Best Known As: Sports Figure

Gist:  Dwayne Johnson (born May 2, 1972) also known by his former ring name The Rock, and occasionally credited as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, is an American actor and retired professional wrestler. Johnson was a collegiate football player, and in 1991, he was part of the University of Miami's national championship team. He later played for the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League, but was cut two months into the season. This led to his decision to become a professional wrestler, like his grandfather, Peter Maivia and his father Rocky Johnson.

He gained mainstream fame as a wrestler in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), originally known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), from 1996 to 2004, and was the first third-generation superstar in wrestling history. Johnson was quickly given a push in WWE, first as "Rocky Maivia", and then as "The Rock", a member of the Nation of Domination. Two years after he joined the WWE, Johnson won the WWF Championship, and became one of the most popular wrestlers within the company for his engaging interviews and promos. Since 2001, he has focused on an acting career, though he still makes occasional WWE appearances.

In professional wrestling, Johnson was a nine time world champion, having won the WWF/E Championship seven times (with his last reign being the WWE Undisputed Champion) and the WCW Championship two times. In addition to these championships, Johnson has also won the WWF Intercontinental Championship two times and the WWF Tag Team Championship five times. He is also the sixth WWF/E Triple Crown champion and was the winner of the 2000 Royal Rumble.

Johnson is also an actor, with his first leading role in 2001, in The Scorpion King. For this film, he received the highest salary for an actor in his first starring role, earning $5.5 million. He has since appeared in movies such as The Rundown, Be Cool, Walking Tall, Gridiron Gang, The Game Plan, Get Smart, and Race to Witch Mountain.

Life Facts:  Johnson, the son of Ata (née Maivia) and professional wrestler "Soulman" Rocky Johnson, was born in Hayward, California. He is of Black Nova Scotian (Canadian) descent on his father's side and of Samoan heritage on his mother's. For a brief period, Johnson lived in Auckland, New Zealand, with his mother's family. Johnson attended Richmond Road Primary School before returning to the United States with his parents.

He spent 10th grade at President William McKinley High School in Honolulu, Hawaii. As he entered 11th grade, Johnson's father's job required his relocation to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the state's Lehigh Valley region. He began playing football at Bethlehem's Freedom High School in the highly competitive Lehigh Valley Conference. In addition to playing football at Freedom High School, he also was a member of the high school's track and field and wrestling teams.

.]]

Johnson married Dany Garcia on May 3, 1997, a day after his 25th birthday.

In 2000, Johnson attended both the 2000 Republican National Convention, giving a speech at the former. Both appearances were part of the WWE's non-partisan "Smackdown your Vote" campaign which aims to increase voting among young people without endorsing any candidate or party.

Because his mother, Ata Maivia, had royal blood, Samoan King Malietoa Tanumafili II bestowed Johnson with the noble title of Seiuli during his visit to Samoa in July 2004. He is a supporter of the Samoa national rugby union team, as the team's website during the run-up to the 2007 Rugby World Cup showed him holding a personalized Manu Samoa jersey with "The Rock" emblazoned on the back.

Johnson is good friends with Arnold Schwarzenegger and X-Men star, Hugh Jackman. Michael Clarke Duncan and Johnson are also very close, as he stated in his 1999 book The Rock Says.

Johnson is also a Canadian citizen since new citizenship laws came into effect in Canada on April 17, 2009, which automatically gave citizenship (retroactive to date of birth) to all individuals born outside of Canada in the first generation born abroad to a Canadian parent (This law applies to Johnson since he was born in the first generation abroad to a Canadian father).{{cite web|title=Citizenship and Immigration Canada: Learn About the New Law|url= web|title=Rocky Johnson Official Web Site:Rocky Johnson Profile|url=

, Houston.]]

