Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne
Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional
wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all
time, he was integral to the development and success of the World Wrestling
Federation (WWF, now WWE) during the Attitude Era, an industry boom period in
the late 1990s and early 2000s. Johnson wrestled for the WWF for eight years
prior to pursuing an acting career. His films have grossed over $3.5 billion in
North America and over $10.5 billion worldwide, making him one of the world's
highest-grossing and highest-paid actors.
Dwayne Johnson's Wiki/Bio/Age/Education
Johnson
was born in Hayward, California on May 2, 1972, the son of Ata Johnson (née
Maivia; born 1948) and former professional wrestler Rocky Johnson (born Wayde
Douglas Bowles; 1944–2020). Growing up, Johnson lived briefly in Grey Lynn in
Auckland, New Zealand with his mother's family, where he played rugby and
attended Richmond Road Primary School before returning to the U.S.
Johnson's
father was a Black Nova Scotian with a small amount of Irish ancestry. His
mother is Samoan. His father and Tony Atlas were the first black tag team champions
in WWE history, in 1983. His mother is the adopted daughter of Peter Maivia,
who was also a professional wrestler. Johnson's maternal grandmother Lia was
the first female pro wrestling promoter, taking over Polynesian Pacific Pro
Wrestling after her husband's death in 1982 and managing it until 1988. Through
his maternal grandfather Maivia, Johnson is a non-blood relative to the Anoa'i
wrestling family.In 2008, Johnson inducted his father and grandfather into the
WWE Hall of Fame.
Johnson
attended Montclaire Elementary School in Charlotte, North Carolina before
moving to Hamden, Connecticut, where he attended Shepherd Glen Elementary School
and then Hamden Middle School. Johnson attended President William McKinley High
School in Honolulu and then Glencliff High School and McGavock High School,
both in Nashville, and then Freedom High School in Bethlehem Township in the
Lehigh Valley, where he graduated in 1990.
At
Freedom High School in the Lehigh Valley, Johnson initially struggled and was
drawn into a culture of conflict and petty crime. Before the age of 17, he was
arrested multiple times for fighting, theft, and check fraud and was suspended
two weeks for fighting. The local newspaper later described him as "a
troubled teenager with a history of run-ins with police." Freedom High
School football coach Jody Cwik, however, saw athletic potential in Johnson,
and recruited him to join Freedom's football team, where he played defensive
tackle. The experience proved the beginning of a personal transformation for
Johnson. "My thought process started to change. That's when I started
thinking about goals and what I wanted to accomplish," he has since said
about his high school football experience.
Football career
College career
As
he did in high school in Pennsylvania, Johnson continued to play defensive
tackle at the University of Miami. He was a member of the Miami Hurricanes
football team during his freshman year in 1991. Despite playing four years
there, Johnson found himself behind elite players on the depth chart, including
future NFL star and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Warren Sapp, and
appeared mostly in backup roles.
In
1995, Johnson graduated with a Bachelor of General Studies and a dual major in criminology
and physiology. Additionally, Johnson was one of the university's most prolific
student speakers in the Miami-area community, frequently delivering positive
messages about his own struggles and encouraging them to remain in school and
avoid the dangers of drug use.
Professional Wrestling Career
After
being cut by Calgary, Johnson began his professional wrestling career the
following year, in 1996. Veteran wrestler Pat Patterson secured several tryout
matches for Johnson with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1996.
Wrestling at first under his real name, Johnson defeated The Brooklyn Brawler
at a house show on March 10 and lost matches to Chris Candido and Owen Hart.
After wrestling at Jerry Lawler's United States Wrestling Association under the
name Flex Kavana and winning the USWA tag team championship twice with his
partner Bart Sawyer in the summer of 1996, Johnson was signed to a WWF
contract. He received additional training from Tom Prichard, alongside Achim
Albrecht and Mark Henry.
Record-breaking world champion (2000–2002)
In
the following weeks, the Rock continued his feud with Triple H and eventually
won his fourth WWF Championship, which he won on April 30, at Backlash, after
Stone Cold Steve Austin intervened on his behalf. The following night on Raw,
he successfully defended his title against Shane McMahon in a Steel Cage match.
On May 21, at Judgment Day, the Rock faced Triple H in an Iron Man match with
Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee. With the score tied at five falls
each, and with seconds left on the time limit, the Rock was disqualified when
The Undertaker attacked Triple H, thus giving Triple H the 6–5 win and the
title. The Rock won the WWF Championship for a fifth time at King of the Ring
on June 25 by scoring the winning pin in a six-man tag team match, teaming with
Kane and The Undertaker against Shane McMahon, Triple H and Vince McMahon, whom
he pinned. The Rock successfully defended the championship against Chris
Benoit, on July 23, at Fully Loaded. The next month, he successfully defended
his title against Kurt Angle and Triple H at SummerSlam. The Rock had another
successful title defense against Benoit, Kane and The Undertaker, on September
24, at Unforgiven.
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Acting career
Johnson entered Hollywood and the film industry, becoming a star initially through his wrestling popularity and noted work ethic. Over his acting career, he became one of the highest paid and most successful actors in Hollywood. He began his acting career on television while wrestling. In his first television acting job, in 1999, he played his own father in an episode of That '70s Show called "That Wrestling Show". Nearly a year later, he appeared in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Tsunkatse" as an alien wrestler who fought popular character Seven of Nine. While Johnson was away from WWE, the company continued to sell "The Rock" merchandise, and he continued to be featured prominently in the opening montages of their television shows.
Theatrical Career
Johnson
began his theatrical career in The Mummy Returns (2001), The Scorpion King
(2002), The Rundown (2003), and Walking Tall (2004). He played a supporting
role in Be Cool (2005) - most notable for the meta element of playing a
bodyguard that wants to become an actor[271] - and was the primary antagonist
in Doom (2005). He also had roles in Gridiron Gang (2006), Reno 911!: Miami
(2007), and Southland Tales (2006). He played a cocky famous American football
player in The Game Plan (2007) and Agent 23 in Get Smart (2008). He presented
the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 80th Academy Awards.
Personal life
Johnson
first met fellow University of Miami student Dany Garcia in the early 1990s.
The couple married on May 3, 1997. She is a businesswoman, IFBB professional
bodybuilder, and producer. Their daughter, Simone, was born on August 14, 2001.
On June 1, 2007, Johnson and Garcia announced they were separating amicably, and
their divorce was finalized in May 2008.
Johnson
subsequently began dating Lauren Hashian, the daughter of Boston drummer Sib
Hashian. They first met in 2006 while Johnson was filming The Game Plan. They
were married on August 18, 2019, in Hawaii. The couple have two daughters:
Jasmine (born December 17, 2015) and Tiana (born April 17, 2018). Johnson and
Hashian reside in Los Angeles and have a farm in Virginia and a second home in
Southwest Ranches, Florida.
In
recognition of his service to the Samoan people, and because he is a descendant
of Samoan chiefs, Johnson was given the noble title of Seiuli (meaning the son
of Malietoa [Alo o Malietoa]) by Malietoa Tanumafili II during his visit there
on August 9, 2004. In 2009, he gained Canadian citizenship through his father's
birth and citizenship there.
He
received a partial Samoan pe'a tattoo on his left side in 2003. In 2017, he had
the small "Brahma bull" tattoo on his right arm covered with a larger
half-sleeve tattoo of a bull's skull.
In
February 2020, WWE announced that Johnson's daughter Simone began training at the
WWE Performance Center, making her the first fourth-generation WWE wrestler. On
May 16, Johnson announced she had signed a contract with WWE, and in May 2022
announced that her ring name would be Ava Raine.