Background

Ethnicity: Dwayne’s father, who is black (African-Canadian), was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada, of Black Nova Scotian heritage. Black Nova Scotians are descended from African-Americans who left the United States after the American Revolution, having sided with the British. Dwayne’s paternal grandparents were both black, and Dwayne has stated that he also found out that he has some “strong Irish blood” on his father’s side. Dwayne has also been said to have First Nations (Native Canadian) ancestry, although it is not clear if that is accurate. Dwayne’s mother is Samoan.

Dwayne Douglas Johnson, also known as The Rock, was born on May 2, 1972, in Hayward, California, the United States. He is the son of Ata Johnson (born Feagaimaleata Fitisemanu Maivia) and professional wrestler Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles). His father, from Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada, is black (of Black Nova Scotian descent), and his mother is of Samoan background (her own father was Peter Fanene Maivia, also a professional wrestler). While growing up, Dwayne traveled around a lot with his parents and watched his father perform in the ring.

His life was developed in Bethlehem, State of Pennsylvania. Growing up, Johnson also briefly lived in New Zealand with his mother's family.

Although he has lived in the United States for most of his life, he has Samoan citizenship as his mother is Samoan. He has often stated in interviews he is proud of his Samoan heritage and feels honored to be a Samoan. In 2009, Johnson gained citizenship in Canada in honor of his father's background.

Education

In New Zealand, Johnson attended Richmond Road Primary School in Grey Lynn before returning to the United States. He then attended Montclaire Elementary School in Charlotte, North Carolina before moving to Hamden, Connecticut where he spent a couple of years at Shepherd Glen Elementary School and Hamden Middle School. Johnson spent his high school years in Honolulu, Hawaii at President William McKinley High School, in Nashville, Tennessee at Glencliff High School and McGavock High School, and in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania at Freedom High School. He was an athletic teenager and participated in several sporting activities. He played football and was also a member of the school's track and field and wrestling teams. He was arrested multiple times for fighting, theft, and check fraud before the age of 17.

During high school in Bethlehem, Johnson played football, participated with his team, in one of the most competitive football tournaments in the country. Because of his talent, he received scholarship offers for several universities; He chose the University of Miami. However, an injury dashed his dreams of a football career. He graduated in 1995, with a Bachelor of General Studies degree in criminology and physiology.

Career

Johnson was on the Canadian team of the Calgary Stampeders. In 1990, he was a team player for the NCAA National Championship in Cannes. Unfortunately, a back injury professionally removed him from football.

Some years later, he recovered and began following in the footsteps of his predecessors in the career of professional wrestling. Influenced by his grandfather Peter Maivia, who was a star in the old ‎World Wrestling Federation (WWF); who was a well-known fighter and had a peculiar aspect, the lower part of his body was full of tattoos. The tradition was continued by his father, Rocky Johnson, who was crowned champion in the couples version of the WWF. It was like that, as taken by the history and the family legacy, in the year 1996 began in the WWF with the name of Rocky Maivia, use the surname in honor of his grandfather.

Over time, he began to gain fame in the WWF, his style and appearance, like his grandfather’s, full of tattoos. One of his most appreciated tattoos is a bull located on his right bicep, he gave it the name of The Brahma Bull. His fight nickname was modified by the commentators of the WWF, they began to call him The Rock, for his great strength and great musculature. Dwayne Johnson was 9 times World Champion during his professional wrestling career, also 7 times WWF Champion and 2 times WCW World Champion. His 7 reigns as WWF Champion catapulted him as the fighter with more reigns along with Triple H, beating Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan. He was also the winner of the Royal Rumble 2000 edition.

His fame, charisma and physical appearance helped him to enter the world of acting, although, it really was not something that he had in mind. But a proposal from a producer, made him contemplate the situation. It turned out to be a good actor as a fighter. His work as an actor began with appearances in television series, such as the case of Star Trek: Voyager or Those wonderful 70.

