Background

Ethnicity: John Cena’s father is of Italian descent and John’s mother is of half French-Canadian and around half English ancestry.

John Cena was born on April 23, 1977, in West Newbury, Massachusetts, United States, to Carol (née Lupien) and John Felix Anthony Cena. He was the second of five boys. He and his brothers would wrestle in their backyard, impersonating their favorite pro wrestlers and performing their favorite moves.

Education

As a child, Cena attended Central Catholic High School, in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He was later transferred to the private prep boarding school, Cushing Academy. Graduating in 1995, the future wrestling star was voted ‘Loudest’ and ‘Best Body’ in his senior yearbook.

At an early age, Cena showed a passion for sports and working out. By the time he was 15, he was a regular gym rat, and after graduating high school, Cena headed off to Springfield College in Massachusetts to study exercise physiology and prove his worth on the football field. At Springfield, Cena turned himself into a Division III All-American offensive lineman and team captain. Cena graduated from Springfield College in 1998 with a degree in exercise physiology and body movement.

Career

In 1998, after graduating from Springfield College, Cena moved to California to pursue a career in bodybuilding. It wasn't an easy transition for the 6-foot 1-inch aspiring star. He had just $500 in his pocket to make it across the country and get settled. To make ends meet, he folded towels and cleaned toilets at a Gold's Gym in Venice Beach. Since he couldn't afford an apartment, he shacked up in his 1991 Lincoln Continental.

Cena's turning point came in early 2000, during a casual conversation he had with a wrestler at Gold Gym's who encouraged him to take classes at Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW), a former World Wrestling Entertainment developmental company.

For Cena, the suggestion of making a go of it as a wrestler was not an entirely outlandish idea. His father, John Sr. (a.k.a. Johnny Fabulous), made a living as a wrestling announcer and businessman. As a kid growing up in suburban Massachusetts, the younger Cena spent many hours glued to the television set as he watched his wrestling heroes such as Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, and Shawn Michaels go at it in the ring.

As a wrestler himself, Cena's ascension was rapid. Calling himself "The Prototype," the ambitious Cena captured the UPW title on April 27, 2000, in San Diego, California. Over the course of the next year, Cena drew the attention of WWE executives, and in 2001, the young entertainer signed a developmental contract with the company to work at Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).

Cena captured the OVW heavyweight title in February 2002, then made his WWE debut that June when he signed up with the Smackdown roster. Just two years later, Cena took home the United States Championship, defeating The Big Show in March 2004 in Wrestlemania XX.

In the years since Cena has notched many wins and titles. In 2007, he became the first wrestler to ever come up victorious against Edward "Umaga" Fatu.

Along the way, Cena, whose good looks and sculpted body inspired the nickname "The Marky Mark of Wrestling," greatly increased his celebrity. Like Hogan, Cena proved that his showmanship in the ring translated to success in other venues.

Aside from wrestling, John has also made a name in the movie business. In 2006, a WWE franchise movie titled The Marine was released with John playing the lead character, John Triton. The movie received mixed reviews due to the poor story-line and discrimination to the US Marines. Even so, fans queued up to watch the movie as this was John's first big-screen appearance.

Through the production wing of WWE, Cena starred in the action film 12 Rounds (2009), the latter featuring the wrestler trying to save his girlfriend from a gang of terrorists in New Orleans.

In addition, Cena, who has long had an affinity for hip-hop culture, became a recording artist when his rap album, You Can't See Me, hit record stores in 2005. The recording debuted on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart at No. 15.

In 2015, Cena received critical praise for his acting skills in the hit comedy Trainwreck, directed by Judd Apatow and written by the film's star, Amy Schumer. Cena played Schumer's muscle-bound but sensitive boyfriend. “I got my chance to throw my sense of humor out into the world, and at the same time play this hulky guy who’s a softy, which in real life I’m a very emotional guy,” Cena told Business Insider. Later that year he appeared in the Tina Fey-Amy Poehler comedy Sisters and had a small role in Daddy's Home.

Devoting more time to his screen pursuits, Cena in 2017 co-starred in the war film The Wall, voiced the titular bull of the animated Ferdinand and rejoined Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg for Daddy's Home 2. The following year, he enjoyed a prominent role in the raunchy comedy Blockers, before returning to action fare with the Transformers spinoff Bumblebee. Cena then joined Keegan-Michael Key and John Leguizamo to play a trio of wildfire fighters flummoxed by unruly kids in the 2019 family comedy Playing with Fire.

