About Brooke

Brooke Ellen Bollea (born May 5, 1988), better known by her stage name Brooke Hogan, is an American television star and producer, dancer, actress, singer, musician, music producer, voice over actor, and media personality.  She is the daughter of famous professional wrestler Hulk Hogan. Brooke took an early interest in music. After years of professional musical training, she auditioned for boy-band mogul, Lou Pearlman. She was signed to Pearlman’s label, Transcontinental Records in 2002, and began working on her first studio album at just 13 years old. To  promote her music career, Hogan and her father appeared in a one-hour special on VH1. The special was the highest rated of VH1’s “Inside Out ” series, leading to Hogan and her family starring in the reality television series Hogan Knows Best (2005–07). While filming, Hogan recorded her first studio album titled “This Voice” with Pearlman, but the album was never released due to Pearlman’s arrest for money laundering through his label. The show saw a then teenage Brooke struggling with her overprotective father and recording her second album. Her first released studio album, Undiscovered, was released in 2006. It was preceded by the single “About Us“, which entered the top-forty of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and peaked at #1 on billboard’s top singles sales chart twice. Brooke also won a Teen Choice award for “About Us.”

When the Hogan Knows Best series was completed, VH1 signed Hogan to her own television series, Brooke Knows Best (2008–09), which rated higher than Hogan Knows Best.  Though her parents and brother made appearances throughout the series, it mainly focused on Brooke and the recording of her third studio album, The Redemption (2009). Her show was contracted for 3 more seasons, but filming was ceased due to her family’s publicly displayed struggles and legal tribulations at the time. Following the conclusion of Brooke Knows Best, Hogan pursued a career in acting, making numerous appearances in films and television shows. In 2012, Hogan signed with Spike TV to appear on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), alongside her father. She managed the female wrestling division, “The Knockouts” for a year before deciding to move to Nashville to pursue songwriting. She released a country style EP titled “I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend” in 2015, which did well despite criticism of her crossover from hip hop to country. Hogan starred in the satire film L.A. Slasher (2015), Lifetime Movie “Stranger Inside” (2016), and recently completed hosting a fashion-based, competition reality TV show, “The Fashion Hero” which will air internationally in 2017. Brooke is now executive producing and writing multiple television series due to air spring 2017. She is the owner of a new wrestling division, and is currently producing a new live show set to debut in Las Vegas  late 2017.

Early life

Brooke Ellen Bollea was born May 5, 1988, in Tampa, Florida, the older child of Hulk Hogan (Terry Gene Bollea) and Linda Claridge. She has one younger brother, Nick Hogan (Nick Bollea).

In high school, she took dance classes, vocal lessons, piano lessons, and gymnastics. In her freshman year (though she only stayed at the school for the first half of freshman year due to bullying), She sang chorus for CCCHS. She then moved schools, and joined the cheerleading squad of her St. Petersburg military academy, Admiral Farragut. Hogan eventually had to begin homeschooling because her music career required her to tour, and she graduated from high school at the age of sixteen.

Career

2002–05: Music beginnings and reality series

Hogan was signed to Trans Continental Records in 2002. Some music was produced with Rich Cronin‘s assistance. The album’s lead single, “Everything to Me“, was released in July 2004. The song appeared at number one twice on the Hot 100 Singles Sales chart in the United States, and number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100. To promote the album, Hogan toured with Hilary Duff on her Most Wanted Tour throughout the US, as well as with the Backstreet Boys on their Up Close & Personal Tour, both of which took place in mid to late 2004. She has opened for Toby Keith, Ashlee Simpson, Akon, Aaron Carter, Danity Kane, the Pussycat Dolls, Cassie, Kimberly Locke, and JoJo. The album, Brooke Hogan: This Voice, was slated for a September 21, 2004 release date, but the album was not released.

Hogan and her father appeared in the hour-long profile (Inside) Out: Hulk Hogan, Stage Dad. The television special chronicled Hogan working on her debut album, as well as showed her father’s role in the album making process. The special was a major success for the network, and the success of the special led to VH1 turning it into an entire television series, titled Hogan Knows Best. The series premiered in July 2005, and was the highest rated series in the network’s history. The show chronicled the Hogan family’s life together, although it mainly focused on Brooke and her father. Hogan Knows Best presented her father as strict with her dating. On the show, Hulk placed a GPS tracker on Brooke’s vehicle that enabled him to track her whereabouts and shut down the engine of her car remotely. However, Brooke said in a later interview that her father loosened up after her eighteenth birthday.

