Dwayne Johnson's 55th Birthday Countdown

Dwayne Johnson Timeline

About Dwayne Johnson

A national-championship football player at Miami turned WWE icon, Johnson became one of Hollywood's most bankable stars, repeatedly topping the lists of the world's highest-paid actors.

Seven dollars and a flight home

Johnson won a national title with the 1991 Miami Hurricanes, but his NFL dream ended on the Calgary Stampeders' practice roster, earning $300 a week before being cut two months into the 1995 season. Flying home to Miami, he realized he had exactly seven dollars to his name. He turned to the family business - his father Rocky Johnson and grandfather Peter Maivia were both wrestlers - and later named his production company Seven Bucks after that lowest moment.

The most electrifying box office in Hollywood

As The Rock, Johnson became WWE's first third-generation superstar and a ten-time world champion before pivoting to film - where he became one of the biggest draws alive. Movies with Johnson in a leading role have grossed nearly $11 billion worldwide, with three crossing the billion mark: Furious 7 (over $1.5 billion), The Fate of the Furious, and Moana 2. Forbes crowned him the world's highest-paid actor in both 2019 and 2020.

Twenty-one wishes in a single day

In December 2023, Johnson pulled off one of the biggest wish days in Make-A-Wish history, granting 21 children's wishes in one day at Universal Studios Hollywood - cooking up his favorite french toast breakfast, then spending five hours with the kids and their families. That same year he and Oprah Winfrey launched the People's Fund of Maui with $5 million each, seeding a relief fund that sent monthly payments directly to roughly 8,100 residents displaced by the wildfires.

Quick facts

• Born May 2, 1972, in Hayward, California
• Won a national championship with the 1991 Miami Hurricanes
• WWE's first third-generation superstar - dad Rocky Johnson, grandfather Peter Maivia
• His leading-role films have grossed nearly $11 billion worldwide
• Granted 21 Make-A-Wish wishes in a single day in December 2023
• Named Seven Bucks Productions after the $7 he had when cut from the CFL

Frequently works with

Dwayne Johnson's biggest films