Terry Eugene Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan,
is an American retired professional wrestler, television personality, actor, entrepreneur,
and musician, born on August 11, 1953 in Augusta, Georgia. Hogan was more than any other individual
the person responsible for turning professional wrestling from a regional curiosity into the big
"sports entertainment" business that it is today. During his heyday in the 1980s and 90s, he was one
of the most recognizable figures in the world and was able to branch out into television and films.
Terry Bollea was the son of construction foreman Pietro "Peter" Bollea (1913- 2001) of Italian
descent and homemaker and dance teacher Ruth V. Bollea (1922 – 2011) of Scottish,
French and Panamanian descent. When he was still a baby,
the family relocated to Tampa, Florida where Hulk has called home ever since. As a young
person his sport of choice was baseball, and was said to have attracted professional
big league talent scouts as a Little Leaguer, but as with many other professional wrestlers
an injury ended his career in more traditional sports. He discovered professional wrestling at
age 16, setting himself on the course that would change his life and the entire wrestling world.
In December 1983, Bollea married Linda Claridge.
They have a daughter Brooke and a son Nick. Linda filed for divorce in 2007
after finding out about Hogan's affair with her friend. In his 2009 autobiography, Hogan denied
allegations that he ever cheated on her and even considered committing suicide after the divorce.
Hogan has been in a relationship with Jennifer McDaniel since early 2008.
The two were engaged in November 2009 and married a year later in Clearwater, Florida.
Hulk Hogan’s career in wrestling began under modest circumstances, wrestling a match for
the CWF promotion in Fort Myers, Florida in 1977, eventually adopting a masked character
known as "The Super Destroyer." After a local TV host compared Hogan favorably to Incredible
Hulk star Lou Ferigno, the "Hulkster" character that would make him a star began to take shape,
but it wasn't until he joined forces with Vince McMahon Sr. in 1979 that he started using the name
"Hogan." The following year, he began also wrestling in Japan while still with the WWF,
but after taking the role of Thunderlips in "Rocky III" without McMahon's permission he
parted ways for the first time with the WWF. He came back in 1983 after McMahon's son took over
the company with eyes toward more mainstream success for the sport, and he wanted Hogan to
be the face of the company. There, his persona as a heroic all-American helped usher in the 1980s
professional wrestling boom, where he headlined the first nine editions of WWF's flagship annual
event, WrestleMania. During his initial run, Hogan also won the WWF Championship five times,
with his first reign holding the record for the second-longest in company history. Additionally,
he is the first wrestler to win consecutive Royal Rumble matches, winning in 1990 and 1991.
In 1993, he departed the WWF to sign for rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
Hogan subsequently won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship six times, and also holds the record
for the longest reign in company history. In 1996, he underwent a career renaissance upon adopting
the villainous persona of "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, leading the popular New World Order (NWO) stable.
As a result, he became a major figure during the "Monday Night Wars", another boom of mainstream
professional wrestling. Hogan returned to WWE in 2002 following its acquisition of WCW the prior
year, winning the WWE championship for a sixth time before departing in 2003. He was inducted
into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005, and inducted a second time in 2020 as a member of the NWO.
Hogan used his popularity to launch an acting career. His first film role was
the aforementioned performance as Thunderlips in 1982's "Rocky III".
In the 80s and 90s Hogan made several attempts to make it as a mainstream Hollywood action star,
appearing in films like "No Holds Barred", "Mr. Nanny" and many television series and video games.
Hogan succumbed to the trend of celebrity reality television with the VH1 series Hogan Knows Best,
featuring him and his family. He was also the frontman for The Wrestling Boot Band,
whose sole record, Hulk Rules, reached No. 12 on the Billboard Top Kid Audio chart in 1995.
As of 2021, Hulk Hogan’s net worth is roughly $25 million,
which makes him one of the richest wrestlers in the world.
In August 2015, Hulk Hogan purchased a five-bed, six-bath, 5,400 square-feet home
in Clearwater Beach, which he shares with his new wife Jennifer. This $3.3 million
house features a beachfront deck among the sand dunes and has panoramic beach views.
Hulk Hogan’s most popular and famous car is no doubt his 1994 Dodge Viper RT/10,
probably because it’s his most outlandish looking. It can accelerate from 0-60 mph
in 4.2 seconds with a max speed of 155 mph and has a base price around $55,000.
The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is one of his prized vehicular possessions.
Its top speed is 200 mph, and the car starts at $83,000 for a 2018 version.
The white Chevrolet Tahoe is probably Hulk’s most down-to-earth car that he
uses to go to the gym. The 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe costs $47,900.
It runs on a 6.2-liter engine, which produces about 420 horsepower.