The Lady Maverick of Poker, a White Plains, New York native, was born Vanessa Ashley Rousso on February 5, 1983. She holds dual citizenships with the United States and France.



Vanessa graduated as valedictorian of her High School in Wellington, Florida in 2001. In December 2003, she graduated early from Duke University with a major in economics and a minor in political science. She is currently a law student at the University of Miami.

Though she has been playing poker since the age of 5, she didn't begin playing serious poker tournaments until 2006 during her summer break from law school. Even in her rookie year of tournament play, Vanessa Rousso was a powerhouse in the world of poker. She had multiple in-the-money finishes including 7th place at the World Poker Tour Championship Event, 8th place in the World Series of Poker $5,000 shorthanded event, and a cash worth over $285,000 at the Borgata Open.

After making her name known in the poker world, Vanessa Rousso was signed to Team PokerStars, where she plays under the screen name LadyMaverick. In 2007, she finished 3rd in the World Championship of Online Poker Main Event on PokerStars, winning over $463,000. After some controversy, the winner of the tournament was actually disqualified, and Rousso was named runner up and awarded the 2nd place money of $700,782.50!

As of 2008, her tournament winnings exceed $1,000,000.

Click here to play with Vanessa Rousso on PokerStars

quite the hottie, love to play her heads up live lol

certainly above average for a poker player ... but outside that field, well ... let's not carried away.

dijwaila you must have a smoking hot girlfriend if you think vanessa is just hot for a poker player. looks like the a ten in my book, maybe because i've been with wifey to long, but i think all the donkhard men would agree she is a dime piece. better looking than half of the so called supermodels i see on t.v.

She's the hottest pro on the circuit right now. Period.