At Royal Rumble in early 2000, The Rock entered in the Royal Rumble match and lasted until he and The Big Show were the final two men. In the final moment of the match, The Big Show was seemingly going to throw The Rock over the top rope in a running powerslam-like position, but when they got to the apron The Rock reversed the throw, sending The Big Show to the outside floor and then came back up. The Rock's feet, however, hit the floor first, although those watching the event did not see that. The Big Show attempted to prove that The Rock's feet, not his, touched the ground first. He provided video footage showing that he was the rightful winner. Despite that, the decision that The Rock had won the Rumble match could not be reversed, so a number one contender's match for the WWF Championship at No Way Out was held, which saw The Big Show come out on top after Shane McMahon interfered, knocking The Rock in the head with a steel chair as he attempted to finish off his opponent with a People's Elbow. The Rock later defeated The Big Show on March 13, 2000 edition of Raw is War to regain the right to face the WWF Champion, Triple H, at WrestleMania 2000 in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match where The Big Show and Mick Foley competed, as well. Each competitor had a McMahon in their corner; for Triple H, his on-screen wife and then off-screen girlfriend Stephanie McMahon; for Mick Foley, the matriarch Linda McMahon; for The Rock, Vince McMahon; and in Big Show's corner, Shane McMahon. Triple H retained the title when Vince betrayed The Rock, giving him two chair shots, allowing Triple H to pin The Rock for the three-count.

at ringside.]]

Over the next couple of months The Rock feuded with Triple H over the WWF Championship. A month after the match at WrestleMania 2000, The Rock had a rematch with Triple H at Backlash in which The Rock won his fourth WWF Championship, after Stone Cold Steve Austin made a brief return and intervened on The Rock's behalf. Later, at Judgment Day, the two had an Iron Man match with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee, that saw The Undertaker return. The Rock got disqualified and lost the title, as a result of The Undertaker attacking Triple H. He later won his fifth WWF Championship at King of the Ring in a tag team match, which saw him team up with Kane and The Undertaker to fight Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and Triple H. He successfully defended the championship against superstars such as Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, Triple H, Kane, The Undertaker, and Shane McMahon.

The Rock later lost the WWF Championship to Angle at No Mercy in October. During this time, he feuded with Rikishi and defeated him at Survivor Series. He also participated in a six-man Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon for the WWF Championship, in which Kurt Angle retained the title. Around that same time, Rock held the WWF Tag Team Championship with The Undertaker and the duo exchanged the titles with Edge and Christian.

In 2001, The Rock continued his feud with Angle over the WWF Championship and eventually settled it at No Way Out. After a battle that saw both wrestlers kick out of each other's finishers, The Rock finally came out on top and regained the WWF Championship. Afterwards, he feuded with the Royal Rumble winner, Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Rock went into WrestleMania X-Seven as the WWF Champion, but he was defeated after Austin turned into a villain and used Mr. McMahon to win the title. During a Steel Cage match with Austin in a rematch for the WWF Championship on the following night's Raw is War, Triple H came down to the ring with a sledgehammer. Many thought he was coming to aid The Rock, due to the hatred between Austin and Triple H (and an argument with Vince earlier in the night), but it transpired that he had joined the Austin/McMahon partnership by hitting The Rock instead. Austin and Triple H became a tag team and called themselves "The Two-Man Power Trip". Rock went on to film the movie "The Mummy Returns" after a storyline suspension.

for Vanity Fair in 2001.]]

The success of Johnson's in-ring character allowed him to cross over into mainstream popularity, and he appeared on Wyclef Jean's 2000 single "It Doesn't Matter" and the accompanying video. That same year, he hosted Saturday Night Live. Fellow wrestlers Triple H, The Big Show, and Mick Foley appeared on the show. According to Johnson, it was due to the success of that episode that he began receiving offers from Hollywood studios.

Johnson filmed guest roles on Star Trek: Voyager and That '70s Show, where he played his father, Rocky Johnson. His motion picture debut was a brief appearance as The Scorpion King in the opening of The Mummy Returns. The film's financial success led to his first leading role starring in the follow-up, The Scorpion King. He was considered for the lead in a feature-length Johnny Bravo film, but it was canceled during production.

Since his last WWE match in 2004, he has quit wrestling and focused solely on acting. He also continued to make television appearances, including Disney Channel's hit show Cory in the House, in the episode entitled ?Never the Dwayne Shall Meet.? The Rock has continued to show a multitude of his acting/talent skills including movie roles like the cocky famous football player Joe Kingman in The Game Plan, and in Get Smart where he played Agent 23.

