A Touch Of Class (WCW Magazine #73)
by Jennifer Williams

Carmel Macklin, aka Ms. Jones, proves confidence and integrity can be quite
attreactive

   Carmel Macklin has seen the extremes women will go to in order to be
perceived as beautiful. Anorexia, bulimia and excessive plastic surgery have
become all too common, especially for women and young girls seeking fame and
fortune in the entertainment industry. Macklin, however, has managed to find
success on her own terms in a business in which image is everything.

   Born to a white mother and a black father, Macklin, WCW's Ms. Jones, was
instilled with confidence and a strong sense of self-worth at an early age.
Those attributes helped Macklin endure taunting from other children about her
racial identity and her lanky frame. "I was called every name in the book"
she says. "But as long as you know who you are and your parents instill that
type of confidence in you, it won't bother you as much."

   Macklin's self-assurance also equipped her to chase her dream of becoming
a dancer. Although she had been dancing since she was a child, Macklin didn't
pursue her passion as a profession until after graduating from Temple
University with a degree in psychology. It was at that point the Pittsburgh
native moved to Atlanta, where she worked as a marketing manager for Gatorade
during the day and went on dance auditions for music videos in the evening.

   Macklin was one of hundreds of women who competed in the 1999 Nitro Girl
Search. Although she didn't win, Macklin impressed Nitro Girls
manager/choreographer Alto Gary, who contacted her a month later and offered
her a spot with the Nitro Girls. "I kept praying that God would lead me to
where I needed to be, so when Alto called, I was ecstatic," says Macklin, who
was known as Chameleon in the dance troupe.

   Once Macklin made it to WCW, her career took another turn. After seven
months as a Nitro Girl, Ernest "The Cat" Miller asked her to become his
valet, and she happily agreed. "I was nervous, because as a Nitro Girl, you
know what you're going to do: you're going to dance," she says. "But as a
valet, you're in the story, and you don't know what you're going to be doing.
You can wrestle one time, just walk out to the ring another time, say a few
lines or be off for a week. But Ernest helped me feel comfortable with the
transition."

   As Macklin adjusted to her new role, she and Miller focused on the
development of her character, Ms. Jones. "Ernest wanted a strong, attractive,
feminine character, not the stereotypical black woman with an attitude," she
says.

   Not perpetuating stereotypes and serving as a positive role model are
priorities for Macklin. "I think that people who say they aren't role models
are just copping out," she says. "Even if you're not on TV or an athlete or
anything like that, having young people looking at you makes you a role
model. Now that I'm on TV, I'm a role model to more people. I take that into
consideration."

   She believes it's important to show that female characters in sports
entertainment can be more than just T&A. "A lot of people suggested that I
wear less clothing to get over," Macklin says. "I didn't do it because I
don't want to be portrayed that way. I'm stylish and classy, and that's the
type of character I wanted to portray. If you have a trashy image, people
treat you like trash."

   Macklin also has resisted the temptation of surgically enhancing her body
to advance her career, and she encourages women and young girls to love and
accept themselves for who they are and how they look. "I will never get
breast implants, although that's not to say that I've never thought about
changing my body," she says. "This society is male-oriented, and a lot of
women's self-perceptions are based on how men look at them and treat them.
I struggle with that all the time because I see myself on TV and I think,
'These clothes will look better if I have a bigger this or bigger that.'

   But once you start changing yourself, you'll never be satisfied with who
you are because it's a deeper issue. If you're OK with yourself and you know
that you're beautiful you can fight those insecurities. That's why we have
to have more role models who don't change their bodies. Our children will
see that they can be OK with how they look and who they are."

   With aplomb and ambition in abundance, Macklin has set her goals beyond
the realm of professional wrestling. In addition to seeking a career in
acting, she also is interested in going to graduate school. "I would go for
my MBA (Masters in Business Administration) or to law school," she says. "I
don't want to practice law, but I love to learn about laws and peoples'
rights. I plan on teaching people who can't afford lawyers or don't have the
resources to find lawyers about their rights and the laws."

   Macklin hopes to serve as an inspiration to others regardless of where
her career leads her. "I think that everyone has a plan mapped out for their
lives," she says. "If you try to be the best that you can be and follow God's
path for you, where you are is where you're sup posed to be. Never think that
you can't do anything, no matter what socioeconomic background you came from.
There are enough people out here who have gone from nothing to something. You
just have to go for it."