Gina Carano: 5 Things to Know About the ‘Mandalorian’ Star Dropped By ‘Star Wars’

The Mandalorian star Gina Carano was dropped by Lucusfilm and Disney in 2021 after sharing offensive posts on social media. At the time, she had shared a number of controversial social media posts. In one TikTok video, she compared the state of U.S. politics to Nazi Germany. “Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors…even by children,” she posted in a now-deleted video. In a separate post, Gina claimed that “history is edited, most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?”

In a March 2024 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gina opened up for the first time about her reaction to getting fired from her Disney+ series.

“I just laid down and cried and cried,” she recalled. “I curled into a fetal position. It’s not that I didn’t think that something like that could happen. It was that I couldn’t imagine they would put out this horrendous statement about me after working with me — the most powerful entertainment company in the world saying that about me.”

Gina also pointed out that she became “unhirable” in Hollywood following her firing. “And then it becomes OK for other people to disrespect you,” she said. “And then you’re just carrying around this disrespect, and you’re shouldering all this shame, and it affects your physicality, your mentality. You’re just kind of hopeless.”

In 2021, Lucasfilm released a statement about the actress’ release from her show.

“Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future. Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable,” a statement from the studio issued to Variety read.

Learn more about The Mandalorian alum below.

She Starred in ‘The Mandalorian’

Gina played trusty sidekick and fellow bounty hunter Cara Dune in the Star Wars live-action series. Hailing from planet Alderaan, she has a unique arm tattoo that indicates she served as a shock trooper during the Galactic Civil War, as part of the Alliance to Restore the Republic and the New Republic. Cara is along for the ride with Pedro Pascal‘s “Mando” as the two attempt to protect child prodigy Grogu (a.k.a. “Baby Yoda”).

The casting came after she nearly quit Hollywood. “[Writer] Jon [Favreau] kind of just plucked me out of the desert and put me in this beautiful tropical place. And yeah, it’s hard work — sometimes 18 hour days — but I don’t care how hard this work is. I just absolutely love going to work; it gives me so much purpose,” she said of the gig to Refinery 29, confessing she wasn’t a big Star Wars fan before but is “100% in” now.

She Appeared in ‘Deadpool’

Marvel fans may also recognize her as Angel Dust from Ryan Reynolds‘ Deadpool movies. Gina’s Angel Dust is pivotal in transforming Deadpool — née Wade Wilson — into a mutant with the intention of making him an assassin. In the first film, the pair confront each other during an epic battle. “My character is big, strong, and silent. She’s not got a lot to say. But I’m so happy to be a part of it,” she said of the role back in 2016 to Screen Rant. “I never knew anything about him before, but it’s been really nice to be a part of a film in such a big level to see something good happen to Ryan, because he’s genuinely one of the nicest actors I’ve ever met,” she added.

She Was an MMA Fighter

Before getting into acting, Gina was a skilled athlete, competing in the MMA. In one of her most iconic fights, she took on Cris Cyborg in 2009 for Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg. The historic moment marked the first time two women headlined a major MMA fight, and at the time, it broke ratings records. Gina also competed in EliteXS.

She’s From Texas

Gina was born on April 16, 1982 in Dallas, Texas. She is the daughter of Dana Joy and former NFL player Glenn Carano, who played for the Dallas Cowboys from 1977 – 1983. Dana and Glenn are also parents to her two sisters, Kasey and Christi. Gina later moved to Las Vegas, NV with her family and graduated high school there.

She’s Dating a Fellow Athlete

Gina found second chance love with Kevin Ross nearly 10 years after they first got together. Kevin, who is an American Muay Thai kickboxer and former mixed martial artist, confirmed their relationship publicly in 2015. “We’ve kept things under wraps as to not want to invite the entire world into our relationship, although I think it’s been pretty evident that we are back together,” he wrote. “For those of you that don’t know we dated for 4 years, were broken up for a decade then got back together on the 14th anniversary of the day we met…You are my inspiration, my best friend, my everything!!!” he added. Previously, Gina dated Gina Carano Man of Steel actor Henry Cavill from 2012 to 2014.