Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson (Actor, Athlete) (original) (raw)

Dwayne Johnson was born in Hayward, California. He began as an athlete and wrestler, making it pro before also branching out into acting. He was married to Dany Garcia from 1997-2008, and he married Lauren Hashian in 2019.

Born into a wrestling family, Johnson’s maternal grandfather “High Chief” Peter Maivia worked the professional wrestling circuit in the 1960s and ‘70s. Johnson’s father “Soulman” Rocky Johnson, competed in the American regional wrestling scene, and he was a sparring partner for George Foreman in 1974 to help him prepare for the “Rumble in the Jungle” with Muhammad Ali. Dwayne Johnson played football on the 1991 NCAA University of Miami Championship football team, and he graduated with a Bachelor of General Studies in 1995. He went to play in the Canadian Football League, but he suffered injuries that had him turn to wrestling.

Johnson debuted in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1996 with the name Rocky Maivia, to honor his grandfather and father. He quickly became a crowd favorite, and he won the WWF Intercontinental title shortly after his debut. Fan backlash brought out “The Rock,” an unapologetic “bad guy” which made him even more popular. He won his first of several world championship titles in 1998.

His first film role was that of The Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns (2001), and he reprised the role in The Scorpion King(2002). He also appeared in The Rundown (2003), and then he committed to acting full-time in 2004. Action-packed features for him include G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), Pain & Gain (2013) and four Fast and the Furious films starting with Fast Five (2011) through The Fate of the Furious (2017). His character Hobbs got a 2019 spinoff film, Hobbs and Shaw (2019). Other family-friendly films include The Game Plan(2007), Tooth Fairy (2010) and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012). He appeared as the famous son of Zeus in Hercules (2014) followed by the earthquake film San Andreas (2015) and buddy comedy Central Intelligence (2016) with comedian Kevin Hart.

More recently, The Rock has voiced demigod Maui in Moana(2016), and he will reprise the role in Moana 2 (2022). He is also set to play the live-action version of the shapeshifter. He appeared with Kevin Hart again in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and Jumanji: Next Level (2019) followed by Jungle Cruise (2021) with Emily Blunt, Red Notice (2021) with Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot, Black Adam(2022) and his latest, Red One (2024) — a Christmas movie about a team put together to rescue J.K. Simmons’ Santa Claus. He is also set to appear in A24's The Smashing Machine.

Additional Name

"The Rock", Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

Date of Birth

May 2, 1972

Place of Birth

Hayward, California

Notable Work

The Mummy Returns (2001), The Scorpion King (2002), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), Pain & Gain (2013), Fast Five (2011) through The Fate of the Furious (2017), Hobbs and Shaw (2019), The Game Plan (2007), Tooth Fairy (2010) and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012), Hercules (2014), San Andreas (2015), Central Intelligence (2016), Ballers, Moana (2016), Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and Jumanji: Next Level (2019), Red Notice (2021), Black Adam (2022), Red One (2024), Moana 2 (2024)

Notable Awards

Critics Choice Nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy: Central Intelligence (2016), NAACP Image Awards Nominee 4x for Ballers and Outstanding Voice-Over Nominee for Moana, Action Star of the Year Winner in 2012 at CinemaCon