Dwayne Johnson, by name the Rock, (born May 2, 1972, Hayward, California, U.S.), American professional wrestler and actor whose charisma and athleticism made him a success in both fields.Johnson was born in Hayward, California on May 2, 1972, the son of Ata Johnson (née Maivia; born 1948) and former professional wrestler Rocky Johnson “My dad was kicked out of his house at 13 and he was homeless, so that shaped the man who then raised me. And in that complication, then came an extraordinary life that was full of travel. I lived in 13 different states by the time I was 13 years old.

Everyone, at some point, has a “first” job—one that gives you real money in exchange for your labor. And celebrities are no exception: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson started developing those biceps at age 13 as a dishwasher at Emilio's Pizza in Honolulu (where he made $3.45 an hour).Sep 10, 2021

Johnson attended Montclaire Elementary School in Charlotte, North Carolina before moving to Hamden, Connecticut, where he attended Shepherd Glen Elementary School and then Hamden Middle School.

Johnson attended President William McKinley High School in Honolulu and then Glencliff High School and McGavock High School, both in Nashville, and finally at Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1990.

Before the age of 17, Johnson had been arrested multiple times for fighting, theft, and check fraud. At Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, he was suspended two weeks for fighting, and the local newspaper later described him as "a troubled teenager with a history of run-ins with police." By his senior year at Freedom High School, Johnson had only played two years of high school football but had excelled on the team, which played in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, a high school athletic division known nationally for producing a long list of professional and Olympic-level athletes, including future NFL stars Andre Reed, Saquon Barkley, Kyzir White, and others.

In addition to playing football at Freedom High School, Johnson also was on the school's track and field and wrestling teams, both which also competed in the Lehigh Valley's Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, whose wrestling programs were ranked best in the nation by WIN magazine and have been described as "among the nation’s best in the sport 

Despite having only played two years of high school football, Johnson's success in one of the nation's most competitive high school athletic divisions attracted the attention of multiple NCAA Division I collegiate programs. He accepted a full athletic scholarship offer from the University of Miami to play for its football program that had already won two prior NCAA Division I national championships (in 1983 and 1987).