Dwayne Johnson's inspirational Biography.

Early Life

Professional wrestler and actor Dwayne "The Rock" Douglas Johnson was born on May 2, 1972, in Hayward, California. The grandson of professional wrestler Peter "High Chief" Fanene Maivia and son of wrestler Rocky Johnson, the young Johnson grew up watching his father perform in the ring. But with no plans to follow in his footsteps, Johnson played college football at the University of Miami where he had great success until a back injury cost him a spot in the NFL.

The Rock

With few prospects in professional football, Johnson turned to wrestling, debuting in the WWF against the Brooklyn Brawler in Texas. After a couple more matches, including a tag team win with Bart Sawyer, the WWF signed him under the name Flex Kavana. A year later, he joined The Nation of Domination, eventually taking over its leadership and calling himself The Rock.

Acting Career

Outside the ring, The Rock has launched a successful acting career, dropping the stage name and simply going by Dwayne Johnson. He first made a big splash as the Scorpion King, a supernatural bad guy, in 2001's The Mummy Returns. Johnson returned to this role the following year for The Scorpion King. Trying his hand at comedy, he appeared in 2005's Be Cool with John Travolta and Uma Thurman and 2007's The Game Plan.

Johnson's acting career to continued to thrive through his appearances in such films as Driver (2010) and Fast & Furious 6 (2013). In 2014, he starred as the most famous strong men of all time in Hercules. Johnson also returns to wrestling from time to time, including a 2014 appearance with Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 30.

In 2015, Johnson dominated the big screen with two big action films. He appeared in Furious Seven and starred in San Andreas. Johnson also debuted his first dramatic comedy series that same year. He plays Spencer Strasmore, a retired pro footballer turned financial planner, on Ballers. 

Johnson has a daughter, Simone Alexandra, from his first marriage. He and his high school sweetheart, Dany Garcia, wed in 1997 and split up a decade later. Johnson lives in Florida.