three stepbrothers. She grew up in Montpelier, Virginia and graduated from Patrick Henry High School in 1997. While growing up, she spent a lot of time on her grandmother's horse farm, and developed a keen interest in equestrian sports. She played violin for five years. James is part Native American of the Powhatan tribe. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (1999–2003) A fan of professional wrestling from an early age, James attended a professional wrestling school in the Washington, D.C. area at the suggestion of a friend. She made her professional debut on the independent circuit on 28 August 1999, as a valet for KYDA Pro Wrestling under the ring name Alexis Laree, a name created as the result of a combination of her stage name from when she was a dancer and her middle name. Laree went on to manage several male wrestlers, including managing Tommy Dreamer to win the KYDA Pro Heavyweight Championship. In March, she wrestled in her first match, an intergender tag team match with Jake Damian against American Mike Brown and Candie. She trained to improve her wrestling abilities by attending training camps such as the Funking Conservatory, a workshop run by Dory Funk Jr., and an Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) dojo. She also started competing for Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW), where she trained at camps run by Ricky Morton and Bobby Eaton. Beginning in 2002, she also made appearances for Ring of Honor. Due to the low salary of the independent shows, James supplemented her income by working as a waitress at an Olive Garden restaurant, and posing nude for adult fetish magazines Leg Show and Naughty Neighbors in the early 2000s, before gaining fame and being subsequently signed by World Wrestling Entertainment in 2003. Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–2003) While working in Ring of Honor for a year, James also debuted as Alexis Laree in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on the company's first ever weekly pay-per-view, introduced as a participant in the lingerie battle royal, which occurred the following week. She was not prominently featured until March 26, 2003, when she teamed with Amazing Red as part of his feud against the X Division Champion Kid Kash and Trinity. Laree competed in her first singles match with the promotion on April 2, 2003, in a losing effort against Trinity. Weeks later, she became the first member of The Gathering, a stable led by