As a professional wrestler, Ottawa native Maria Kanellis has faced off against some top athletes.

Now the Ottawa native has moved from the squared circle back into the fishbowl of reality television, where she'll be going up against her most formidable opponent yet — Donald Trump.

Kanellis, 27, is in New York filming episodes of "Celebrity Apprentice," which will air next spring on NBC-TV. The show is hosted by Trump, the business mogul whose aggressive self-promotion has made him a media star.

After a 2008 appearance on the cover of Playboy magazine, as well as a weekly turn as a competitor on World Wrestling Entertainment television shows, Kanellis has been deemed enough of a celebrity to be included in "The Apprentice."

Although she reportedly has moved to Los Angeles, the former Chicago resident can talk deep-dish pizza, the Cubs and politics on the "Apprentice" set with another Illinoisan — former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Impeached earlier this year, the Windy City resident has been indicted on federal corruption charges. His trial is scheduled to begin in June.

Other competitors on "Celebrity Apprentice" — according to published reports — include Bill Goldberg, an ex-wrestler; reality star and Poison singer Bret Michaels; pop singer Cyndi Lauper, who has her own pro-wrestling past; Olympic gold medal swimmer Summer Sanders; Darryl Strawberry, retired baseball star; comedian Carol Leifer; actress Holly Robinson Peete; and Sharon Osbourne, manager-husband of Ozzy Osbourne, who like Michaels is a heavy metal crooner who became a reality TV star in his own right.

In "The Apprentice" contestants vie in an elimination-style competition for a starting contract of running one of Trump's companies. In the celebrity version, the contestants compete on behalf of charitable organizations.

A 2000 graduate of Ottawa Township High School, Kanellis attended Northern Illinois University before landing a spot on the TBS reality show "Outback Jack."

She competed in the 2004 WWE "Raw Diva Search"and finished in fifth place. She accepted a role with the company as an interviewer before becoming a wrestler. Kanellis is the subject of several Internet Web sites.

In the 2007 version of "The Apprentice," Nicole D'Ambrosio was one of the four finalists. Her father, Don, resided in Ottawa when the show aired, and Nicole was marshal of the 2007 Riverfest parade.