Dwayne Johnson Biography Facts, Childhood, Career, Life

Dwayne Johnson Biography Facts, Childhood, Net Worth, Life
Dwayne Johnson in – Biography, Childhood, Career, Accomplishments & Awards. (Image credit: everettcollection.com)

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is a retired pro wrestler in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). One of the most popular wrestlers of the 21st century, the American-Canadian whose sturdy body and enormous muscles, earned him the moniker/ring name ‘The Rock’ is, by all means, the most loved and popular wrestler to have graced the WWE rings. Johnson currently has a very successful career aside wrestling, but still in the entertainment realm. This Dwayne Johnson biography facts, childhood, career and personal life present in details, the background, life and profile of the great entertainer.

Before his retirement from the wrestling scene, Johnson who has always been an entertainer since he was a teenager doubles as an actor who featured in several blockbuster Hollywood movies. Globally, fans would have no hard time in identifying Johnson who many believe is more popular as an actor than a wrestler.

In WWE, Dwayne Johnson’s reputation is solid as that of a ‘rock’. Whenever the super star steps into the ring, fans can’t just turn their eyes away. Johnson holds the record for the highest-rated WWE Raw and WWE Smackdown programs in the history of the WWE. In the WrestleMania XXVIII, the 28th annual WWE WrestleMania pay-per-view event, Dwayne Johnson who was one of the centre-figures in the fight made the event the most bought WWE pay-per-view event globally.

No doubt, Dwayne Johnson is a superstar. In this article, we go through the formative years of the astute wrestler and how he rose to become one of the most popular and recognized stars in the WWE and Hollywood.

Dwayne Johnson Biography Quick Facts, Age

Outlined below are some biography quick facts you should know about the American-Canadian retired pro-wrestler.

  • Full Name: Dwayne Douglas Johnson
  • Nicknames: The Rock; Rocky Maivia; Flex Kavana
  • Born: May 2, 1972
  • Age 51 years
  • Zodiac Sign: Taurus
  • Place of Birth: Hayward, California
  • Nationality/Citizenship: American, Canadian
  • Residence: Miami, Florida
  • Height: 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
  • Weight: 118 kg (260 Ib)
  • Education: Shepherd Glen Elementary School, Hamden Middle School, Freedom High School, University of Miami
  • Parents: Rocky Johnson (father); Ata Johnson (mother)
  • Siblings:  Curtis Bowles (brother), Wanda Bowles (sister)
  • Marital Status: Married
  • Wife: Lauren Hashian (married 2019)
  • Children: Simone Alexandra Johnson (daughter), Tiana Gia Johnson (daughter), Jasmine Johnson (daughter)
  • Occupation: Actor, Investor, Producer, retired Pro Wrestler
  • Weight/Division: Welterweight
  • Career: Professional Wrestling (1996–2004, 2011–2019); Acting (1999–date); American Football (1990–1995)

Dwayne Johnson Childhood/Early Life & Family Background

Dwayne Johnson was born on 2nd May 1972 to his father, Wayde Johnson, who was a professional wrestler widely known as Rocky Johnson, and his mother, Ata Johnson, who is of Samoan origin. While growing up, Dwayne Johnson lived with his mother’s family in New Zealand where he schooled at Richmond Road Primary School. Soon Johnson moved to the United States to be with his father who was constantly on the move as a result of his wrestling lifestyle. Johnson throughout the duration of his formative years lived in 38 of the 50 states in the US.

Childhood Photo of Dwayne Johnson with his father Rocky Johnson
Childhood Photo of Dwayne Johnson with his father, Rocky Johnson in the 1980s. (Image credit: Dwayne Johnson / @TheRock / Twitter)

Johnson loved wrestling and his father, Rocky taught him some of his moves. Johnson once practised one of such moves, the sleeper hold move on a school buddy, who subsequently became unconscious. His father, Rocky had to revive the kid. His home was a sort of the venue for his school buddies who wanted to spar with Johnson. Johnson will mimic TV hosts and interview his fellow wrestlers, who were his school mates. There he got better at his showmanship where he made utterances meant to destabilize his opponent.