Also in 2019, it was announced that Cena would host a new version of the game show Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?, a gig previously belonging to comedian Jeff Foxworthy. Prior to its debut in June, Cena pointed out the similarities between entertaining audiences as a wrestler and as a TV personality and said the latest version of the show would focus more on the kids than the adult contestants.

John Cena also branched out in print, with his first children's book, Elbow Grease, about an undersized monster truck with big determination. It was released in October 2018.

Achievements

• 

  John Cena has achieved the remarkable feat of winning 25 professional wrestling championships, equaling the accomplishment of WWE legend, Ric Flair. He reigned as the world champion 16 times, which included 13 WWE Championships and three WWE's World Heavyweight Championships.
  
  Outside of wrestling, Cena has attained success as a musician, actor, and philanthropist. He released the rap album You Can't See Me in 2005, which gained platinum certification in the United States. He has had leading film roles in The Marine (2006), 12 Rounds (2009), Trainwreck (2015), Ferdinand (2017), Blockers (2018), and Bumblebee (2018). He is also known for his involvement in numerous charitable causes, namely the Make-A-Wish Foundation, where he has granted over 600 wishes, the most in company history.

Works

More photos

• movie

  • The Marine

    (WWE Champion John Cena stars in this explosive, action-pa...)

    2006
  • 12 Rounds

    (When New Orleans Police Detective Danny Fisher (John Cena...)

    2009
  • Sisters

    (Tina Fey and Amy Poehler star as sisters who return to th...)

    2015
  • Playing With Fire

    (Playing with Fire: A Documentary that captures the truths...)

    2019
  • Trainwreck

    (Amy (Amy Schumer) enjoys a life free from stifling romant...)

    2015
  • Legendary

    (This inspirational tale of a young man's dream to reunite...)

    2010
  • Surf's Up 2: Wave Mania

    (For the first time ever, join Cody, Chicken Joe, and Lani...)

    2016
  • The Wall

    (A deadly psychological thriller that follows two soldiers...)

    2017
  • Ferdinand

    (A friendly bull's (voice of John Cena) peaceful life is s...)

    2017
  • Daddy's Home 2

    (When it comes to raising their kids, Dusty (Mark Wahlberg...)

    2017
  • Blockers

    (Three overprotective parents go to extremes to stop their...)

    2018
  • Bumblebee

    (On a mission to protect Earth, the battle-scarred and bro...)

    2018
  • The Reunion

    (Sam and Leo have grown up hating each other, and neither ...)

    2011
  • Scooby-Doo! Wrestlemania Mystery

    (In this all-new movie, Scooby and Shaggy win tickets to W...)

    2014
  • Daddy's Home

    (Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg face off in the ultimate D...)

    2015

• movie 4E5R6TO-0+

  • The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age SmackDown!

    (Bedrock gets bodyslammed in this no-holds-barred animated...)

    2015

• music

  • You Can't See Me 2005

Religion

John Cena was raised a Catholic and attended a catholic school during his childhood.

Politics

Cena has endorsed Republican Connecticut Senate candidate Linda McMahon, and advocated for the deportation of Obama’s aunt-who is allegedly in the United States illegally.

Views

John Cena has thrown himself into charity work with the same passion he has for his in-ring craft. With more than 600 Make-A-Wish visits, he’s granted more requests than any other athlete in the organization’s history, where his message of “Never Give Up” carries a new, profound meaning.

Since 2011 Cena supports "Be a Star", WWE's anti-bullying campaign. He also supports cancer-related charities and the LGBTQ+ community.

Quotations: "If you don't learn from your mistakes, then they become regrets."

"I have certain things that I stand for, certain things that I believe in, and if you don't like it and you tell me to go to hell, I think that's your God-given right as a fan. It's one of those deals where I'm that one guy who is outside of that realm of good guy, bad guy. I'm just me, and it elicits a response both positive and negative."

"I admire the military. I guess in a world of villains and heroes, they're my heroes. Their dedication, their commitment, their discipline, their code of ethics."

"When people show loyalty to you, you take care of those who are with you. It's how it goes with everything. If you have a small circle of friends, and one of those friends doesn't stay loyal to you, they don't stay your friend for very long."

Personality

Cena has said numerous times that he does not want to have children because he does not want to be an absentee parent while he is focused on his career, and has undergone a vasectomy.