Johnson was featured in the 2007 Guinness Book of World Records for having the highest salary as an actor in his first starring role, receiving $5.5 million. He appeared at the 80th Academy Awards on February 24, 2008 as a presenter for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. He was nominated for Favorite Movie Actor at the 2008 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards for his role in The Game Plan, but lost out to Johnny Depp, who won for his performance in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

On March 20, 2009, Johnson appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Johnson hosted the 2009 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards on March 28. Johnson also appeared on the Wizards of Waverly Place episode "Art Teacher" as part of his stint with The Walt Disney Company.

DreamWorks Animation announced Dwayne Johnson voiced the Ground sloth named Prehistoro in the live-action/animated version of Tom and Jerry.

Career Facts:  .]]

Johnson married Dany Garcia on May 3, 1997, a day after his 25th birthday.

In 2000, Johnson attended both the 2000 Republican National Convention, giving a speech at the former. Both appearances were part of the WWE's non-partisan "Smackdown your Vote" campaign which aims to increase voting among young people without endorsing any candidate or party.

Because his mother, Ata Maivia, had royal blood, Samoan King Malietoa Tanumafili II bestowed Johnson with the noble title of Seiuli during his visit to Samoa in July 2004. He is a supporter of the Samoa national rugby union team, as the team's website during the run-up to the 2007 Rugby World Cup showed him holding a personalized Manu Samoa jersey with "The Rock" emblazoned on the back.

Johnson is good friends with Arnold Schwarzenegger and X-Men star, Hugh Jackman. Michael Clarke Duncan and Johnson are also very close, as he stated in his 1999 book The Rock Says.

Johnson is also a Canadian citizen since new citizenship laws came into effect in Canada on April 17, 2009, which automatically gave citizenship (retroactive to date of birth) to all individuals born outside of Canada in the first generation born abroad to a Canadian parent (This law applies to Johnson since he was born in the first generation abroad to a Canadian father).{{cite web|title=Citizenship and Immigration Canada: Learn About the New Law|url= web|title=Rocky Johnson Official Web Site:Rocky Johnson Profile|url=

for Vanity Fair in 2001.]]

The success of Johnson's in-ring character allowed him to cross over into mainstream popularity, and he appeared on Wyclef Jean's 2000 single "It Doesn't Matter" and the accompanying video. That same year, he hosted Saturday Night Live. Fellow wrestlers Triple H, The Big Show, and Mick Foley appeared on the show. According to Johnson, it was due to the success of that episode that he began receiving offers from Hollywood studios.

Johnson filmed guest roles on Star Trek: Voyager and That '70s Show, where he played his father, Rocky Johnson. His motion picture debut was a brief appearance as The Scorpion King in the opening of The Mummy Returns. The film's financial success led to his first leading role starring in the follow-up, The Scorpion King. He was considered for the lead in a feature-length Johnny Bravo film, but it was canceled during production.

Since his last WWE match in 2004, he has quit wrestling and focused solely on acting. He also continued to make television appearances, including Disney Channel's hit show Cory in the House, in the episode entitled ?Never the Dwayne Shall Meet.? The Rock has continued to show a multitude of his acting/talent skills including movie roles like the cocky famous football player Joe Kingman in The Game Plan, and in Get Smart where he played Agent 23.

Johnson was featured in the 2007 Guinness Book of World Records for having the highest salary as an actor in his first starring role, receiving $5.5 million. He appeared at the 80th Academy Awards on February 24, 2008 as a presenter for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. He was nominated for Favorite Movie Actor at the 2008 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards for his role in The Game Plan, but lost out to Johnny Depp, who won for his performance in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

On March 20, 2009, Johnson appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Johnson hosted the 2009 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards on March 28. Johnson also appeared on the Wizards of Waverly Place episode "Art Teacher" as part of his stint with The Walt Disney Company.

DreamWorks Animation announced Dwayne Johnson voiced the Ground sloth named Prehistoro in the live-action/animated version of Tom and Jerry.