When he was 13 years old, his father took him to the gym. Johnson began exercising at the bench press. After a couple of times at the bench press, he went on to the unloaded bar, where he easily pushed 20-pounds. But he couldn’t push 45 pounds. This left him sad and thus spurred him to practice harder at the bench press. Though Johnson was disciplined in the gym, he still was a bit of a nuisance who got into fights and got arrested. In high school, Dwayne who already had a really intimidating figure got into fights which he won, leaving his opponents unconscious. He once intimidated a teacher with his physical structure after he used the teacher’s bathroom and was scolded by his teacher. The next day Johnson apologized to the teacher who was surprised and appreciated Johnson’s gestures and thus invited him to play football.

Dwayne Johnson Football Career

Dwayne Johnson with Calgary Stampeders
Dwayne Johnson training with the Calgary Stampeders in 1995. (Image credit: Calgary Stampeders / @calstampeders / Twitter)

Johnson’s top performance in high school football earned him a scholarship. He played for the Miami Hurricanes but suffered numerous injuries and was thus replaced. After he graduated from the University of Miami in 1995, he went on to sign with Canadian Football League team,  Calgary Stampeders. He was removed from the team after just two months in the regular season.

Dwayne Johnson Professional Wrestling Career

United States Wrestling Association (USWA)

Following a dismal football career, Johnson decided to try wrestling out. He fought in tryout matches. He went on to fight in various house show fights. He went on to use the ring name Flex Kavana and won the USWA World Tag Team Championship.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/WWE)

Johnson signed a contract with WWE and debuted in the WWE with Rocky Maivia as his ring name and was hyped as the first third-generation wrestler in the WWE. He was given the nickname The Blue Chipper. In November 1996, he debuted in the WWE in the Monday Night Raw as part of Marc Mero’s team.

In February 1997, he won the Intercontinental Championship, and thus went defended the title. Fans slowly began to turn against Johnson. In April 1997, Owen Hart claims his Intercontinental Championship belt. In August 1997, he lashed out at the spectators who booed him and refused to be called Rocky Maivia, but chose to go by ‘The Rock’. He then switched on to insulting the WWE organizers as well as fans. He went on to reclaim his international championship title. He defeated wrestler Farooq which sparked a feud between him and The Nation, whose leader was Farooq. He also had feuds would Triple H, which saw the two of them fight in a ladder match which he lost. The Rock had his eyes set on something big, the WWF title, which was vacant. He defeated Mankind to claim the title and had a fight against Mankind in the pay-per-view Rock Bottom: In Your House, which saw him narrowly defend his title. He eventually lost his title to Mankind. He went on to defeat Big Show to claim the WWF Championship, which was snatched from him by Stone Cold Steve Austin in the WrestleMania XV.

His popularity kept on growing. In 1999, he and Mankind teamed up to form The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection and won the WWF Tag Team Championship, which they eventually lost to Big Show and Undertaker. In January 2000, after he was defeated by Triple H, he eventually returned in top form to defeat his long time rival to claim the WWF Championship for the fourth time. In May, he lost the title to Triple H but rebounded back in June to claim the title for the fifth time. After a series of titles defence, he lost his title to Kurt Angle in October. In December he teamed up with Undertaker to win the WWF Tag Team Championship. His next championship win was the WCW championship, which he won for the first time in August 2001. He eventually lost his title to Chris Jericho and won the WWF Tag Team Championship with the latter. In November 2001, he lost his WWF Tag Team Championship but re-claimed his WCW title. He, however, was defeated by Chris Jericho.

