David Michael Bautista Jr. is the son of Donna Raye and David Michael Bautista. His father is the son of Filipino immigrants, while his mother is of Greek ancestry.
David Michael Bautista Jr., an American actor and former professional wrestler, was born on January 18, 1969. From 2002 to 2019, he worked for the WWE in a variety of capacities. He has gained the most notoriety since the release of Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) thanks to his portrayal of Drax the Destroyer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Bautista started competing in wrestling in 1999, and he signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation in 2000. (WWF, renamed WWE in 2002). He rose to fame from 2002 to 2010 as Batista and won the World Heavyweight Championship four times and the WWE Championship twice to become a six-time world champion.
He held the title of World Heavyweight Champion for the longest period of time in history—282 days. In addition, he once held the WWE Tag Team Championship and shared the World Tag Team Championship three times with Ric Flair, John Cena, and Rey Mysterio.
Since his acting debut in 2006, Bautista has appeared in a number of movies, including The Man with the Iron Fists (2012), Riddick (2013), Spectre (2015), Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Army of the Dead (2021), Dune (2021), and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022).
Since 2009, he has additionally appeared in a number of direct-to-video movies. Bautista signed an agreement with Classic Entertainment & Sports in August 2012 to compete in mixed martial arts (MMA). On October 6, 2012, he defeated Vince Lucero by technical knockout in the first round to claim his lone MMA victory.
WWE made the official announcement that Batista would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2020 on December 9, 2019. It was announced that the class of 2020 would be inducted alongside the class of 2021 at the 2021 event after the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But he was taken off the list before the event. In a tweet confirming his removal, Batista explained that he was unable to attend the 2021 event due to prior commitments. He added that WWE granted his request to have him inducted at a later ceremony.
Prior to wrestling, what did Dave Bautista do?
The son of Donna Raye and hairdresser David Michael Bautista, David Bautista Jr., was born in Washington, D.C. His father is the son of Filipino immigrants, while his mother is of Greek ancestry. His paternal grandfather supported the family by working as a taxi driver, barber and serving in the Philippine military.
Before he turned nine, three murders took place on his front lawn, according to Bautista, who has described his life as being difficult and filled with poverty. He was stealing cars at the tender age of 13. By the age of 17, he had cut off contact with his parents and was on his own. Later, he added, "I am proud of my parents." “They are good, honest, hard-working folks.” “They taught me the value of working hard."
He worked as a bouncer at a nightclub before being taken into custody following a fight that left two patrons hurt, one of whom was rendered unconscious. He received a probationary period of one year following a trial. Prior to pursuing a bodybuilding career, he worked as a lifeguard, which he credits with saving his life.
He claimed that after having a breakdown over the shame he felt for asking a coworker for a loan so he could buy Christmas presents for his kids, he made the decision to change his life and turn to wrestling. Bautista used the ring name "Batista," with a different spelling, throughout his career in professional wrestling. He resumed using his name's original spelling as an actor, going by the name Dave Bautista.
How was Dave Bautista’s acting career?
Bautista has made multiple television appearances, both as himself and as Batista. He appeared as a guest star in Smallville, an American drama action/adventure television series, in the eighth episode of season 6. In that episode, he played Aldar, an extraterrestrial alien who escaped from the Phantom Zone and ate human bones for food.
He appeared as himself in a cameo on the Australian soap opera “Neighbors” in June 2009. He made a cameo appearance in “Relative Strangers” and appeared in an episode of “Chuck” in 2010. In the action movie “Wrong Side of Town” from 2010, he collaborated with Rob Van Dam, Marrese Crump, and Ja Rule.
In the “Man with the Iron Fists” movie from Universal Studios, Bautista played the evil Brass Body. He played Drax the Destroyer in the critically acclaimed and financially successful 2014 Marvel Studios film “Guardians of the Galaxy.” He portrayed Mr. Hinx in the 2015 James Bond movie “Spectre,” and he co-starred with Georges St-Pierre as the bad guy Tong Po in the 1989 martial arts film “Kickboxer.”
In the epic science fiction film “Blade Runner 2049,” which was widely acclaimed when it was released in 2017, he played a memorable supporting role close to the beginning. In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019), he returned to the role of Drax.
After James Gunn was fired for old tweets making light of rape and pedophilia, Bautista joined his castmates in defending the Guardians of the Galaxy director. Bautista referred to Gunn's firing as "nauseating" and stated that he would request a recast if Disney (the owner of Marvel Studios) did not use Gunn's script for “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.”
In March 2019, Gunn was re-appointed as the movie's director. The upcoming “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” will mark Bautista's final outing as the character, as he revealed on May 24, 2021, while making an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” He was given a role in M. Night Shyamalan's film “Knock At The Cabin,” which is set to premiere on December 6, 2021.
Is Dave Bautista married?
In 1990, Bautista married Glenda, his first wife. Before divorcing in 1998, they had two daughters: Keilani (born in 1990) and Athena (born in 1992). On October 13, 1998, Bautista tied the knot with Angie, his second wife. Oliver was their son; they got divorced in 2006. Before turning 40, Bautista had two grandchildren through Keilani. He married competitive pole dancer Sarah Jade in October 2015. Early in 2019, they split up.
He developed a serious interest in collecting vintage metal lunchboxes while he was married to Angie. Bruce Lee is featured on his favorite lunchbox from 1967, the Green Hornet. He bought Angie an E.T. lunchbox, which she didn't want to break, so he went out and bought another one, and that is when the collection began.
What does Dave Bautista’s tattoo mean?
Bautista has a large dragon on his back, red kanji lettering that reads "Angel" on his upper left bicep (as a tribute to Angie), a signature design on his upper right biceps, and a small sun that encircles his navel on his abdomen, among many other tattoos. He also has the flags of Greece and the Philippines tattooed on his arm.
He had the words "DC soldier" tattooed on his right bicep while on leave from work due to an injury in 2009, and both of his upper arms were covered in large, tribal-style tattoos. He once had a tattoo of a meteor on his arm that was connected to his former friend Manny Pacquiao, but after Pacquiao made homophobic remarks, he had it covered up with a sugar skull design.
FAQs
Q. What is Dave Bautista’s ethnicity?
A. Dave’s father has Filipino ancestry and his mother is of Greek ancestry.
Q. What is the height of Dave Bautista?
A. The height of Dave Bautista is 6 feet 4 inches.
Q. What is the net worth of Dave Bautista?
A. The net worth of Dave Bautista is estimated to be at $16 million, as of 2023.
