Chyna, who rose to fame as a wrestler and actress, was found dead Wednesday in her Redondo Beach home, authorities said.

Anthony Anzaldo, her business manager, said she was found in her Redondo Beach apartment in the afternoon. She was 46.

Ed Winter, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner's office, said police initially reported the death as a "possible overdose or natural death." An autopsy is pending.

Redondo Beach police said officers found Chyna, whose real name was Joan Marie Laurer, dead on her bed, after receiving a call from her friend about a woman not breathing. The friend said Chyna had not answered her phone in a few days, according to a Redondo Beach Police Department statement.

There were no obvious signs of foul play, Redondo Beach police Lt. Todd Heywood said.

"From the preliminary investigation, it appears that the deceased passed away prior to being discovered by the friend," the police statement said.

Chyna was a star in World Wrestling Entertainment beginning in the mid-1990s. She billed herself as the "9th Wonder of the World" because her wrestling predecessor Andre the Giant had already called himself the eighth. She was a member of the wrestling squad that dubbed itself "D-Generation X," often wrestled against men and at one point was the WWE women's champion.

Chyna also performed as an actor in adult entertainment and mainstream films. For a time, Chyna was a big name in popular culture. "If They Only Knew," her autobiography, reached the New York Times bestseller list in 2001.

Chyna was a native of Rochester, N.Y., and graduated from the University of Tampa in Florida before taking up wrestling.

She joins a long list of WWE professional wrestlers who have died relatively young, including Rick Rude, Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig, the Ultimate Warrior and Owen Hart.

After leaving the WWE in 2001, she posed for Playboy and appeared in adult films and on reality TV, including the shows "The Surreal Life" and "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew."