by Dwayne Johnson, also known as The Rock, is a famous actor and wrestler with a net worth of $190 million. He is one of the most well-known wrestlers in American history, having been a former WWF Champion six times. With no previous acting experience, he has become one of Hollywood’s top actors in films like Moana and The Scorpion King. His latest movie Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle shattered expectations with over $400 million worldwide gross against an estimated budget of $90 million.
About Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne Johnson was born on May 2, 1972, in Hayward, California. He was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness and went through several jobs including construction worker and bodyguard. His interest in acting was primarily due to his family member who was an accomplished singer and entertainer. At age 16, Johnson began performing in stage plays at a local community theater.
He later enrolled at the University of Miami but eventually dropped out after failing to complete two consecutive semesters with poor grades and behavior that became too much of a distraction for his friends and parents.
Life of Johnson
His birth
Johnson was born May 2, 1972, to a teenage single mother, Jana. His biological father, Rocky Johnson, later became his trainer and manager before the two eventually fell out. He is of Jamaican descent with an estimated net worth of $190 million.
His education
Johnson attended Miami Sunset Senior High School, where he would occasionally skip school to work at a local gym. He would later drop out of the University of Miami after two consecutive semesters of poor grades and bad behavior that began to distract his roommates and teammates.
His personal life
Dwayne first girlfriend, Leigh Anne Tuohy, whom he met in high school, was a recurring role in the movie Keeping the Faith, once again starring Johnson; his friend and on-screen brother in The Scorpion King.
In 1998, Johnson married Dany Garcia and had two children with her: a daughter named Jasmine in 2000 and a son named Jagger (J.R.) in 2001. In December 2005, Johnson filed for divorce from Garcia after she was arrested for kidnapping Jasmine.
His Career
Johnson began his wrestling career in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as The Rock in 1996 after being trained by his father Rocky Johnson. He won several singles and tag team titles including the Intercontinental and United States Tag Team championships. In 2000, he won the WWF Championship after defeating Steve Austin and then successfully defended against Austin three times in a row.
World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
Debut and Intercontinental Champion (1996–1997)
Johnson’s first recorded match was in a return match against the Kama for the Intercontinental Championship on December 10, 1996. He was known as The Rock from that point.
On February 14, 1997, Johnson received a helping hand from his father to win the Intercontinental belt in a tag team match with Brian Adams. Two weeks later at Wrestlemania 13, he won his first WWF Championship when he defeated The Undertaker after interference by Steve Austin.
The Nation of Domination (1997–1998)
After winning the WWF Championship, Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) joined the Nation of Domination with Faarooq as his manager. On June 1, 1997, he won the Intercontinental title for a second time by defeating Ken Shamrock. He would go on to lose the title to Owen Hart two weeks later.
On October 25, after losing a match against Sable for the WWF Women’s Championship, The Rock and Mankind were about to annihilate Triple H when his D-Generation X teammate Chyna interfered.
WWF Champion and rise to superstardom (1998–2000)
On January 17, 1998, The Rock defeated Mankind to win the WWF Championship. On that same night, he was kicked out of the Nation for refusing to help Faarooq win the Triple Threat Heavyweight title; D-Generation X would then attack The Rock until The Undertaker ran to his rescue.
In May 1998, Johnson began feuding with House of fire leader Ken Shamrock and defeated him at Over the Limit for his third WWF Championship. From July to October, he feuded with Owen Hart and defeated him at Breakdown: In Your House. The Rock lost the title to Stone Cold Steve Austin on November 15, but the two would later go on to form a tag team in March 1999.
On March 22, 1999, Johnson and Austin had a rematch for the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania XV. The Rock won again and lost the title to Austin five days later at Backlash. The two would then begin to feud until they formed a tag team near the end of the year in preparation for their first joint feud with Vince McMahon.
In early 2000, Johnson and Austin began their first of many feuds against Vince McMahon’s Corporation along with Triple H, Big Show, and Shane McMahon.
Record-breaking world champion (2000–2002)
In July 2000, Johnson won the Royal Rumble against Big Show, Kane, and The Rock Bottom. In October at No Mercy, he defeated Austin in the main event after interference from Kurt Angle. On November 18, he became a three-time world champion by defeating Angle at Survivor Series.
The Rock began his first major storyline with Mankind, who took the role of his manager in June 2000 during their feud with Austin and Triple H.