2006–08: Undiscovered and Brooke Knows Best

In 2006, Hogan changed record labels and became the first artist signed to Scott Storch‘s label, initially called Storchaveli Records, but later named Storch Music Company. She also signed with SoBe Entertainment. Storch also became the album’s main producer. During an interview, Hogan stated that she was recording the album at The Hit Factory in Miami, Florida, where rapper Paul Wall heard a clip of the song “About Us” and asked to be on the song.

The lead single from the album, “About Us“, was premiered on the season two finale of Hogan Knows Best. It quickly began receiving heavy radio rotation, and peaked at number 33 the Billboard Hot 100. Undiscovered was released on October 24, 2006 in the United States and Canada. The album debuted at number 28 on the Billboard 200, and number 1 on the Independent Albums charts in the US, selling an estimated 30,000 copies in its first week of release. The album has sold an estimated 400, 000 copies in the United States.

To help promote the album, Hogan appeared in the November 2006 edition of FHM, becoming the first FHM cover model under 21 years old. As a result, the November issue had no liquor advertising. Dana Leslie Fields, executive publisher and president of FHM, said: “In the very rare instance that you might have a cover star under the age of 21, they don’t want to be in the position of seeming to market to anyone under age.”

To further promote the album, Hogan announced its second single would be “Heaven Baby”, which featured Beenie Man on guest vocals. The song was released to pop radio in January 2007. On March 6, “For A Moment” was released as a promotional single from the album, with a music video featuring clips of the third and fourth seasons of Hogan Knows Best. Hogan’s record label decided the album should be re-released later in the year; however, Hogan decided against it, opting to begin work on her second album. In August 2007, Hogan confirmed that she would be departing from one of her labels, SMC, and soon confirmed that she had signed a dual contract with SoBe Entertainment and Fontana Records and was at work on her second album. Hogan appeared as a panel judge in America’s Prom Queen in early 2008.

While working on her second studio album, the series Hogan Knows best had finished filming it’s last contracted season. Brooke was approached by VH1 awhile thereafter and signed on to do her own series, Brooke Knows Best. The series premiered on July 13, 2008, and featured Hogan dealing with her family’s problems, her music career, and her life while no longer living with her parents nor dependent on them. The show rated higher than Hogan Knows Best, and consisted of her friends, Glenn and Ashley — who are often encouraging Brooke to get out, have fun, and party. Brooke, Glenn, and Ashley lived together in a penthouse on south beach. The show chronicled the problems Brooke faced while dealing with the divorce of her parents, as well as brother Nick Hogan‘s prior arrest related to a serious car accident. The series ended in 2009 after two seasons due to legal issues her family was involved in, although it was slated to film three more seasons.

2009–present: The Redemption and film debut

Hogan with Brad Neely, creator of the animated TV series China, IL, on which she has done voice work

In early 2009, Hogan announced the title of her second album to be The Redemption. The album’s lead single, “Falling”, featured rapper Stacks, and was released on March 31, 2009. On June 30, Hogan released the album’s second single, “Hey Yo!”, which featured Colby O’Donis on guest vocals. On July 4, Hogan released a mixtape, titled “Judgement Day”, to help promote the release of the album. The mixtape caused a buzz online after the song ‘Ur Not That Hot’ was rumored to be about a feud with another Hollywood star. The song also includes a fake voicemail that Hogan implies was the message she received from the celebrity. The Redemption was released on July 21 in the US and Canada for digital download and as a physical copy. Hogan completed a second and final season of Brooke Knows Best on August 9, 2009.

Brooke had a cameo role in the pilot episode of The Jeff Dunham Show, and appeared on Nick Cannon’s “Wild’n’ out” show.

In November 2009 Hogan was featured in Toni Braxton‘s music video for “Yesterday“. In late 2009, Hogan made her first film appearance in the live action film Little Hercules in 3D, which was released in certain territories outside of the US. It was released on October 8, 2009 in Kazakhstan and Russia, and in the Czech Republic on January 7, 2010.

Hogan appeared as Kate in the Science fiction film 2 Headed Shark Attack, which was released on January 17, 2012 in the United States.  She also appeared as Sandy Powers in the film “Sand Sharks”, which was released on January 9 in the US and the United Kingdom. Both science fiction movies aired on the SyFy network in the US, and were also featured on Netflix. She starred in in the Adult Swim cartoon, China, IL (2012-2014) on Cartoon Network, performing multiple voices for 12 different characters. She specialized in accents and vocal pitching techniques for each character.

