Vanessa Rousso (Lady Maverick)

Revealed in the mid-2000s, Vanessa Rousso has forged a very consistent track record online and live to establish herself as one of the greatest players in poker history.

Born on February 5, 1983 in White Plains, New York, Vanessa Rousso moved to her father's homeland of France at the age of three. At an early age, she developed a keen interest in the world of games, notably chess and Rubik's Cube. When she was ten, her parents returned to the United States, where she studied economics and political science at Duke University. It was at this point that Vanessa contested her first poker tournaments.

A lightning rise

Vanessa builds up a small online bankroll, plays small tournaments in Florida where she lives and then enters the WSOP-C in Atlantic City. She returned with a 5th place finish, $17,550 and a ticket to the "Five Star Classic", a $25,000 tournament at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. This time, Vanessa took the counters by storm, winning another final table for $263,625. Her playing career is launched.

In the spotlight

Vanessa Rousso is now attracting attention and sponsors. She is a guest on Poker After Dark, makes numerous media appearances and, above all, becomes one of the representatives on Team PokerStars. With her new sponsor, Vanessa played her first WSOP final table in a $5,000 short-handed event, then her first WPT final three months later, which she won at the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City for $285,000. In 2007, she put in an incredible performance in the Red Spade Room at the World Online Championships (WCOOP), where she took 2nd place in the Main Event for over $700,000 in winnings. Vanessa Rousso then embarked on a worldwide tour. She takes 2nd place in the NBC national Heads-up championship for $250,000, then wins the EPT Monaco High Roller for €532,000.

Progressive withdrawal from the circuit

The player will string together performances until 2011, accumulating over $3.5 million in tournaments before gradually retiring from the circuit. From 2012, she resumed her studies at the Berklee College of Music with the ambition of becoming a DJ. Today, she appears very irregularly on tournaments, and a little more frequently behind the turntables. She has released several productions with her partner Melissa Ouellet, with whom she forms the group N1TEL1TE. Today, she remains one of the greatest winners in the history of poker, remaining, despite her long break, in the Top 10 of the "All-Time Women Money List".