Dany Garcia

Dany Garcia Rienzi is an American film producer and businesswoman. She is the founder of GSTQ, and the CEO and chair of The Garcia Companies and TGC Management, overseeing a portfolio of brands in business, entertainment, and food, including TGC Management, Teremana Tequila, Athleticon, and the Project Rock Collection at Under Armour, VOSS, Atom Tickets, Salt & Straw, ZOA Energy, Acorns, and the XFL.
Following her graduation from the University of Miami's School of Business, she began her career in finance at Merrill Lynch in 1992. In 2008, she began managing her ex-husband Dwayne Johnson's career. In 2012, Garcia co-founded the production company Seven Bucks Productions, for which she has since produced several films starring Johnson, including Baywatch, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (both 2017), Shazam!, Hobbs & Shaw, Jumanji: The Next Level (all 2019), Jungle Cruise, Red Notice (both 2021), DC League of Super-Pets, and Black Adam (both 2022).
==Early life==
Garcia was born on November 29, 1967 to Cuban immigrants and grew up in Belleville, New Jersey and Succasunna, NJ, graduating from Roxbury High School. She has one brother, Hiram, and one sister. Garcia majored in international marketing and finance at the University of Miami and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the university's School of Business in 1992.Past Presidents. University of Miami Alumni Association. University of Miami. 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021 She became an associate vice president at Merrill Lynch and started her own wealth management firm, JDM Partners LLC in 2002. In 2008, Garcia transitioned from her career in finance to manage Dwayne Johnson’s career, now serving as his global strategic advisor.
== Career ==
=== Early films and television: 2008–2016 ===
In 2008, Garcia executive produced the documentary Theater of War, directed by John Walter and starring Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline. This was followed by the Christmas-themed romantic drama film Lovely, Still (2008), starring Martin Landau and Ellen Burstyn. The following year, Garcia produced the documentary Racing Dreams (2009). Directed by Marshall Curry, the film follows two boys and a girl as they compete and aspire to become professional NASCAR drivers. The film was critically acclaimed, winning Best Documentary at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, where it was also runner up for the Audience Award. The film received a 100% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes based on 26 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.38/10. The film was called "The best film of the year" by the Los Angeles Times ("The Envelope") and "Absorbing… one of the rare documentaries you leave wishing it was a little longer, " by The New York Times.
In 2012, Garcia and Johnson co-founded their production company, Seven Bucks Productions. Garcia then produced the action film Snitch (2013), directed by Ric Roman Waugh and starring Johnson, followed by the reality television series The Hero. She later founded her multi-platform enterprise, The Garcia Companies and TGC Management, a global brand development and management company, representing actors Henry Cavill and Dwayne Johnson. That same year, TNT ordered eight hour-long episodes for the reality television series Wake Up Call, which premiered in 2014 and into 2015. Garcia served as executive producer for all eight episodes, which was described as The Hero's "natural successor." Another reality TV series, Clash Of The Corps, premiered in 2016 with Fuse TV. Garcia and Johnson later launched a digital channel for the short-TV series Millennials the Musical (2016).
=== Blockbuster success: 2017–2019 ===
In 2017, Garcia executive produced several projects for TV and the web, all starring Johnson . The first one was Rock and a Hard Place for HBO, which focuses on the lives of incarcerated young people. This was followed by the web series Logan Paul Summer Saga with American internet personality Logan Paul, Bro/Science/Life: The Series, and Lifeline.
Garcia later executive produced her first large budget film, Baywatch (2017), an action comedy film directed by Seth Gordon and based on the television series of the same name. The film was panned critically, but a box office success, grossing $177.8 million worldwide, against a production budget of $69 million. Garcia followed this up with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), a fantasy adventure comedy film directed by Jake Kasdan. It the third installment of the Jumanji franchise, after Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005) and a direct sequel to Jumanji (1995), which was based on the 1981 children's book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle received positive reviews and grossed $962.1 million worldwide, becoming one of Sony's highest-grossing films of all time.
Rampage (2018), a science fiction monster film directed by Brad Peyton, and based on the video game series of the same name by Midway Games, was released the following year. It grossed over $428 million worldwide and received mixed reviews from critics. Garcia's next film, Skyscraper (2018), an action film written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, received similar critical responses. Garcia then executive produced the documentary Stuntman (2018). She returned to television to serve as executive producer on HBO's most-watched half-hour comedy-drama series Ballers for HBO.
In 2019, Garcia executive produced The Titan Games, a sports competition series which premiered on NBC and has been renewed for a second season. The same year, Seven Bucks’ made its Sundance Film Festival debut with the biographical sports comedy-drama film, Fighting with My Family, written and directed by Stephen Merchant and produced by Garcia, followed the same year. Garcia later produced a six-episode docu-series Finding Justice for BET, focusing on the stories of heroes, leaders, advocates and change agents in the African American community across America as they uncover injustices and fight to bring healing and change.