Outside the wrestling ring, The Rock launched a successful acting career, dropping the stage name and simply going by Dwayne Johnson. He first made a big splash as the Scorpion King, a supernatural bad guy, in 2001's The Mummy Returns. The movie was a smash hit, leading to a reprisal of his role, this time as the lead, in The Scorpion King. Johnson was paid $5.5 million for the role, earning him a spot in the Guinness Book of Records as the highest-paid actor in a debut, despite it actually being his second movie.

The Scorpion King established Johnson as a bona fide star. With his comedic talents clearly established through his wrestling career, his next film, the action-comedy The Rundown was a natural next step. This was followed up with a remake of the true story of kick-ass sheriff Buford Pusser in Walking Tall. This role cemented Johnson’s position as the ultimate hard as nails action hero with a heart of gold.

By the end of the 2000s, Johnson had developed a reputation as a bankable star who could not only carry a new movie but also had a proven record of being able to revive franchises that were getting tired. He became known as a very busy actor, with at least a couple of new movies coming out each year.

In 2011 Johnson appeared in the ring for the first time in seven years, sparking a feud with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star John Cena that culminated in a main-event match at WrestleMania XXVIII in April 2012. His appearance contributed to the event’s unparalleled success: with more than 1.3 million pay-per-view orders and $67 million in global sales, WrestleMania XXVIII was WWE’s top-grossing pay-per-view broadcast. In January 2013 Johnson captured his eighth professional wrestling title, but he surrendered it less than three months later after losing to Cena in another highly publicized bout.

In 2013, Johnson starred in a couple of true life-based movie, Pain and Gain and Empire State. He also announced that year that he was to executive produce and star in an HBO TV series set in the world of professional football called Ballers. In December 2013, Forbes magazine named Johnson as the highest-paid actor of the year, with earnings of $1.3 billion.

Ballers, which debuted on HBO in June 2015, proved to be a huge success. Johnson, who plays Spencer Strathmore, a retired NFL player who has gone on to a career as a financial planner for current NFL players, received props for his charm and depth. As of 2018, the show is into its fourth season.

In 2014, Johnson played the title character in Hercules. For this role, he stepped up his already grueling workout and nutrition protocol in order to get as impressively muscular as possible. He followed this up with the huge disaster hit San Andreas, before switching back to comedy with Central Intelligence, alongside Kevin Hart.

2016 saw Johnson teaming with Zac Efron for a feature movie version of the classic beach and babes TV series Baywatch. The two hulky actors created a lot of pre-release buzz with their epic beach workouts in which Johnson would present Efron with gut-busting physical challenges. The movie, however, was a box office disappointment.

The next big project was a remake of the Robin Williams classic Jumanji. Johnson, along with co-stars Jack Black and Kevin Hart, brought a new, updated angle to the story that resonated with fans. The movie has so far brought in $829 million on a $90 million budget. He also managed to stand out during the blitz of advertising accompanying the Super Bowl in February, debuting a trailer for the movie Skyscraper, in which he partakes in death-defying stunts with a prosthetic leg.

That same day, Johnson announced he would be hosting a 10-episode unscripted competition show, The Titan Games, to "create a platform that gave everyday people the opportunity to change their lives and do something extraordinary."

Next up for the action star was Rampage, based on the popular 1980s arcade game, which hit theaters a few months before the July release of Skyscraper.

Johnson returned to his wrestling roots by appearing as himself in Fighting with My Family (2019), based on the true story of female wrestling champion Saraya "Paige" Bevis. Later that year, he was back in action mode with the Fast & Furious spinoff Hobbs & Shaw, alongside Jason Statham.

In 2000, Johnson published his autobiography, titled The Rock Says..., which he co-wrote with Joe Layden. It debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list and remained on the list for several weeks. In 2012, Johnson founded his production company, Seven Bucks Productions.

In March 2016, Johnson partnered with the American fitness apparel manufacturer Under Armour to release "Project Rock". The first item in his partnership with Under Armour, a gym bag, sold out in a couple of days. His second item, a black T-shirt sporting his signature "Brahma bull" sold out after being worn at WrestleMania 32. Johnson also released an alarm clock app as part of "Project Rock" that received more than one million downloads in its first week of release. Since then, they have released sneakers, headphones, and other apparel.

