From the Olympics to the Women’s Rugby World Cup and beyond, here is what we know about Ilona Maher’s possible change of sport.
Ilona Maher is best known by many from her social media, but she is an Olympic Bronze Rugby Union player from the USA and has recently contemplated an offer from WWE to become a professional wrestler.
Ilona Maher started playing rugby at the age of 17[/caption]
She had her debut for the US women’s team in 2018[/caption]
The US rugby team won a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics[/caption]
Who is Ilona Maher?
Ilona Maher is an American rugby union player.
She was born on August 12, 1996, in Burlington, Vermont.
Her mother, a Dutch native, works as a nurse, and she has two sisters, Olivia and Adrianna.
Ilona participated in Little League softball and other activities.
She attended Burlington High School and went on to Quinnipiac University, where she graduated with a degree in nursing in 2018.
Ilona earned a master’s degree in business administration from DeVry University in 2022.
She began her rugby career with the South Burlington School Rugby Football Club at age 17.
Before rugby, she had played field hockey, basketball, and soccer at Burlington High School.
Her dad, Michael Maher, is also former rugby player.
He previously played for Saint Michael’s College., a former rugby player for Saint Michael’s College, encouraged her to try the sport.
Following in his footsteps, Ilona played center at Quinnipiac University, and helped the team win three National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) championships.
Here, she was named to the NIRA All-American team each year and won the MA Sorensen Award in 2017.
She made her debut for the United States women’s national rugby union team against Japan in 2018 and represented the U.S. at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
That same year, she gave a TEDxTalk, and in 2024 Ilona was announced as a brand ambassador for Secret deodorant.
Ilona and her team won a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Rugby star most recently played for Bristol Bears in the Premiership Women’s Rugby league in England during the 2024/25 season to ensure selection for the World Cup that summer.
The TikToker joined the Bears on a three-month contract in January 2025, marking her 15s return since 2021. She had previously focused on sevens for three years to secure a spot on the Olympic team.
She also co-founded a skincare brand called Medalist.
How many medals did Ilona Maher win at the Paris 2024 Olympics?
Ilona Maher and the US Women’s Rugby team won a medal at the Olympics[/caption]
Ilona Maher won one medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
She and the U.S. Women’s Rugby Sevens team earned a bronze medal.
How many followers does Ilona Maher have on social media?
The influencer has a large social media following with 5.2 million followers on Instagram and 3.6 million on TikTok as of August 2025.
She has utilized her viral presence to advocate for body positivity and to increase awareness of women’s sports.
She recently went viral for calling out a hater, who commented on her BMI.
Ilona said in a TikTok: “It seems like you were trying to roast me, but let me set the record straight.
“I do have a BMI of 30, to be precise, it’s 29.3.
“I’ve been considered overweight my whole life.
“I chatted with my dietitian, because I go off of facts and not just what pops up here… like you do.
“We talked about BMI. And we talked about how it really isn’t helpful for athletes.
“BMI doesn’t tell you much. It just tells you your height and weight and what that equals.
“Do that math in your head — you probably can’t.
“And that BMI doesn’t really tell you what I can do.
“It doesn’t tell you what I can do on the field, how fit I am.
“It’s just a couple numbers put together.
“It doesn’t tell you how much muscle I have or anything like that.
“So, yeah. I do have a BMI of 30. I am considered overweight.
“But alas, I’m going to the Olympics and you’re not,”
Has Illona Maher held talks with WWE?
The USA Rugby Union star could change sporting professions after the Women’s Rugby World Cup[/caption]
The 29-year-old has said that she has been approached by the WWE before, and her ring name would be “Maher-vellous”.
Ilona Maher has coined “Maher-vellous” as her possible wrestling ring name[/caption]
Ex-Bristol Bears player said: “I don’t know if I would [go into wrestling]. I should think about it, there is great money in it.”
Ilona said if she were to get into wrestling, it would be to progress into Hollywood.
It is said that Ilona Maher has been approached about joining WWE[/caption]
“I would love to get into the acting space and the scripted space. I think a Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson, John Cena progression – I would love to do that,” she added.
“It would be exciting to see my body type on the screen. I’ll start off small – probably like a hot assassin or something, let’s not get too crazy!
“I’m not going to be in a rom-com just yet.
“We’ll see. The world is open, but I do see myself coming back to rugby.”
When is the Women’s Rugby World Cup?
The Women’s Rugby World Cup runs from August 22nd to September 27th.
Ilona Maher’s first game at the tournament for the USA will be against the hosts England.