About

Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name the Rock, is an American actor, film producer, and retired 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.

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 one of the first female pro wrestling promoters, 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.

Football 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, and won that year's national championship. 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 his time at Miami, Johnson played in 39 games with one start. He recorded 4.25 sacks and 77 tackles.

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

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

Debut; Intercontinental Champion (1996–1997)

Johnson made his WWF debut as Rocky Maivia, a combination of his father and grandfather's ring names, although his real name was acknowledged by the announcers. He was initially reluctant to take this ring name but was persuaded by Vince McMahon and Jim Ross. He was given the nickname "The Blue Chipper" and to play up his lineage, he was hyped as the WWF's first third-generation wrestler. Maivia, a clean-cut face character, was pushed heavily from the start despite his wrestling inexperience. He debuted on Monday Night Raw as a member of Marc Mero's entourage on November 4, 1996. His first match came at Survivor Series, on November 17, 1996, in an eight-man elimination tag match; he was the sole survivor and eliminated the final two members of the opposing team, Crush and Goldust. On February 13, 1997, he won the Intercontinental Championship from Hunter Hearst Helmsley on Monday Night Raw. Maivia then successfully defended the title against Helmsley at In Your House 13: Final Four.

Johnson's first WrestleMania match came at WrestleMania 13 on March 23, 1997, where he was victorious in his Intercontinental Championship defense against The Sultan. WWF fans started to reject his character and push from the company.He defeated Bret Hart by disqualification in a title defense on the March 31 episode of Raw is War. Behind the scenes, Hart mentored Johnson for his first year in WWFand refused to be booked to take the title from him. On April 20, at In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker, he lost to Savio Vega by countout but retained the title. Audiences became increasingly hostile toward Maivia, with chants of "die, Rocky, die" and "Rocky sucks" being heard during his matches.

After losing the Intercontinental Championship to Owen Hart on the April 28, 1997, episode of Raw Is War, Maivia suffered a legitimate knee injury in a match against Mankind in June 1997 and spent several months recovering.

Acting career

Career beginnings (2001–2010)

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.

Johnson began his film career in earnest with roles in The Mummy Returns (2001), The Scorpion King (2002), The Rundown (2003), and Walking Tall (2004). He had a supporting role in Be Cool (2005) as a bodyguard hoping to become an actor, 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.

Career expansion (2015–present)

In 2021, Johnson co-starred with Emily Blunt in Disney's Jungle Cruise, as Frank Wolff and Lily Houghton, respectively. Cast in the role in August 2015, the film was based on the theme-park ride of the same name. Jaume Collet-Serra served as director, with a script by Michael Green from a previous one co-written by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay. In addition to his work on the film, Johnson assisted with re-designing the titular ride for all Disney theme parks. Jungle Cruise was released on July 30, 2021. Also in 2021, Johnson starred in Netflix's film Red Notice, written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber. It is the third time that the two collaborated, following Central Intelligence and Skyscraper. The film, co-starring Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds, began production in the fall of 2019.

Johnson is noted for his busy schedule and developing multiple projects at once. A sequel to the box-office hit San Andreas was announced to be in the pre-production stage with the director of the first film, Brad Peyton, returning as director along with the main cast (marking the fourth collaboration between the two following Journey 2, San Andreas, and Rampage).

On November 14, 2019, he announced a December 2021 release date for the standalone Black Adam film. Production on Black Adam began filming in April 2021 with it set to release on October 21, 2022. He earned $22.5 million to star in the film and received millions more for producing and promoting it on social media.

Johnson has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the Actor's Branch since 2017.

On March 16, 2021, he appeared for the first time as The Foundation in Fortnite Battle Royale. Johnson was initially uncredited in his role, yet teased his involvement in a cryptic Instagram post shared on the day of the event. Following another Instagram video for Johnson's ZOA Energy drink, in which The Foundation's helmet and sidearm were subtly featured in the background, his involvement was finally confirmed during the Chapter 2 End Event on December 4, 2021, with The Foundation removing his helmet to reveal that he shared Johnson's voice and likeness.

In May 2023, Johnson reprised his role as Luke Hobbs in a cameo appearance during the mid-credits scene of Fast X.

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.

In 2007, Johnson 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. They have two daughters: Jasmine (born December 17, 2015) and Tiana (born April 17, 2018). Johnson and Hashian live in Los Angeles, also maintaining a farm in Virginia and a 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 got 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 had started 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, and has since been appearing on the NXT brand.

DWAYNE JOHNSON MOVIES