The sportswoman was found at a property in Redondo Beach, California, on Wednesday evening (20Apr16), with police called at around 7.30pm.

Her passing was confirmed with a statement on Chyna's official Twitter account, which read: "It is with deep sadness to inform you today that we lost a true icon, a real life superhero. She will live forever in the memories of her millions of fans and all of us that loved her."

According to TMZ.com, officers are now investigating Laurer's passing as a potential overdose, due to her history with drug addiction.

She battled her demons for years and even made an appearance on reality show Celebrity Rehab back in 2008.

Laurer first made a name for herself when she joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), as it was then called, back in 1997. She performed under the ring name Chyna and was billed as the "ninth wonder of the world". She was a founding member of wrestling group D-Generation X, alongside Triple H, and became the first woman to enter The Royal Rumble - one of WWE's (as it is now known) most popular pay-per-view wrestling events.

She also is the only female performer to hold the WWF Intercontinental Championship twice, as well as claiming the WWF Women's Championship once.

In 2001, Laurer made the decision to leave the wrestling world and explore other ventures. She posed for Playboy magazine twice and in 2005 made the transition to reality television when she appeared on The Surreal Life back in 2005. This then led to several more reality television appearances, on shows such as The Surreal Life: Fame Games and the aforementioned Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew in 2008.

In her personal life, Laurer is most well known for her relationship with fellow wrestler Sean Waltman, with whom she made the sex tape 1 Night in China. She then went on to star in a further five adult movies.