Dwayne Douglas Johnson, also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor, film producer and former 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.
Profile Summary
| Full Name/Stage Name | Dwayne Douglas Johnson/The Rock |
| Gender | Male |
| Date of Birth | May 2, 1972 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupations | Actor, Athlete and Wrestler |
| Net Worth | $800 million. |
Early Life of Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne 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.
Johnson attended Montclaire Elementary School in Charlotte, North Carolina, before moving to Hamden, Connecticut, where he attended Shepherd Glen Elementary School and then Hamden Middle School. Johnson attended President William McKinley High School in Honolulu and then Glencliff High School and McGavock High School, both in Nashville, and then Freedom High School in Bethlehem Township in the Lehigh Valley, where he graduated in 1990.
At Freedom High School in the Lehigh Valley, Johnson initially struggled and was drawn into a culture of conflict and petty crime. Before the age of 17, he was arrested multiple times for fighting, theft, and check fraud and was suspended two weeks for fighting. The local newspaper later described him as “a troubled teenager with a history of run-ins with police.” Freedom High School football coach Jody Cwik, however, saw athletic potential in Johnson, and recruited him to join Freedom’s football team, where he played defensive tackle. The experience proved the beginning of a personal transformation for Johnson. “My thought process started to change. That’s when I started thinking about goals and what I wanted to accomplish,” he has since said about his high school football experience.
In addition to playing football at Freedom High School, Johnson also was a member of the school’s track and field and wrestling teams. Like the school’s football team, its track and field and wrestling teams competed in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference (EPC), a high school athletic conference known for being among the nation’s best. The EPC’s wrestling programs have been ranked best in the nation by WIN magazine and have been described as “among the nation’s best in the sport for nearly three decades”, and Johnson quickly found himself facing some of the nation’s most accomplished high school wrestlers.
By his senior year at Freedom High School, Johnson had only played two years of high school football but the fact that he had excelled on a team in an elite high school athletic division known nationally for producing a long list of professional and Olympic-level athletes, including future NFL stars Andre Reed, Saquon Barkley, Kyzir White, and others, drew the attention of NCAA Division I collegiate programs. College football recruiters ranked Johnson as one of the top ten high school defensive tackles in the nation. He opted to accept a full athletic scholarship offer from the University of Miami, whose football program was then one of the best in the nation.
Career Choices of Dwayne Johnson
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.
Following his graduation, Johnson was signed by the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. Calgary moved Johnson from defensive tackle to the line-backer position.
After being cut by Calgary, Johnson began his professional wrestling career the following year, in 1996. Veteran wrestler Pat Patterson secured several try-outs matches for Johnson with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1996. Wrestling at first under his real name, Johnson defeated The Brooklyn Brawler at a house show on March 10 and lost matches to Chris Candido and Owen Hart. After wrestling at Jerry Lawler’s United States Wrestling Association under the name Flex Kavana and winning the USWA tag team championship twice with his partner Bart Sawyer in the summer of 1996, Johnson was signed to a WWF contract. He received additional training from Tom Prichard, alongside Achim Albrecht and Mark Henry.
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 theatrical career in The Mummy Returns (2001), The Scorpion King (2002), The Rundown (2003), and Walking Tall (2004). He played a supporting role in Be Cool (2005) – most notable for the meta element of playing a bodyguard that wants 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.
Dwayne Johnson’s Net Worth
Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, is an American actor, former professional wrestler and entrepreneur who has a net worth of $800 million.
Conclusion
In 2012, Johnson founded his production company Seven Bucks Productions. Though originally attached as producer and star, Johnson will now serve solely as the former on a film adaptation of The Janson Directive. John Cena will fill the leading role, with Akiva Goldsman attached as screenwriter. Additionally, he will produce and star in a Netflix exclusive film titled John Henry & The Statesmen, as the titular folklore hero. The film will be directed by Jake Kasdan, from a script co-written by Kasdan and Tom Wheeler. With the first official teaser trailer released in October 2018, the project marks Kasdan and Johnson’s third collaboration, following Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level.
In 2019, Johnson produced and appeared as himself in Fighting with My Family, a comedy drama about Paige and her family, who are also professional wrestlers.
