Doing the Work

How Dany Garcia, Daughter of Immigrants, Made Herself Into a Mogul

Garcia helped create the star you know as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. She's also his ex-wife.

May 17, 2021

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Imagine a perfect weekend: You work out, binge a show, drink with friends, catch a game, go to the movies, get fancy ice cream, check your finances.

Dany Garcia, business mogul, could have a hand in every one of your decisions.

Garcia—daughter of Cuban immigrants, mother of a teenager, and professional bodybuilder—is the architect of an empire. As chairwoman of a group of companies, she produces blockbuster movies and prestige TV shows, invests in a suite of buzzy brands, like the luxe ice cream brand Salt and Straw. She recently bought the XFL, becoming the first woman in the U.S. to own an equal or majority stake in a professional sports league.

This week she drops a clothing line, GSTQ. Even its name represents her unlikely domination. As a first-generation American in high school orchestra, Garcia played “God Save the Queen” on French horn, not knowing that the song refers to the British crown. She treated the phrase as her personal mantra. She would repeat, over and over, “I am the queen, and God is trying to save me.”

Now her business is booming. And her most successful product is her ex-husband.

In 2008, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson's WWE career was wrapping up; his transition to acting had led to flop after flop. After over a decade of marriage, he and Garcia were headed toward divorce. The popular refrain, of course, is that divorce is ruinously expensive. But Johnson and Garcia have, perhaps, one of the most profitable divorces of our time. Garcia, who had been working on Wall Street, took over managing her ex, “DJ,” of whom she is clearly very fond. The Rock we know today—the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, a brand-deal Midas, a man so famous the whole world stops to watch him eat pounds and pounds of cod—was architected together with Dany Garcia.

“Dwayne is the perfect individual to build this massive enterprise around,” she says. “He’s so talented, he has this massive discipline, he’s so…”—she searches for the right word—“coachable.” Garcia and Johnson are business partners, and in another time, Garcia would be called the power behind the throne. But the truth is she's more than just the power; she built the throne. For Glamour’s Doing the Work column, Garcia shared some of the secrets to building a long, impressive résumé.

Glamour: What was your childhood dream job?

Dany Garcia: I was very motivated by the idea of having enough money and success so that I could take care of my family. My parents were immigrants, they got their GED later in life, they had three children, it was always a struggle. I was all about, “Okay, I just need to be a millionaire. If I’m a millionaire, I can take care of my family.” I knew I was going to get an international finance and marketing degree. I was like, “That will give me domestic exposure and global exposure!” Very specific, very nerdy.

What was your first job?

I actually started working when I was 12—I was running an eight-stable horse barn. [Laughs.] I’m sure it was totally legal, but it taught me a lot.

Do you have a morning routine?

I am all about routines—stability helps when you have so many moving projects. I’m up around 6:30, having coffee with my husband and our dogs, and then I head to the gym to get my hour, hour-and-a-half training session done. I train by myself, and it’s a very centering moment. I don’t do CrossFit or anything; I train to inspire me for the rest of my day, to set me up for success, not drain me to take a nap. It’s a physical meditation for me.

Then I come back and have about an hour of review and research. My ability to do so much takes a tremendous amount of self-investment into my knowledge base, and into who I am as a human being, my belief system. So I take about an hour to make sure I’m growing, stimulating my mind. If someone was to ask me what is my most highly leveraged action, it would be this.

And then it’s around one o’clock, and I Zoom to the end! For example, today I have seven Zoom or audio meetings. I wrap up around 6 p.m., 6:30 p.m. I try to make my calls no longer than 30 minutes, that’s a new discipline. Thirty-minute calls mean we’re really getting down to the essence of work, we’re making decisions and moving things forward, we’re not reviewing things that I could have done by myself. Then it’s time for my doggies and my husbands. I’m so boring—lights out by 9:30 p.m. When you train physically, you can’t cheat the rest, or your muscles turn into pancakes. You literally have to sleep.

How do you treat yourself?

I do quite a bit of self-care—I get massages three times a week. I would like to just say this clearly, on the record: As you are elevating your output, your self-care needs to track along with you. There is no way to be physically doing so much and leaving that part of yourself behind.

How do you set boundaries?

I very inelegantly learned to set boundaries. I think one of the hardest things for women is not doing everything just because you do it well, but doing the most important thing. Those questions became very important to me—like, okay, I could be in this meeting, but is that the best meeting for me to be in? What is the most strategic meeting for my goals? Boundaries are easier to set when you’re investing in yourself. Because it’s not about the grind, it’s about—are you making the best impact for yourself?

How do you deal with disappointment?

In 2008, my divorce to Dwayne was official and that is when I was like, “What’s happening in your life, Dany Garcia? What’s going on?” That turning point going into management began this very deep journey. I don’t usually have straight-out failure anymore. We have a work process that has a lot of flexibility so that, when things look like they might be turning a bit in an area where you didn’t expect, we have built-in systems to correct. I’m always looking for weaknesses—they’re simply opportunities. And DJ is great. He’s always like, “What did we learn from this? Great! We’re never going to do that again.”

What’s the advice you’d give your younger self?

It’s a difficult thing when you’re very young, to be highly aware of what’s going on around you when you don’t have a lot of power or influence. I specifically remember looking in the mirror when I was 13 and saying, “This is what I have to work with? What the heck.” I would say—never look at your own individuality or uniqueness as a negative. Because truly it is the gold that is setting you up for your future. I see it with talent when I’m on a film—things people think are odd quirks are really glimpses of a dynamic skill or intelligence. I was an oddball for many, many years, until I was able to build a life that is reflective of who I am.

Dany Garcia’s workday essentials: