Mark Henry is an all-rounder, from the world’s most muscular man to an Olympic weightlifter, and a WWE superstar; he is a pro in all.
Mark Henry is usually known for his aggressive nature in WWE. But you will be shocked to learn that Mark is one soft-spoken person and nothing like his WWE character in real life. But there is no doubt that WWE has made Mark a superstar.
In wrestling, he has also made a good name in weight lifting. He has even represented his country in Olympics.
However, Mark’s way to success was not easy at all, and he had to face a lot of troubles to be in the place he is today. To know how a young boy from a small part of the United States achieved it all, stick with us till the end of this article.
Today, not only will we discuss the career of Mark, but we will also learn more about his early life, love life, net worth, and many more. But first, it is time to have an instant glance at the quick facts of the WWE star Marke Henry.
Quick Facts
| Name | Mark Jerrold Henry |
| Birthplace | Silsbee, Texas, U.S |
| Birthdate | June 12, 1971 |
| Age | 52 Years Old |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Black |
| Religion | Christian |
| Father’s Name | Ernest Henry |
| Mother’s Name | Barbara Jean |
| Siblings | Pat Henry |
| Education | Silsbee High school |
| Profession | Professional Wrestler |
| Nickname |
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| Height | 6 ft. 4 inches (1.93m) |
| Weight | 160 kg (360 lbs) |
| Body Measurements |
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| Neck Size | 23 inches |
| Theme Song | Some Bodies Gonna Get It |
| Shoe Size | Not Available |
| Tattoo(s) | Yes |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Eye Color | Black |
| Trained By |
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| Zodiac Sign | Gemini |
| Net worth | $4.5 Million |
| Salary | $900,000 |
| Signature Moves | World’s Strongest Slam |
| Affiliation | WWE |
| Retired | April 27, 2018 |
| Debut | March 11, 1996 |
| Gold medals | 14 |
| Debuted From | SmackDown |
| Sexual Orientation | Straight |
| Marital status | Married |
| Wife | Jana Perry |
| Children’s Name | Jacob Henry, Joanna Henry |
| Merch | T-shirt, Hoodie |
| Social Media | Instagram, Twitter |
| Last Update | March, 2024 |
Mark Henry: Early Life and Education
Mark Jerrold Henry was born to Ernest Henry (father) and Barbara Jean (mother) in Silsbee, Texas, United States. Born in 1971, he celebrates his birthday on June 12th.
His mother raised Henry and his elder brother Pat. Barbara was a single mom as her husband died due to diabetes when Henry was just twelve years old.
Henry was a big fan of wrestling early, and Andre the Giant was his idol. He even used to attend wrestling shows once; Mark even tried to touch the feet of Andre but could not as he stumbled into the barrier.
At fourteen, Henry was diagnosed with dyslexia, a reading disorder in simple words. Besides, he went to Silsbee High school, and there he had made a record of squat of 600lbs.
At the age of eighteen, he was already named the world’s most muscular teenager by The Los Angeles Times. After that, he won a national high school weightlifting competition and even made a world record of 832 lbs squats and 2033 lbs total weight lifts in early 1990.
During his high school days, Mark used to play football. Unfortunately, he could not play the final match in his senior year due to his knee and wrist injury. Therefore, Mark did not study after scoring less than 700 points on SATs and decided to focus on his career instead.
Mark Henry: Career
Powerlifting Career
Mark started powerlifting when he was in his fourth grade, and even his mother supported him in everything he did. So, when Mark was just ten years old, she bought him a pair of weights so that he could practice.
In 1991 he even won the junior United States Championship, and in the same year, he again achieved fourth place in the senior championship. Not surprisingly, in just one year of weightlifting, Mark had broken twelve American weightlifting records.
At nineteen, he qualified for Olympics in 1992 but could not make it further as he injured his back. But he did not lose hope, and with consistency, he won three medals in Pan American Games.
He became the undisputed champion of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean Islands after winning the NACAC Championship. It made him renowned as the world’s most muscular man and the best weightlifter.
But unfortunately, Mark had to put a halt on his weightlifting career after breaking his leg in the 1996 Olympics. But Mark was one stubborn person, and he did not let his leg come between his dreams, so he made a comeback in 1997 and won Super Heavyweight Title.
WWE Career
After achieving so much in powerlifting, Mark wanted to experiment with something new. And in the meantime, he got signed by WWE in 1996.
He made a remarkable debut in 1996, and Mark slammed one reputed and everyone’s favorite, Jerry Lawler. Later, there was a match scheduled between Lawler and Mark, it was Mark’s debut match, and he won.