Cena started learning Mandarin Chinese in order to more easily promote WWE in Asia. He is now almost fluent in the language and spoke it very comfortably at a recent press conference. In fact, he delivered a speech in June 2016 that was over three minutes long, completely in Chinese - and he did it without any script or cue cards.

John Cena loves anime. He says his favorite is “Fist of the North Star”, which has been called “The manliest anime ever.” Basically, all of the characters look a lot like him. During an interview with Men’s Fitness Magazine, they asked him what was his favorite thing to watch. He said, “I like NASCAR and Japanimation. I know they don’t go together. I’m just telling you what I like.” Anime fans have completely run with this, using him in memes. At anime conventions, fans even show up cosplaying as John Cena or scream his name in the halls.

One of Cena’s favorite hobbies is collecting muscle cars. He owns over 20 different cars but says that his favorite is the 1971 AMC Hornet SC/360, which is what he’s usually seen driving around his hometown of Tampa, Florida.

When he was 12, John Cena started getting picked on in school by bullies for the way he dressed and talked. In a 2013 interview, Cena explained that he asked for a weightlifting bench for Christmas. He wanted to get stronger in order to defend himself from bullies at school.

Every night that he walks out to performance, John Cena gives a salute. He explains that while he never served himself, he has a huge amount of respect for the military. He is saluting those who serve, and he is also saluting his young fans who have stayed loyal to him for years.

John Cena says that he is a huge fan of the women’s WWE, and he is totally supportive of his fiancee’s show, Total Divas. He wants women and young girls to feel empowered. He calls it “The Diva Revolution”.

John Cena is a self-proclaimed cigar aficionado.

Physical Characteristics: Wrestling takes a serious toll on an athlete’s body, and injuries happen all the time. John Cena has had multiple surgeries, including pectoral surgery and cervical neck fusion. He also has to go to physiotherapy on a regular basis.

John Cena says that he needs to go to the gym every single day, even if he is traveling. He says that even after a night of driving 250 miles, or an outrageously long flight to Australia, he still goes out of his way to find a place to work out.

Interests

• muscle cars

• Politicians

  Linda McMahon

• Writers

  Mark Twain

• Artists

  Salvador Dali

• Sport & Clubs

  New England Patriots, Boston Celtics, wrestling, football, basketball

• Athletes

  Hulk Hogan, Paul Bearer, Roddy Piper

• Music & Bands

  hip-hop, rap, Jay Z

Connections

Cena married his girlfriend, Elizabeth Huberdeau, in July 2009. In May 2012, Cena filed for divorce, allegedly shocking Huberdeau. Their messy separation played out in the media, but they eventually settled in July of that year.

In 2012, Cena began dating fellow WWE superstar Nikki Bella. On April 2, 2017, he proposed to Bella after they defeated The Miz and Maryse in a tag team match at Wrestlemania 33. Cena and Bella ended their engagement in April 2018, and briefly reconciled before it was reported that they had again gone their separate ways.

Father:

John Felix Anthony Cena

Mother:

Carol Cena

colleague:

Octavia Spencer

ex-spouse:

Elizabeth Huberdeau

John Cena and his then-girlfriend, Elizabeth Huberdeau first met during their high school days in West Newbury, Massachusetts, and eventually fell in love. He announced the engagement with then-girlfriend Elizabeth while he was promoting his movie 12 Rounds. John Cena married his high school sweetheart in Boston on 11th July 2009.

However, after he filed for divorce, Cena's ex-wife, Elizabeth felt that she was entitled to a stake in Cena’s property, as she claimed that she was blindsided and she declined his pre-divorce contract settlement without hesitation.

John Cena didn't comment on the matter, and instead, he forged ahead to settle the divorce as soon as possible. Eventually, Elizabeth Huberdeau withdrew her accusations, and the divorce was finalized, signed, sealed, and the former couple was freed on 18 July 2012.

ex-girlfriend:

Nikki Bella

John began dating WWE Diva Nikki Bella just after four months after his separation with his wife. During WrestleMania 33, John made an on-ring proposal to Nikki with a huge diamond ring.

On April 15, 2018, the couple called off the engagement and canceled their wedding, which was planned for May 5, 2018.

colleague:

Danny Glover

colleague:

Hailee Steinfeld

colleague:

Rami Malek

colleague:

Antonio Banderas

colleague:

Tom Holland

colleague:

Selena Gomez

colleague:

Charlize Theron

colleague:

Dwayne Johnson

References

• John Cena on Facebook
• John Cena on Twitter
• John Cena on Instagram