Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s father, the first Black Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Rock Johnson, was quite the busy guy since his early wrestling days. DNA tests confirmed that the Rock wasn’t an only child. His father had an additional five: Lisa Purves, Paula Parsons, Trevor Edwards, Adrian Bowles, and Aaron Fowler, totaling eight children.
Birth name Wayde Bowles, the professional wrestler’s first children were Wanda (December ’62) and Curtis Bowles (May ’65) with his former wife, Una Sparks. He then married Ata Maivia, and from that unionâ The Rock was born.
The additional siblings shared a father with the Rock; however, their lives differed. Although The Rock didn’t get to connect with any of his siblings, he had a complicated yet existing relationship with his father. Meanwhile, most of his half-siblings didn’t have a relationship with their father.
Purves, who initiated the DNA tests, struggled with the fact that her estranged father didn’t want her in his life after attempting to contact the famous wrestler a few times. The first time she reached him was at 18 years old, and she continued for years, even at 30. He hung up on her multiple times.
“I was really embarrassed that my father didn’t want me,” Purves told Sports Illustrated.
Purves, a filmmaker, felt worthless and unlovable because of her father’s unwillingness to have her in his life. She explained to the outlet that she purposefully lived in Canada to avoid running into The Rock while working as a filmmaker. However, when he came to Vancouver for the Skyscraper film, she sunk into a depression.
“It’s not that I don’t like him,” she stated. “It’s just when I look at him. I don’t see him. I only see that our dad loved him and not me.”
Parsons, an early childhood teacher, said that Rocky had called her twice, once when she was very young and the second time when she was 16, making promises he couldn’t keep. Rocky’s absence fueled Edwards, Bowles and Fowler to become better fathers and be present in their kids’ lives.
The DNA tests were run on the siblings and their uncle, Ricky Johnson, the brother of Rocky and the reason why the siblings are reunited.
The brother of the late heavyweight champion said that Rocky knew of some of his children. Their brotherhood fell apart due to them disagreeing on Rocky not forming a relationship with his children.
“We talked many times, just me and him, one on one,” Ricky explained. “We fought about [the way he treated his family], argued about it. That’s the way he chose to live his life.”
Lisa is currently working on a documentary about her life without her famous wrestling father called Just Call Me Lisa. Wanda and Curtis declined to be in the documentary, and The Rock’s team has not responded to her request.
They all agree that the Rock is not at fault and owes them nothing. But they do “just want to be recognized. We sat on the back burner forever. [Rocky] was our dad just as well as Dwayne’s.”
Rocky Johnson died on Jan.15, 2020, of a pulmonary embolism.