In a short period Mark to chance to team up with Windham, Marc Mero, and Rocky Maivia (The Rock) to fight the team of Lawler, Goldust, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, and Crush at Survivor Series. But unfortunately, Mark was withdrawn from the match due to his injury, and Jake Roberts replaced him.
To make Mark’s presence more engaging, WWE decided to give him a new gimmick of a ladies’ man. At that time, Mark was referred to as “Sexual Chocolate.” Nonetheless, Mark instantly became everyone’s favorite after that, and soon to spice things up, he started dating fellow WWE superstar Mae Young.
Even though Mark was doing good in wrestling, he still had to work on his techniques. So, WWE sent him to Ohio Valley Wrestling to sharpen his skills and enhance his capabilities. In 2000 Henry’s mother died, so instead of focusing on wrestling, he thought he needed to fulfill his mother’s dream of seeing him as a weightlifter, so he trained himself to take part in the biggest weightlifting competition.
WWE Comeback
After showing exceptional performance in strongman completion, Henry made his comeback in WWE from SmackDown in 2002. Sadly, soon after his recovery, he had to go through surgery and take a leave from WWE.
In 2004, Henry returned for a WWE Tag Team Championship match, but during a practice session in OVW, his quadriceps muscle was torn, so he had to stay away from WWE again.
In 2008, Henry returned to WWE, and this time he was drafted to ECW. As the ECW championship was vacant, he had to face the championship contenders to win the tournament. Henry defeated Big Show and Kane and finally won the ECW title, making him the third African-American to have won that title.
In 2011 he was again drafted to Raw; at that time, he participated in battle royal; after defeating twenty contenders, he became the number one contender for the championship. Finally, he faced Randy Orton for the championship match at Night of Champions and defeated Randy. Besides, he becomes the fifth African-American to have won the heavyweight championship.
Everything was going fine until 2012; in 2012, he had to go through a career-threatening surgery. But fortunately, everything went well, and after nine-month of rest, he made his comeback to WWE. After returning, he faced Ryback in WrestleMania and took a break from his career.
Retirement
However, in 2015 he returned to SmakeDown but did not accomplish much as he was involved in average matches only. After one year of making a comeback, Mark finally decided to retire from WWE in 2016.
In 2018 on RAW’s 25 years, Henry was inducted into the list of Hall of Fame. However, till 2019 he was still working as a full-time WWE staff, but at that time, he was working backstage. He even became a mentor and helped fresh wrestlers in their training.
Currently, Mark is working for AEW (All Elite Wrestling), but this time not as a wrestler but as a commentator.
Mark Henry: Body Measurements
Mark Henry, the world’s strongest man, stands at 6 ft. 4 inches and weighs around 160 kg. Henry has to follow a special diet to maintain his appetite.
Plus, he keeps on changing his look; he had long black hair when he started his career in WWE. But later, he trimmed it too short, which looked pretty good on him.
His chest is around 66 inches, biceps-22 inches, and shoulder-30.5 inches about his body measurements.
Mark Henry: Net Worth
Mark has earned quite a good amount of money throughout his career. It is expected that Mark has a net worth of $4.5 million, and he makes $900,000 as a salary every year.
Undoubtedly, we can say that Mark is living an active life. But, apart from that, he even earns from endorsements and advertisements. In addition, he lives in a lavish 4,518 square-foot custom home in Austin, which costs around $2 million.
Unfortunately, we do not have information on his car collection and how he spends his millions of fortune on. But we will update you soon after we find any information regarding it.
Mark Henry: Personal Life
Mark is happily married to Jana Henry, and they have two kids, Jacob Henry and Joanna Henry. Whenever Mark is not working, he loves to spend time with his family.
However, Henry likes to keep his personal life private. So nobody knows who Jana is, how long Mark has been with her, and their relationship. Everything about his love life is a suspense that is yet to unfold.
As per sources, Mark met Jana in 2004, and after one year of knowing each other, they both tied their knot in 2005. Further, there are no rumors of Mark having any problem in his marriage to say that ark is happily married and living his best life.
Social Media Presence
Mark is very much active on social media. He has both Instagram and Twitter accounts. Mark’s social media is a delight to watch for his fan and well-wishers.
About his Instagram account, he has 392k followers, and he keeps sharing his pictures on Instagram. Similarly, he has around 1.3 million followers on Twitter.
Apart from that, to know more about Mark Henry you can also find numerous information about him all over the internet.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Mark Henry coming back to WWE?
For now, no, he is not. He has already started working as a commentator for AEW, but after his contract ends in AEW, which is around mid-2024, he might come back to WWE, but for now, Mark is not going back to WWE.
Did Mark Henry win any medals in Olympics?
No, he did not. He represented his country two times in Olympics in the weightlifting category, but he had to withdraw from the match due to injuries.
