Renee Jane Paquette was born in Toronto on September 19, 1985. She was a child model. After high school, she applied to several colleges and began training in improv comedy. At the age of 19, she relocated 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 there instead. After becoming frustrated with her lack of auditions, she became interested in broadcasting instead of acting.
Paquette began working for The Score Television Network in the later months of 2009 on the program called Right After Wrestling, later to be renamed Aftermath, where she presented alongside Arda Ocal, Mauro Ranallo and former WWE referee Jimmy Korderas.
WWE (2012–present)
Paquette signed with the American professional wrestling promotion WWE in October 2012, where she was initially given the ring name Renee Sterling before choosing the name Renee Young. Her first appearance was as a co-host on the 2012 Survivor Series pre-show alongside Scott Stanford. Young then debuted on the January 23, 2013 episode of NXT as a backstage interviewer. She began performing interviews exclusively for WWE Active in February 2013. Renee made her SmackDown debut on the March 29th episode, interviewing Randy Orton, Big Show, and Sheamus. in December 2016 Young began co-hosting the World Tour segments, which was a segment detailing the city they were filming in, showcasing various tourist attractions, before later being promoted as a third main presenter on the JBL and Cole Show, which was shown on YouTube and WWE's website, until its cancellation in June 2015. It received a Slammy Award for Favorite Web Show of the Year. She also presents WWE Vintage Collection alongside Gene Okerlund. In September 2013, Young made her commentary debut on NXT. She began performing color commentary during women's 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 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 WWE Network show, Unfiltered with Renee Young, in which she interviews fellow WWE employees. 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 ChampionThe 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, for which she was fined for. Young filled in for Jonathan Coachman as a guest commentator on the August 13, 2018 episode of Raw, making her the first woman to call an entire episode of Raw. Her debut coincided with her real-life husband Dean Ambrose's return from a lengthy injury. On September 10, 2018, Young joined the Raw commentary team full-time. Beginning in October 2019, Young moved to SmackDown as a "special contributor" and began co-hosting the new studio program WWE Backstage on Fox Sports 1 with Booker T. On November 1, 2019, Young filled in as commentator on SmackDown, as Michael Cole and Corey Graves missed the episode due to travel delays returning from Crown Jewel.
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 appeared in a commercial for Oxy and had a part in a Tom Greenmusic 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 a national Noxzema commercial and did a photoshoot for Toro Magazine. In 2016, Paquette began appearing as a main cast member for the sixth season of Total Divas. She had previously appeared in several episodes on a recurring basis. Young has hosted the podcast Regular Girls with Stacy McGunnigle since December 2016.
Filmography
Personal life
Paquette began dating wrestler Jonathan Good, better known as Jon Moxley and formerly Dean Ambrose, in 2013. They were married at their Las Vegas home in an impromptu ceremony in the early hours of April 9, 2017. On being a wrestling fan in both her childhood and adulthood, 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." Paquette is a fan of the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights. On June 24, 2020, Paquette announced that she had tested positive for COVID-19. She had reportedly recovered the following month.
Filmography
Television
Web
Awards and accomplishments
WWE
* Slammy Award for Favorite Web Show of the Year – with Michael Cole and John "Bradshaw" Layfield for The JBL and Cole Show
