Is The Rock Black? Samoan? Biracial? Other? Race, Ethnicity & Nationality Revealed

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a celebrity that many know and love. The Rock’s race is a big matter of discussion among those who have some interest in him.

Many people are often mistaken though about The Rock’s race, ethnicity and background.

In this article, we clear up a lot of these misconceptions for you.

Contents

Where Was The Rock Born And Raised?

The Rock was born Dwayne Douglas Johnson on the 2^ndof May 1972. He was born in Hayward, California.

Although he was born in the United States, The Rock lived in Grey Lynn, New Zealand with his mother’s side of the family for a short time in his childhood.

While living in New Zealand, he played rugby and this was his first introduction to the world of athletics and sports entertainment.

He did his primary school education in New Zealand and then he returned to the United States.

Upon returning to the U.S though, Dwayne Johnson’s didn’t settle in any one place for too long.

The Rock first attended an elementary school in North Carolina. But soon after that, he moved to Connecticut.

In Connecticut, The Rock completed his elementary school education and then went on to middle school.

After middle school, The Rock’s family moved states again. This time, they moved to Hawaii. So The Rock attended high school in Honolulu.

But before finishing high school, the family moved again to Nashville Tennessee. Dwayne Johnson would eventually complete his high school studies after one more move to Pennsylvania.

All throughout his childhood and adolescence, The Rock was a talented athlete. This led to him getting a full scholarship from the University of Miami after he graduated high school.

He would go on to play football for the Miami Hurricanes’ national championship team while he was in college.

He also graduated with a Bachelor of General Studies in criminology and physiology from the university.

What Race Are The Rock’s Parents? Hawaiian? Puerto Rican? Other?

In order to understand The Rock’s race, we have to know a little bit about his parents and their background,

The Rock’s father, Wayde Douglas Bowles was born in Canada. He was a professional wrestler commonly known as Rocky Johnson.

Although he was Canadian, Dwayne Johnson’s father actually came from a family of African American and Irish origin.

Rocky Johnson began to make a name for himself wrestling in Toronto. He had at first trained to be a boxer and had even fought boxing legends like Muhammad Ali.

However, he ended up following his heart towards wrestling. This eventually led to him wrestling in places like Tennessee, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and more.

The Rock’s mother, Ata Johnson was bornFeagaimaleata Fitisemanu Maivia. She is of Polynesian descent but she lived in Canada.

Ata’s family was specifically from Samoa, which is a part of Polynesia.

Knowing all of this, we can better understand the parents of The Rock’s race.

Because The Rock’s father is African American by descent, he is black. He is also part white due to his Irish ancestry, although this is a small part.

The Rock’s mother, on the other hand, is considered to be Pacific Islander when it comes to her race. Due to the fact that she is of Polynesian origin.

There are often misconceptions that people have about Samoan people and what race they are.

Some people think them to be black or Asian. But Samoans actually fall into the category of Pacific Islanders.

How Did The Rock’s Parents Meet?

Dwayne Johnson’s parents met in Nova, Scotia Canada. At the time, The Rock’s father was pursuing his career in wrestling in Canada.

Ata’s Johnson’s, Peter Maivia, was also a wrestler. He has been known for founding the Polynesian Pacific Pro Wrestling Alliance.

As they were both exploring independent wrestling, Rocky Johnson and Peter Maivia ended up partnering up.

It was therefore through this partnership that Ata and Rocky ended up meeting and began a relationship.

The two would go on to get married in 1970. Apparently, Peter Maivia was not a fan of this relationship but it did not deter the couple from getting married.

Are The Rock’s Parents Still Together?

The Rock’s parents stuck out their relationship for many years, even through hard times.

Often while Rocky Johnson was pursuing his wrestling career, the family would have to move around a lot. And this is why The Rock attended so many different schools.

The moving would cause a lot of strain on the family. In fact, throughout his childhood and adolescence, The Rock was a bit of a troubled child.

The Rock got into problems a few times with the law as a teen. He found himself in trouble for committing theft and other similar petty offenses.

Still, the family stuck together throughout The Rock’s upbringing, although he did have a troubled relationship with his father.

The Rock’s parents did eventually divorce, but this was after 30 years of marriage.

What Nationality Is The Rock?

Another question surrounding The Rock’s race that many people ask is what his nationality is.

Nationality refers to what country a person is from in terms of where they have their citizenship.

Nationality can sometimes relate to someone’s ethnicity, but not always. And nationality doesn’t necessarily define someone’s race.

For many people, their nationality simply corresponds to the country that they were born in. And their nationality is usually the same as their parents’.

But with people who are immigrants or descendants of immigrants, this is much more complicated.

Because they may have been born in one place and then upon moving, they received citizenship elsewhere.

Or they may have been born somewhere different to where their parents were born.

Some people may assume that because his father is Canadian, The Rock would also be Canadian in terms of nationality.

Or they assume that because his mother’s family is from Samoa, The Rock would also be Samoan in nationality.

But this is not the case. The Rock’s father is Canadian because he was born in Canada and received citizenship by birth there.

And his mother is Samoan by descent, but she was actually born in Hawaii in the United States. So she is American.

The Rock was born in California in the United States. So nationality wise, he is American as he received American citizenship by birth.

What Ethnicity Is The Rock?

Ethnicity is also something that comes up in conversations about The Rock’s race. And ethnicity can also be a confusing subject for people.

Many people think that ethnicity determines someone’s race. Or they think that someone’s nationality determines their ethnicity.

But this is not the case. Because all three of these concepts are different from each other.

We’ve already addressed what nationality means. But when it comes to ethnicity, it is something more complex.

Ethnicity is defined by the culture you grow up or are raised in. Ethnic traits are passed down from generation to generation and they are learned traits.

For example, language and traditions are ethnic traits that someone learns from their parents or the environment they grow up in regardless of race or nationality.

The Rock’s father is African American in terms of ethnicity, even though his nationality is Canadian.

He is also of distant Irish descent, but this was never a big part of the culture he grew up around so this does not contribute much to his ethnicity.

So ethnicity wise, The Rock is part African American from his father.

The Rock’s mother on the other hand is Samoan in terms of her ethnicity.

And even though she is American in terms of nationality and she also lived in Canada, the ethnic traits she passed on to The Rock are those of her Samoan background.

So ethnicity wise, The Rock is half African American and half Samoan.

What Is Dwayne Johnson’s Race?

Now we fully understand The Rock’s nationality, ethnicity and other parts of his background and upbringing. So we can finally answer the question of what exactly is The Rock race.

The Rock’s father is African American. Which means racially speaking, he is black.

The Rock’s mother is Samoan, which makes her Pacific Islander when it comes to race.

So this means that when it comes to race, The Rock is half black and half Pacific Islander.

The Rock has however frequently referred to himself more as half black and half Samoan.

This is because when it comes to some Polynesian islands such as Samoa, people don’t really refer to themselves based on specific racial categories but rather by their ethnicity.

Most Samoans understand themselves to just be the same as any other Samoan and they do not really distinguish each other by skin color.

But in the United States, racial categories are more common and distinct. And because he is partly Polynesian, this would make The Rock part Pacific Islander and part black.

Some may also refer to him as biracial since he is mixed between two races.

What Is The Best Term For The Rock’s Race?

The best way to refer to The Rock’s race would likely be how he prefers to refer to himself. He identifies as half black and half Samoan.

And so this is probably the best way to identify The Rock.