In 2016, Johnson started a YouTube channel titled "The Rock" with the help of online personality Lilly Singh. His first video was called "The YouTube Factory" and featured several internet stars.

Achievements

• 

  Considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers and biggest draws of all-time, The Rock headlined the most bought professional wrestling pay-per-view event, WrestleMania XXVIII, and was featured in some of the most-watched WWE Raw and WWE SmackDown television episodes ever. He has won several championships, being a two-time Intercontinental Champion, a five-time tag team champion, and a ten-time world champion. He was also a Royal Rumble match winner and WWE's sixth Triple Crown champion.
  
  Johnson's films have earned over $3.4 billion in North America, making him one of the highest-grossing actors of all-time. Johnson made the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World list in both 2016 and 2019. People magazine named him the Sexiest Man Alive of 2016.
  
  He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on December 13, 2017.
  
  While on tour to promote San Andreas (2015), he set a world record of 105 selfies in three minutes, averaging out to one selfie every 1.7 seconds.
  
  Johnson was honored by the Congressional Award in Washington, D.C. on June 19, 2008 with the Horizon Award. The Horizon Award is a special recognition from the Joint Leadership of the United States Congress and the Congressional Award Board of Directors. The Horizon Award is presented to individuals from the private sectors who have contributed to expanding opportunities for all Americans through their own personal contributions, and who have set exceptional examples for young people through their successes in life.
  
  In recognition of his service to the Samoan people, and because he is a descendant of Samoan chiefs, Johnson had the noble title of Seiuli bestowed upon him by Malietoa Tanumafili II during his visit there in July 2004.
  
  

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Rock Says...

    (In this action-packed, revealing and outrageously funny m...)

    2000

• movie

  • The Scorpion King

    (Adventure rules! As the spectacular Mummy series explodes...)

    2002
  • The Rundown

    (The Rock teams up with Seann William Scott for a wildly e...)

    2003
  • Be Cool

    (Starring an unbelievably hip all-star cast, including Joh...)

    2005
  • The Other Guys

    (From the director of Step Brothers and Talladega Nights c...)

    2010
  • Why Did I Get Married Too?

    (Reuniting the same charismatic cast from his hit comedy/d...)

    2010
  • Gridiron Gang

    (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (The Rundown, Walking Tall) sta...)

    2006
  • Faster

    (A paroled bank robber seeks revenge on the men who betray...)

    2010
  • Fast Five

    (Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and a reunion of franchise all-st...)

    2011
  • Watch Fast & Furious 6 | Prime Video

    (Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson and Michelle Rodr...)

    2013
  • You Again

    (Successful PR pro Marni heads home for her older brother'...)

    2010
  • Doom

    (Based on the hit videogame, this action-packed adventure ...)

    2005
  • Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

    (Seventeen-year-old Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson) and hi...)

    2012
  • The Mummy Returns

    (An ancient legacy of terror is unleashed when the accurse...)

    2001
  • San Andreas

    (After the San Andreas Fault triggered a magnitude 9 earth...)

    2015
  • The Fate of the Furious

    (A mysterious woman (Charlize Theron) seduces Dom (Vin Die...)

    2017
  • Furious 7

    (Targeted by a cold-blooded black-ops assassin with a scor...)

    2015
  • Planet 51

    (When Chuck the astronaut (Dwayne Johnson) lands on a dist...)

    2009
  • Reno 911: Miami

    (Reno's most unpredictable team of cops must spring into a...)

    2007
  • Tooth Fairy

    (A bad deed on the part of a tough minor-league hockey pla...)

    2010
  • Pain & Gain

    (When a group of personal trainers decide to steal the Ame...)

    2013
  • Central Intelligence

    (The story follows a one-time bullied geek who grew up to ...)

    2016
  • Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle

    (In this fun comedic adventure, 4 teens get sucked into th...)

    2017
  • Southland Tales

    (From the Writer/Director of Donnie Darko comes this epic ...)

    2006
  • Snitch

    (A father (Dwayne Johnson) goes undercover for the DEA in ...)