The Rock vs John Cena - WrestleMania 28
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson vs John Cena — WrestleMania XXVIII (28) in April 2012. (Image credit: wwe.com)

In 2002, The Rock did not seal any significant title. Between 2003 to 2004, he fought in several fights which settled several feuds such as the WrestleMania XIX against Stone Cold Steve Austin. Following his contract expiration with the WWE in 2004, he went on into acting full time but appeared in WWE events such as the induction of his father into WWE Hall of Fame. In February 2011, The Rock appeared as the host of the WrestleMania XXVII and hurled insults at WWE wrestler, John Cena. With support from Miz and Riley, Cena attacked The Rock. When he came to restart the main wrestling bout, he helped Miz defeat Cena. The pair thus agreed to fight in the next edition of WrestleMania.

In November 2011, he and Cena formed a team to defeat the Awesome Truth team, made up of wrestlers, R-Truth and The Miz. In the WrestleMania XXVIII, The Rock prevailed over Cena. After several attempts to claim the WWE championship, he defeated CM Punk to win the championship in January 2013. In April 2013, John Cena defeated The Rock to win the WWE championship. The Rock who suffered injury could not challenge Cena for a rematch as a result of surgery to repair torn tendons.

The Rock also made several appearances in various WWE events not as a headliner but as a surprise appearance. He appeared in the WrestleMania 30 and the Royal Rumble in 2015. He subsequently continued to make periodic performance in the WrestleMania and other WWE events. In August 2019, he announced his retirement from wrestling, but appeared in the 20th Anniversary of the SmackDown in October, making his final appearance in the WWE so far.

Dwayne Johnson Acting Career

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Dwayne Johnson in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017). (Image credit: imdb.com)

Since he debuted in acting in an episode of the ‘That Wrestling Show’ where he acted as his father, Johnson has gone on to feature in several movies. He featured in movies such as The Mummy Returns, Scorpion King, Walking Tall, So Cool and many more while wrestling. During his retirement from wrestling after 2004, he featured in more films and established a reputation for himself as an actor who brings to life struggling franchises such as G.I. Joe: Retaliation. The Fast & Furious 6, which he featured in, generated $789 million.

In 2013, according to Forbes, Johnson’s movies generated as much as $1.3 billion. His Fast & Furious character, Hobbs has been replicated in several movies in terms of strength, will power and perseverance. In recent years, Johnson is known for his role in Jumanji: The Next Level, Central Intelligence, The Skyscraper and Rampage. In 2020, a movie he featured in titled, Jungle Cruise, will be released. The sequel of the blockbuster Fast & Furious franchise, Fast & Furious 9: The Fast Saga, in which fellow WWE wrestler, John Cena featured will be released in May 2020.

Dwayne Johnson Personal Life, Relationships & Trivia

Dwayne Johnson with his wife, Lauren Hashian
Dwayne Johnson with his wife, Lauren Hashian. (Image credit: Todd Williamson / Getty Images)

Johnson got married to Dany Garcia in May 1997 and divorced her on amicable terms in June 2007. He and Garcia have one child. In August 2019, he got married to his long time girlfriend and mother of two of his children, Lauren Hashian, in Hawaii.

Johnson is a third-generation wrestler. His father Rocky Johnson, was a member of the first WWE black tag team champions. His mother who is of Samoa origin, is the daughter of Peter Maivia, a professional wrestler. In February 2020, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s daughter, Simon Johnson and his ex-wife Dany Garcia signed with the WWE and commenced training at the WWE Performance Center. Simon Johnson is well on her way to becoming the families fourth-generation wrestler.

In 2008, Johnson inducted his father and grandfather into the WWE Hall of Fame. On 16 January 2020, WWE in a statement said that Dwayne Johnson’s father, the WWE Hall of Famer, Rocky Johnson, passed away at the age of 72.

Johnson who is known for spending huge amounts of time at the gym is an American and Canadian citizen.

In 2004, late Malietoa Tanumafili II conferred to Johnson, the Seiuli, an acknowledgement of his Samoan descent.

SEE MORE: Biography facts and profile of famous professional wrestlers


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One Response

  1. naresh babu r July 13, 2020

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