Dwayne Johnson

Dwayne Douglas Johnson, born May 2, 1972, in Hayward, California, built a career that joined professional wrestling, Hollywood action films, television, and business. He is the son of wrestler Rocky Johnson and Ata Maivia, whose father Peter Maivia was also a wrestler. Johnson played college football at the University of Miami, where he was on the 1991 national championship team. A back injury ended his football prospects; after a brief stint with the Calgary Stampeders, he entered the World Wrestling Federation. Initially presented as Rocky Maivia, he was met with crowd resistance. He remade himself as The Rock, a sharply spoken heel who called audiences "jabronis" and developed catchphrases including "Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?" The persona made him one of WWE's defining performers of the late 1990s and early 2000s. He won the WWF/E Championship eight times, headlined major events including WrestleMania, and feuded with Steve Austin, Triple H, and John Cena. His 1999 autobiography, The Rock Says..., reached number one on The New York Times Best Seller list. Johnson entered film with a supporting role as the Scorpion King in 2001's The Mummy Returns and then led 2002's The Scorpion King. His screen career expanded through projects such as Walking Tall, The Game Plan, and Disney's 2016 animated film Moana, in which he voiced the shapeshifting demigod Maui and sang "You're Welcome." He joined the Fast & Furious series as Luke Hobbs in Fast Five (2011) and starred with Jason Statham in the spin-off Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. He later played the DC antihero Teth-Adam in Black Adam (2022). On television, Johnson starred as retired football player Spencer Strasmore in HBO's Ballers, which ran for five seasons from 2015 to 2019. He also co-created and produced NBC's autobiographically inspired comedy Young Rock, dramatizing versions of his childhood and wrestling rise. In business, he co-founded Teremana Tequila in 2020, and has worked with business partner Dany Garcia, his former wife and longtime manager. Their Seven Bucks Productions produces film and television work, including projects starring Johnson. He is also a co-owner of the United Football League following the 2023 merger of the XFL and USFL. Johnson's public work also includes support for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In 2016, Time named him among its 100 most influential people. His career has repeatedly connected his wrestling identity to entertainment ventures while retaining the "People's Champion" nickname throughout.