Hogan released her first alternative country track titled “Girlfriend” on iTunes following her EP fall 2015.

Hogan has since filmed two movies, “LA Slasher,” lifetime movie “Stranger Inside,” and reality competition show, “The fashion Hero.”

Hogan is set to release her new song and music video “taste like summer,” in summer 2017, she is also producing and writing multiple new television shows, and is the  owner of a new female wrestling division.

She is currently in talks with a hotel chain in Las Vegas for a new live show, however, the nature of the show has not been released to the public.

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) (2006)

Brooke made her WWE debut on the July 15, 2006 episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event, appearing with her father. Randy Orton came out and flirted with Brooke then challenged Hulk to a match at SummerSlam. Later in the parking lot after more flirting, Brooke got in their car and was unaware Orton would RKO Hulk. Orton would later appear on WWE Raw with a fake Hogan family and kissed the fake Brooke.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2012–2013)

On May 17, 2012, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), the wrestling promotion where her father worked, announced that Brooke had signed on to work in the promotion as an on-screen authority figure and a backstage consultant to the TNA Knockouts.

In July 2012, Brooke confirmed via her official Twitter account, that she has continued to write and develop her third studio album. Throughout the mid-2012, she has been appearing on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), weekly on Thursday nights to help promote and manage the female’s wrestling division. On the June 7 episode of Impact Wrestling, a week after Hogan’s TNA debut, Hogan gave Mickie James, Tara, Velvet Sky and Miss Tessmacher (now changed back to Brooke Tessmacher) a chance in a four-way match to earn another shot at Gail Kim‘s TNA Women’s Knockout Championship, which was won by Miss Tessmacher. In June 2012, Hogan gave Velvet Sky a part featured in Montgomery Gentry‘s music video for their song “So Called Life“. On the June 21 episode of Impact Wrestling, Hogan chose James over Sky as the next challenger for the Women’s Knockout Championship, but failed to recapture the title from Miss Tessmacher.

In July, Hulk Hogan, alongside Sting, began feuding with a mysterious group of masked men, who had dubbed themselves the Aces & Eights. The group’s attack on Hulk Hogan on the July 12 episode of Impact Wrestling was used to write Hulk Hogan off the show, as he was set to undergo another back surgery. On the August 16, 2012 episode of Impact, Hogan hired Taryn Terrell, as the referee for the TNA Women’s Knockout Championship match between Madison Rayne and Miss Tessmacher. In November, Hogan would move into a storyline with her father and Bully Ray after Austin Aries revealed a secret relationship between herself and Ray. After seeing them kissing in a parking garage on the December 20 episode of Impact Wrestling, Hulk suspended Ray indefinitely on the January 3, 2013, episode. The following week, after Ray saved Hogan from a kidnapping by the Aces & Eights, Hogan accepted his marriage proposal much to her father’s dismay. The ceremony took place the next week on Impact Wrestling, where Ray’s groomsman Tazz interrupted and revealed himself to be a member of Aces & Eights, leading to the group attacking Ray, Hulk Hogan, and the rest of the groomsmen. On the February 21 edition of Impact, after listening to Hogan plea, Hulk Hogan named Bully Ray the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship at Lockdown. At this event, Bully Ray would turn his back on Hogan and TNA by revealing himself as the President of the Aces & Eights. On the following episodes of Impact, Bully Ray touted the fact that the public bought into his deceptive act the entire time to earn the trust of Sting, Hogan, and Hulk Hogan as a way to get a chance to capture the TNA World Title. Hogan continued to seek a divorce from her husband and got it ending the storyline.^{[episode needed]} On August 16, 2013 it was reported that Hogan had left TNA to pursue music again.

Personal life

Hogan was engaged to Dallas Cowboys center Phil Costa. The couple called off their engagement in November 2013.

In 2015, an audio recording (and its transcripts) with comments which her father Hulk Hogan allegedly made about her and her choice of companionship in 2006 became the center of controversy that resulted in his contract with the WWE ending. Hulk Hogan’s comments described \

 A attorneys himself as her ideal husband and that he would bring hulkmania on anyone who married his daughter. In response she wrote a poem defending him.