Returning to the large screen, Garcia served as executive producer for the superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, Shazam! (2019), The Fast and the Furious spin-off Hobbs & Shaw (2019), and produced Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) which set the record Seven Bucks Productions’ biggest global opening weekend.
=== Business expansion: 2020–present ===
In August 2020, Garcia and Johnson led the consortium that purchased the XFL out of bankruptcy from its founder, Vince McMahon, the first woman to own an equal or majority ownership stake in a major professional sports league in the United States. Garcia has followed the iterations of the XFL as both a fan and businesswoman since its original 2001 incarnation. As Chairwoman, Garcia leads XFL’s ownership group alongside Dwayne Johnson and Gerry Cardinale's RedBird Capital Partners, which launched on February 18, 2023.
After not releasing any new projects in 2020, Garcia partnered up with Disney for the Disney+ docuseries Behind the Attraction (2021), Disney+ documentary Stuntman (2021), and the blockbuster film Jungle Cruise (2021), based on the classic 1955 Disneyland ride. She also produced Young Rock, an American television sitcom based upon long-time collaborator Johnson's life.
That same year, Garcia announced the launch of her latest venture, GSTQ. A lifestyle and fashion brand, GSTQ includes a highly curated, ready-to-wear fashion collection. GSTQ combines and refines the best of a mogul’s savvy style, accentuated with the ease of movement and range of motion sought in performance wear.
== Awards ==
In 2020, Garcia was awarded the Outstanding Film Producer Impact Award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition and was recognized in The Hollywood Reporter’s 2021 Women in Entertainment Power 100 List, earned a spot in the 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 Variety500 lists, and selected for Variety’s Power of Women Report in both 2016 and 2018. She was also named to Entrepreneur’s Women of Influence 2022 list, Inc. Female Founders 100 2022 list, SUCCESS Magazine’s Top 25 Most Influential Leaders of 2022, Create & Cultivate’s 100 2021, and Adweek’s Most Powerful Women in Sports 2020 lists.
== Personal life ==
=== Relationships ===
Garcia met Dwayne Johnson while both were University of Miami college students, and they were married on May 3, 1997. By marrying Johnson she joined the Samoan Anoa'i family. They have one child together, professional wrestler Ava Raine. On June 1, 2007, the couple announced they were divorcing amicably. The divorce was finalized in May 2008 and Garcia now serves as Johnson’s global strategic advisor. In 2014, Garcia married bodybuilder and The Garcia Companies’ Chief Health & Fitness Brand Officer, Dave Rienzi. They reside in Los Angeles and Orlando and have four dogs.
=== Interests and hobbies ===
Garcia is a bodybuilder and often credits the sport for shaping her relentless nature in business. She first competed in 2011 and went on to earn her IFBB Pro card in 2014. She was the first-ever Women's Physique Division athlete to be signed to the Weider roster.
Garcia holds several board positions. In 2008, she founded the Beacon Experience, as part of the nationwide “I Have a Dream” foundation that encourages at-risk students to continue their educations beyond high school. She was elected to be on Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc's board of directors that same year. Garcia serves on the University of Miami Board of Trustees and as President of the University of Miami Alumni Association.
== Filmography ==
=== Producer ===
* Fighting with My Family (2019)
* Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)
* Jungle Cruise (2021)
* Red Notice (2021)
* DC League of Super-Pets (2022)
* Black Adam (2022)
=== Executive producer ===
Featured films
* Lovely, Still (2008)
* Snitch (2013)
* Baywatch (2017)
* Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
* Rampage (2018)
* Skyscraper (2018)
* Shazam! (2019)
* Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
 Documentary films
* Theater of War (2008) 
* Racing Dreams (2009)
* Stuntman (2018)
Television
Year 	Title 	Notes
2011 	P.O.V. 	
2013 	The Hero 	
2014–2015	Wake Up Call 	
2016 	Clash of the Corps 	
2016 	Millennials the Musical 	
2016–2018	Seven Bucks Digital Studios 	TV series shorts
2017 	Rock and a Hard Place 	
2017 	Soundtracks: Songs That Defined History	
2017 	Logan Paul Summer Saga 	Web series
2017 	Bro/Science/Life: The Series 	Web series
2017 	Lifeline 	Web series
2017 	Reality Quest 	Video short
2018 	Ballers 	
2019 	The Titan Games 	
2019 	Finding Justice 	
2019 	K Great Thanks 	
2021–2023	Young Rock 	
2021 	Behind the Attraction 	
== References ==
== External links ==
* 
Category:American women film producers
Category:American people of Cuban descent
Category:University of Miami Business School alumni
Category:Living people
Category:XFL (2020) owners
Category:People from Belleville, New Jersey
Category:Anoa'i family
Category:Television producers from New Jersey
Category:21st-century American women
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)