Celebrating her 25th anniversary of her WWE debut, WWE alum Lilian Garcia talks about her career

Video interview with WWE alum Lilian Garcia who made her debut on the August 23, 1999 episode of "WWF Raw is War" at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.
On that show, Triple H defeated Mankind for the WWF World Title in the main event with special guest referee Shane McMahon.
That episode also featured Al Snow, Bradshaw, Crash Holly, D-Lo Brown, Faarooq, Gangrel, Hardcore Holly, Jeff Hardy, Kane, Mark Henry, Matt Hardy, Mideon, Paul Bearer, The Acolytes, The Big Show, The Road Dogg, The Rock, The Undertaker, and Viscera. Michael Cole and Jerry "The King" Lawler were the commentators.
Garcia did not know she would be ring announcing on Aug. 23, 1999 as WWE asked her to do it the day of the show. She was preparing to be a backstage interviewer.
Garcia, who made the most of the opportunity, learned from ring announcers Tony Chimel and WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel, who she respectfully replaced. She worked hard at her craft, finding her own voice, her own cadence, her own way of doing the job. She became one of the best ring announcers in WWE history, receiving a nod from her coherts, higher-ups, fans and the great Michael Buffer.
Garcia is also a singer. Pop, dance, rock, the multi-talented performer released five albums (English and Spanish).
Garcia sang the National Anthem for the first time in WWE on February 11, 2000 at a house show in Denver, Colorado. The Rock learned of her singing prowess and encouraged her to ask the producers if she could sing the National Antgem live, before the show.
After hearing that she did a great job, Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon had her sing the anthem before Raw went on the air on February 14, 2000 in San Jose, California. Impressed with her performance, McMahon then had Garcia sing the anthem every week before Raw. Her first televised performance aired on April 2, 2000, where she opened WrestleMania 2000 in Anaheim, California. Following the September 11 attacks, Garcia sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" on the September 13, 2001 episode of "SmackDown."
Garcia worked for WWE from 1999-2009 and then again for SmackDown from 2011-16. She made spoadic appearnces from 2017-present, including May 13, 2024, where she made a one-night return on "WWE RAW" as special guest ring announcer as current ring announcer Samantha Irvin asked her to help announce a King of the Ring Quarterfinal tournament match between Gunther and Kofi Kingston.
Garcia, who also was the ring announcer for PFL MMA, praised Irvin's work. Irvin has a singing background, too.
García was born on August 19, 1966 in the Panama Canal Zone. She then spent eight years in Spain because of her Puerto Rican father's employment with the American Embassy. She was educated on an American military base, leading her to describe herself as a "military brat". She is fluent in English and Spanish.
García began singing when she was a child in Madrid, Spain. She participated in singing contests with her sister starting when she was 5-years-old. In her early teens, she sang with a band at clubs around Columbia, South Carolina. Garcia's mother chaperoned, so she could sing. She appeared in the 1990 film "Modern Love" as a singer.
Garcia graduated cum laude (with honors) from the University of South Carolina. She was a Top 10 finalist in the Miss South Carolina beauty pageant. She is a devout Christian, crediting WWE alum Molly Holly with reconnecting her with God. She hosted a podcast "Chasing Glory" and is involved in philanthropy, charitable events.
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