The Rock Biography

The Rock

The Rock was born Dwayne Johnson, half African-American, half Samoan-American. His father, Rocky Johnson, and maternal grandfather, Peter Mavia, had both been professional wrestlers in the World Wrestling Federation. He received a full scholarship from the University of Miami, for which he played football as part of their NCAA National Championship team. A back injury suffered in 1995 kept him from the NFL. He eventually turned to pro wrestling, joining the USWA as Flex Kavanah, and then moving to the WWF (now known as the WWE) in 1996 as Rocky Mavia. Eventually changing his stage name to The Rock, he became one of the most popular pro wrestlers of all time, winning an unprecedented seven World Championship titles. He is known to moviegoers for his role as the Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns and The Scorpion King, and in the 2004 adaptation of the 1970s actioner Walking Tall.