    2013
  • Skyscraper

    (Will Sawyer (Dwayne Johnson) finds the tallest, safest bu...)

    2018
  • Race To Witch Mountain

    (Fasten your seatbelts for the thrill ride of your life in...)

    2009
  • G.I. Joe: Retaliation

    ("The greatest American Heroes are back" and they've been ...)

    2013
  • Empire State

    (Based on a true story, Dwayne Johnson stars as an NYPD de...)

    2013
  • Fighting With My Family

    (Former wrestler Ricky and his wife Julia make a living pe...)

    2019
  • Shazam!

    (Billy Batson is a streetwise 14-year-old who can magicall...)

    2019
  • Beyond the Mat

    (Get a no-holds-barred look into the wild world of profess...)

    1999
  • Hercules

    (Fourteen hundred years ago, a tormented soul walked the e...)

    2014
  • Rampage

    (When a genetic experiment goes awry, it unleashes super c...)

    2018
  • Walking Tall

    (When it comes to laying down the law with a vengeance, on...)

    2004
  • The Game Plan

    (A sports stars meets up with a daughter he never knew exi...)

    2007
  • Get Smart

    (In the world of covert intelligence, only one man is Smar...)

    2008
  • Moana

    (Moana sets sail on a daring mission to save her people. A...)

    2016
  • Baywatch

    (When a dangerous crime wave hits the beach, Lt. Mitch Buc...)

    2017

• Video game

  • Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run 2006

Religion

Johnson is a Christian. He was once asked by a reporter: “What do you do spiritually in life to develop your soul and what does God actually mean to you?” To which Johnson replied: " I have my own special relationship with God… I feel very blessed, I count my blessings every day."

Politics

Johnson attended the 2000 Democratic National Convention as part of WWE's non-partisan "Smackdown Your Vote" campaign, which aimed to influence young people to vote. He also had a speaking role at the 2000 Republican National Convention that same year.

Though Johnson was previously registered as a Republican, he voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 and 2012 United States presidential elections and is now an independent voter. He stated he did not vote in the 2016 U.S. election.

In 2017, buzz began generating over Johnson's rumored plan to run for president in 2020. After playing coy for much of the year, the wrestler-turned-actor finally confirmed the rumors in December, telling Ellen DeGeneres, "I’m seriously considering it, yes."

Views

Dwayne Johnson founded his own charity: The Rock Foundation. It works hand in hand with other foundations in order to donate games and didactic material to thousands of children residing in hospitals in the United States. It organizes every year the event called The Rock’s Toy Chest.

On October 2, 2007, he and his ex-wife donated $1 million to the University of Miami to support the renovation of its football facilities. The University of Miami renamed the Hurricanes' locker room in Johnson's honor. In 2015, Johnson donated $1,500 to a GoFundMe to pay for an abandoned dog's surgery. In 2017, he donated $25,000 to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. In 2018, Johnson donated a gym to a military base in Oahu, Hawaii. After the 2018 Hawaii floods, he worked with Malama Kauai, a nonprofit organization, to help repair damages caused by the floods. Johnson has also worked with Make-A-Wish Foundation on a number of occasions.

Quotations: "Success isn't overnight. It's when every day you get a little better than the day before. It all adds up."

"It's nice to be important but more important to be nice. I heard that from a friend when I was about 15, and I've never forgotten it."

"No matter who you are, being kind is the easiest thing you can do."

Personality

As a freshman at the University of Miami, Johnson sustained a shoulder injury that sent him into a severe depression. He once recalled: “I didn't know what it was. I didn't know why I didn't want to do anything. I had never experienced anything like that." Later in life, Johnson shared more on his mental health journey, saying: "I found that, with depression, one of the most important things you could realize is that you're not alone. You're not the first to go through it; you're not going to be the last to go through it … I wish I had someone at that time who could just pull me aside and [say], 'Hey, it's gonna be OK. It'll be OK.' "

Johnson has also opened up about some of his early-life struggles, including his family's eviction from their Hawaii home when he was just 14. He told that his mother tried to commit suicide by walking into traffic the following year, Johnson grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. An incident left him battling depression.

