Carano headlined the first major women's MMA event in Strikeforce history against Cris Cyborg in 2009, cementing her status as a pioneer who helped legitimize women's mixed martial arts.

Gina Carano was born on April 16, 1982, an Aries whose competitive fire drove her to become a pioneering force in women's MMA. She compiled a 7-1 record in Elite Xtreme Combat and Strikeforce from 2006 to 2009, headlining the first major women's MMA event alongside Cris Cyborg in 2009. Though dubbed the 'face of women's MMA,' Carano rejected this title, preferring to forge her own path. Standing 5'8", she transitioned from the cage to Hollywood, landing lead roles in Haywire (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013), and Deadpool (2016) before portraying Cara Dune in The Mandalorian from 2019 to 2020. Disney fired her from the series in 2021 following controversial social media posts, leading to a wrongful termination lawsuit in 2024 that ended in settlement in 2025.

Carano grew up in Las Vegas after her parents divorced when she was seven, leading her high school basketball team to a state championship while also excelling in volleyball and softball. She studied psychology at University of Nevada, Reno and University of Nevada, Las Vegas before her boyfriend Kevin Ross, a pro Muay Thai fighter, introduced her to martial arts. She dominated Muay Thai with a 12-1-1 record before Jamie Levine offered her the chance to compete in Nevada's first sanctioned female MMA bout in 2006, which she won in 38 seconds against Leiticia Pestova.

Carano is not married and has kept her romantic relationships relatively private, though she dated Muay Thai fighter Kevin Ross early in her fighting career. She maintains an active presence on Instagram where she shares updates about her projects and personal views. The daughter of casino executive and former NFL player Glenn Carano and Dana Joy Cason, she is the middle of three sisters and was raised primarily by her mother in Las Vegas.