Young on Facebook