Dwayne Johnson was offered a promotional deal with “Dunkin’ Donuts”, which included the company naming a donut after him. He declined, thinking it would make him appear bigheaded.

After becoming successful in the movie industry, Dwayne was able to fulfill an ambition he had listed on his agenda of priority "To Do" items, and bought a home for his parents, a luxury they had never theretofore known. His first major personal indulgence was his purchase of a Rolex watch.

Physical Characteristics: Johnson has a height of 6 ft 4 in or 193 cm, and a weight of 119 kg or 262 pounds. He is bald and has dark brown eyes. He received a partial Samoan pe'a tattoo on his left side in 2003, and, in 2017, had the small "Brahma bull" tattoo on his right arm covered with a larger half-sleeve tattoo of a bull's skull.

In 2016, after being named People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive, Johnson told the magazine he had acne and a “curly half-Afro” as a teen. He said every day after school he would eat doughnuts and cookies, which apparently led to his breakouts. As he shared on Instagram, he was so big as a teen that his fellow high school students thought he was an undercover cop.

Quotes from others about the person

• "Some people like to socialize; he just really likes to train, His body is just one part of it - a much more important part is how it’s almost like his therapy. If he’s frustrated by something or something’s not working, he puts his headset on and gets lost in it. The one thing I tell every studio that we work with is, ‘Don’t fuck with his training.’ That’s his sacred time. It’s his one thing that belongs to him." - Beau Flynn
  
  “His personality is a fucking hurricane. He’s like this huge ball of charisma and muscle and teeth just flying at you.” - Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Interests

• playing the guitar

• Politicians

  Barack Obama, Cory Booker

• Writers

  Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

• Sport & Clubs

  football, wrestling

• Athletes

  Pat Patterson, Tom Prichard

• Music & Bands

  Kid Rock, Bruno Mars, Disturbed, Joe Walsh, George Thoroughgood, Kanye West, Blues Brothers, Mayday, NWA, Boston, Tech9ne

Connections

Johnson married Dany García on May 3, 1997. Their only child together, a daughter named Simone, was born in August 2001. On June 1, 2007, they announced they were splitting up amicably. Johnson then began dating Lauren Hashian, daughter of Boston drummer Sib Hashian. They first met in 2006 while Johnson was filming The Game Plan. Their first child together, Jasmine, was born in December 2015; their second child, Tiana, was born in April 2018.

As of 2014, Johnson has a home in Southwest Ranches, Florida, as well as Los Angeles, California. He also owns a farm in Virginia.

Father:

Rocky “Soulman” Johnson

Dwayne took his stage nickname “The Rock” from his father’s name.

Mother:

Feagaimaleata Fitisemanu “Ata” Johnson

When Johnson was 15, his mother tried to commit a suicide. Her son saved her, but from that moment he had become anxious and nervous.

ex-spouse:

Dany Garcia

Garcia met Dwayne Johnson, and they immediately became close. They were keen on sports and on their families. Dwayne and Dany started dating in 1991 and six years later they tied a knot.

In the middle 2000s, they began to understand, that their marriage didn’t work. During one year Dwayne and Dany discussed their problems and tried to understand, why their marriage failed. Dany Garcia stresses the fact, that they did it with deep respect to each other. Finally, they decided to separate.

The couple divorced in 2008 and that very year. Till now she serves as The Rock manager, although they split.

Daughter:

Simone Alexandra Johnson

Simone Garcia Johnson tells that her father is a great role model for her.

Daughter:

Jasmine Lia Johnson

Daughter:

Tiana Gia Johnson

girlfriend:

Lauren Hashian

Hashian met The Rock at the restaurant “Davio’s”, located in Boston. Then he was still married to Dany. Lauren and Dwayne moved together after his divorce to the first wife. They have been together for 10 years. But till now the couple is not married officially.

colleague:

Anne Hathaway

colleague:

Betty White

colleague:

Charlize Theron

colleague:

Karen Gillan

colleague:

Jason Statham

References

• Beyond the Mat
  1999
• The Rock Says...
  2000