Sandra Gray is a fashion and costume designer known particularly for her work designing and building costumes for wrestling.
Gray was born June 27, 1956.[1] Her father was in the Army, and her mother won a sewing machine in a bingo game while on the base that she passed to her daughter, and Gray taught herself how to sew and make clothes for herself and her friends.[1] [2]
In 1994, while living in Marietta, Georgia, Gray was engaged to make a costume for Marc Mero.[2] Mero stated that Gray answered a newspaper advertisement,[3] although Gray recalls being approached by Mero's girlfriend at the time Rena Greek, who had heard about her sewing skills.[1] The costume that Gray created established Mero's signature character, Johnny B. Badd, based on Little Richard.[3] As a result of this commission, and due to word-of-mouth from Mero, Gray became a successful designer and costumier specialising in wrestling wear.[1] [2] With the support of Miss Elizabeth and Lex Luger, she signed an exclusive contract with World Championship Wrestling which was acquired by the WWE in 2001.[1] [4] Gray was employed as costume designer for World Wrestling Entertainment until 2015. Gray got hired at All Elite Wrestling in 2019 as their in-house seamstress.[5] [6] In her job, she was often seen on the WWE reality programme Total Divas.[1] [2] She was succeeded by Sarath Ton, a former independent wrestler known as Mikaze.[7]
Gray's other wrestling clients include Layla El, Nikki Bella, Alicia Fox, Cameron, Dustin and Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler and Allie.[1] [2] [8] [9] She originated Naomi's trademark glow-in-the-dark costumes in 2016,[10] and created wedding dresses for Naomi's 2014 wedding to Jimmy Uso and for Penelope Ford's on-screen marriage to Kip Sabian on AEW Dynamite in February 2021.[11] [12] Gray has also made cheerleader uniforms, including the inaugural cheerleader uniforms for the Houston Texans squad's debut in September 2011.[1]
In 2016, Gray opened a shop in Riverview, Florida, selling both her original designs and vintage clothing.[1]