In January 2001, he won the Royal Rumble by last eliminating Steve Austin. On February 25 at No Way Out, The Rock defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin to make it to Wrestlemania X-Seven as the first wrestler ever to enter the Rumble and win while entering first. At WrestleMania X-Seven, Johnson defeated Austin in a Triple Threat match when fellow WWE legend Mick Foley interfered; this match was voted Match of the Year by readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated for 2001.
Final feuds and departure (2003–2004)
The Rock continued to feud with Shane McMahon while also winning his first Intercontinental title in five years on March 31, 2003. He and Steve Austin began a feud in mid-2003 where Austin tried to get The Rock to admit that he was not as big of a star as he once was. This would continue until the SummerSlam pay-per-view event, where The Rock defeated Austin for the title in a “Three-Minute Challenge”.
On January 27, 2004, at the Royal Rumble, The Rock lost to Brock Lesnar one minute and thirteen seconds into the match. After the Royal Rumble, The Rock declared that he would face Lesnar in a rematch at WrestleMania XX. They had a match at WrestleMania on April 3 where Lesnar hit The Rock with five F-5s and ended the match after an F-5.
After his loss to Lesnar, The Rock continued to be rivaled John Cena until he left for Hollywood in 2004.
Non-wrestling appearances (2007–2009)
In 2006, Johnson reprised his role as The Scorpion King in the movie. He has also appeared in films such as The Rundown, Death at a Funeral, Get Smart, and Entourage; he also voiced himself in the video game The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian.
In 2007, Johnson signed a development deal with WWE and starred in an animated series titled WWE Legends’ House on the USA Network; he also appeared on season 4 of Celebrity Apprentice.
Return to WWE (2012–present)
On April 5, 2012, at WrestleMania XXVIII, Johnson returned as host for the night and was met with huge approval from the live crowd in attendance. He also participated in a promo segment with John Cena and CM Punk after WrestleMania XXVIII went off the air.
Feud with John Cena (2011–2013)
On July 26, 2011, at Over The Limit, The Rock lost to John Cena in a match that lasted 24 seconds due to outside interference by CM Punk using the Straight Edge Society. A week later on Raw, he and Cena began feuding after he attacked Cena with the People’s Elbow.
In October 2011, Rock won his fourth Royal Rumble match when his wife, along with rapper Eve and rapper Snoop Dogg as special guests interfered. After this win, Rock quietly went back into retirement and took time off from wrestling.
Acting career
Early years
Johnson began acting at the age of five when he landed a role in a national commercial for Lipton. Johnson appeared in the Disney show Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper as Kid Cooper, who asks his dad to teach him how to ride a bike before he turns seven. He first became famous after portraying the role of Sean Parker in the 1997 film Waiting to Exhale and gained critical acclaim for his impressive feature film debut.
The 2010s and mainstream success
Johnson has been the first actor to play multiple comic book superheroes on film in both comic books- and movie adaptations. He was chosen for the role of Black Adam after producer Jerry Bruckheimer chose him from over 100 actors.
In February 2010, Johnson’s first starring role was announced to be in The Other Guys, an action-comedy directed by Jake Kasdan. The film was released on July 14, 2010, and received positive reviews. However, the film was a box office failure.
In September 2010, Johnson was announced to star in another film titled Faster, produced by Tim Story and starring Billy Bob Thornton. The film focuses on an ex-convict who must protect a young boy after he witnesses his father’s murder. It was released on September 28, 2011, and received positive reviews from critics and audiences alike. The film was another box office success for Johnson with worldwide takings of $48 million against a budget of $18 million. Johnson made a cameo appearance in the film alongside Thornton.
In 2011, Johnson played a role of an ex-convict who develops feelings for a young boy in the crime drama The Other Guys. And starred in the action-comedy Faster alongside Billy Bob Thornton. He also appear as Black Adam in the film adaptation of the superhero character. Which was released on June 14, 2016.
Awards and honor
Johnson has been award U.S. Male Olympic Athlete of the Year, with a total of five awards in 1996, 2000. And 2004, and American Male Athlete of the Year in 2001 and 2003. In 2009, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
As a professional wrestler, he was inducted into the celebrity wing of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame at age 37. But as an actor, he could not be inducted until ten years after his retirement from wrestling.
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