Who is Dave Bautista?
Dave Bautista is an American former wrestler and an actor who began his career in wrestling. After his retirement from wrestling, he then started his career as an actor. Initially, he did various off-the-wall jobs. With his wrestling career, he is also crowned the World Heavyweight Champion four times, the WWE Champion twice, the Royal Rumble twice, the World Tag Team Championship three times, and the WWE Tag Team Championship once. He also made a debut in the film ‘Relative Stranger’ in 2006 as Wrestler. His breakthrough role came about in 2014 when he appeared as Drax the Destroyer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film ‘Guardians of the Galaxy.’
| Quick Info | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | David Michael “Dave” Bautista Jr |
| Birth Date | January 18, 1969 |
| Birth Place | Washington, D.C. |
| Father | David Michael Bautista |
| Mother | Donna Raye |
| Horoscope | Capricorn |
| Age | 51 |
| Nationality | American |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Height | 6 feet and 6 inches (1.98m/198cm) |
| Weight | 130 kg (287 lbs.) |
| Body Measurement | 55-26-20 inches |
| Eyes | Dark Brown |
| Hair | Black |
| Net Worth | $16 million |
Bio
David Michael “Dave” Bautista Jr was born on January 18, 1969, in Washington, D.C. to mother Donna Raye and to father David Michael Bautista. His parents divorced when he was young and was raised by his mother. His mother came out to be a lesbian and he always was supportive of her decision. He also has a sister and a brother named after their parents. He is currently 51 years old with a Capricorn sun sign.
Nationality and Physical Stats
Dave Bautista holds an American nationality. He follows Christianity and of White ethnicity. Besides this, he stands 6 feet and 6 inches (1.98m/198cm) tall and weighs 130 kg (287 lbs.) His body measures 55-26-20 inches respectively. He has a bodybuilder body type with a pair of dark brown eye colour with black hair colour.
Early Life/ Education
Dave Bautista had to face financial difficulties in his family when he was a child. His neighbourhood was also quite violent. He had committed criminal activities as a teenager when he was thirteen, he used to steal cars. At the age of seventeen, he left home and started living on his own. He worked as a bouncer for several clubs before he was arrested for a brawl that left two of the patrons injured. He was eventually sentenced to one year of probation. After getting released from prison, he developed an interest in professional bodybuilding and started his career in wrestling.
Personal Life
Dave Bautista has been married three times. He married his first wife, named Glenda, on March 25, 1990. They have two daughters together, Keilani and Athena. Dave and Glenda eventually parted ways on April 1, 1998. Then in the same year, he married Angie Lewis, who is his second wife. They stayed together for eight years and got divorced in 2006. He then married pole dancer Sarah Jade in 2015 who is his third wife.
Social
Dave Bautista is active in his social media accounts. His Instagram and Twitter handle (@davebaustista) have 3.4 million and 1.4 million followers respectively. Likewise, his Facebook page also have 6.87 million likes and 8.85 million followers.
Career
Professional Wrestling Career
Dave Bautista was involved in bodybuilding was pursued his career in wrestling. He first took part in World Wrestling Championship (WCW) and gave an audition at the WWC Power Plant. But one of the trainers Buddy Lee Parker told him that he would never succeed in the professional wrestling business. He then went to WWE who was WCW’s biggest rival. Dave was selected them and he went to Wild Samoan Training Center wrestling school to train under Afa Anoa’i. He also got lessons in Muay Thai and Eskrima. Dave soon began to wrestle for Anoa’i’s World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) promotion. He also signed a contract with EEW and started competing at one of their developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling.
His first competition was under the ring name Leviathan where he won the OVW Heavyweight Championship. His rapid progression in the promotion convinced WWE to include him in the WWE main roster. He then made his television debut on May 9, 2002, on a SmackDown episode under the ring name Deacon Batista. He teamed up with D’Von for a tag-team match against Faarooq and Randy Orton. Likewise, throughout his career in wrestling he has won World Heavyweight Champion four times in a row from, the WWE Champion twice in 2, the Royal Rumble twice, the World Tag Team Championship three times, and the WWE Tag Team Championship once.
Furthermore, he has also shown his excellence in mixed martial arts. He managed to win his MMA debut on 6 October 2012, defeating Vince Lucero via TKO in the first round.
Acting
Dave Bautista made his cinematic debut in an uncredited role in ‘Relative Strangers’ in 2006 as a wrestler. He then appeared in an American-German film ‘My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?’ in 2009. Thereafter, in 2010 he was seen as Big Ronnie in ‘Wrong Side of Town.’ His next venture ‘House of the Rising Sun’ in 2011 earned him critical praise. In the upcoming years, he appeared in movies like ‘The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption’ in 2012, ‘The Man with the Iron Fists’ in 2012, and ‘Riddick’ in 2013.
Dave received his breakthrough in acting career when he was cast in the superhero film ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ in 2014 as Drax the Destroyer. This film was a commercial hit. Likewise, he again reprises his role as Drax the Destroyer in the film’s sequel ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ in 2017 and ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ in 2018 and ‘Avengers: End Game’ in 2019. He appeared alongside Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, and others. During those years he also appeared in other films like ‘The Warrior Gate’ in 2016, ‘Final Scores’ and ‘Hotel Artemis’ in 2018, ‘Stuber’ and ‘Escape Plan’ in 2019. Furthermore, his upcoming movies which are yet to be released are ‘Dune,’ “Army of the Dead’ and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.’
Achievements
Dave Bautista has won Action on Film Award in 2011 for his role in ‘House of the Rising Sun.’ He has also won DFCS Award and NFCS Award for ‘Guardian of Galaxy’ in 2014.
Net Worth
Dave Bautista net worth as of 2020 is estimated to be $16 million.
