Wayne Gretzky's Daughter Paulina Grew Up To Be Stunning
Wayne Gretzky probably isn't all that surprised that his daughter Paulina Gretzky turned out to be gorgeous. C'mon, the hockey legend's wife (Paulina's mother) is actress and model Janet Jones, who film critic Roger Ebert once described (via ESPN) as a "bikinied goddess" in his review of The Flamingo Kid.
But Wayne — the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer and quite possibly the greatest player to ever take the ice — likely didn't anticipate Paulina growing up to be a sex symbol. That's just not the sort of thing a dad is ever prepared for.
It's no accident that Paulina became a sports blog favorite. She's been showing off her curves on social media for all to see for years and seems to love the extra attention that comes with it. And what does her dad have to say about all this? We'll get to "The Great One's" reaction in this look at Paulina's transformation from celebrity spawn to social media superstar.
She insists having a world-famous dad wasn't weird
We might think she had a far-from-normal childhood considering the circumstances, but Paulina doesn't see it that way. Even though her mom was four months pregnant with her when she walked down the aisle in what was considered to be a Canadian version of a royal wedding. Nope, nothing out of the ordinary here!
Paulina told Flare, "I always felt like I fit in. I never felt any different than anyone else. Every day, people ask me, 'Do you feel weird about your dad being famous?' And I'm like, 'No. No, I don't. He's my dad.' "
It probably helped that Paulina was born and raised in Los Angeles, where having a famous dad isn't all that rare. She also felt a sense of normalcy due to the fact that her parents drove her to school and not some limo driver. But her parents didn't drive her to ballet when they lived in New York. She said they had a driver for that.
Her singing career took her to Laguna Beach
Paulina had no interest in following in her dad's footsteps, even if Wayne Gretzky did tell TMZ she was the best hockey player of all his children. Her sights were set on the entertainment biz. She signed up for singing, piano and jazz lessons and attended Interlochen Center for the Arts and studied opera.
When Paulina was 14, she sang Sarah McLachlan's "I Will Remember You" for a crowd of 57,000 at Edmonton's Heritage Classic Weekend. And two years later, she — who called Avril Lavigne, Gwen Stefani and Stevie Nicks her inspiration in an interview with Complex — saw her song "Collecting Dust" play over an episode of Laguna Beach.
But don't go searching for a Paulina Gretzky full-length album... because there is none. "I had a deal with Universal Canada, which I was so, so excited about," she told Flare, "but unfortunately things happen where it just doesn't work out."
Her fear? Living in her dad's shadow
There are people who have no problem coasting on their famous last name, and then there are those who want to earn whatever success they achieve. Paulina insisted she was the latter. She candidly admitted to Flare, "My biggest fear is, well, I'm so terrified of getting in the spotlight and having people get down on me. I'm afraid people are going to say, 'She got it because of her dad.' That would make me so sad." Unfortunately for Paulina, that sort of backlash is inevitable — fair or not.
The topic must have really eaten her up, because she was writing songs about constantly getting linked to dear ol' dad years later. In another Flare interview, she said some of her song lyrics mentioned "the expectations everybody has for me that put me in the shadow of my father... I'm just trying to live my own life, and they need to relax and let me be and see that I'm a 23 year old girl." We're not sure whether or not that makes for a catchy song, but we can see where she's coming from.
She has an Adam Sandler film on her resume
Though she didn't go down the same path as her dad, Paulina has dabbled in acting and modeling like her mom. It was all part of her ambitious plan to become a triple threat: Singer, actress and model. Why just focus on one? "I want to get into everything," Paulina said in a 2005 cover story for Flare, which just so happens to be the same magazine her mom appeared in when she was pregnant with Paulina in 1988.
Paulina has had small roles in the Fame remake, the straight-to-DVD Guns, Girls and Gambling with Gary Oldman, and Adam Sandler's Grown Ups 2. And by small, we mean she was listed in the credits as "Gorgeous Blonde Senior," "The Deputy," and "Bikini Girl Daisy," respectively, according to IMDb. Okay, so it's not exactly a long and prestigious acting resume, but everyone has to start somewhere, right?
Daddy's little girl is no longer so little
Paulina Gretzky's last name makes her recognizable, but it was her social media pics that truly made her famous. Like many other millennials, Paulina was constantly posting pics of herself on Twitter and Instagram. The difference was, these pics showed a whole lot of skin. Also: she's Wayne Gretzky's daughter.
The media took notice and were soon writing about Paulina on a regular basis — some in a more flattering manner than others. The Toronto Sun called her pics "lewd" and said she was "moving in the direction of bad habits" in 2012. On the flip side, AskMen ranked her #59 on its Most Desirable Women list in 2014, and Maxim put her on the cover in a bikini in the same year.
In that same Maxim issue, Paulina said, "Some people gave me such a hard time for posting all these swimsuit pics on Twitter. I'm sorry I'm not posting pictures when I'm reading a book." Her pics often take place on a beach or by a pool. "I feel like social media is supposed to be for fun," she continued, "to share what you're doing when you're enjoying life."
Wayne Gretzky is okay with his daughter's sexy pics -- or is he?
How does Wayne Gretzky feel about his daughter showing off her curves on social media? Depends on who you ask. Paulina told Canada's CityTV (via The Hollywood Reporter), "I don't think my dad ever could even process me being a sex symbol." Wayne, however, claimed the pics didn't bother him. When, back in 2012, TMZ asked if he dreaded Halloween because of his daughter's infamous costumes, Wayne responded "No, not at all. She's 24. She's a good girl."
But he might not have always felt that way. It was rumored that Paulina's brief social media break in 2011 was her dad's call. After all, it took place following this since-deleted tweet (via the Daily Beast): "Having a nice sit down dinner with my dad about social media..haha #SIKEEE." And she did follow that up by tweeting: "Hi everyone I'm back! But shh don't tell my dad."
But Paulina was adamant in her interview with Flare that the social media time-out was due to a break-up and her wanting to get away from it all. "He doesn't even know how to say tweet," she said of her father. Hmmm...
She met her famous fiance through her mom
There has long been a theory that we're drawn to partners who are like our parents. Weird, right? But one person who might be able to relate is Paulina Gretzky. She's engaged to an athlete who has dominated his respective sport just like her dad did, only he plays golf rather than hockey.
Golf reported that it all started when Dustin Johnson was paired with Paulina's mom, Janet Jones, in a golf tournament back in 2009. Jones got along with the young golfer, so she invited him over for dinner. He became a family friend before anything romantic sparked between him and Paulina, though apparently the chemistry was apparent from the moment they met. Paulina told Golf Digest that Johnson "was such a gentleman, so endearing. He's always been that way to me. We exchanged numbers, and here we are."
Actually, it wasn't that simple. Paulina and Johnson were both in relationships at the time. They became friends and didn't go on their first date until 2012 — if you want to call it a date. She told Golf that her dad tagged along for that dinner.
She's been engaged since 2013, and still no wedding date
It's probably not worth asking Paulina Gretzky and Dustin Johnson when the wedding will take place because it doesn't sound like they know. Sure, they've tossed out dates since getting engaged in 2013, but nothing has come of it, for one reason or another.
Johnson insisted they still plan on walking down the aisle in a 2018 interview with FTW: "We're going to for sure, we don't have a set date yet, but we're in the planning process." The original plan was to get hitched in 2014, but Paulina told Golf Digest those plans were put on hold because "with his schedule and all it's been hard to set a date. It'll be our special day, and we just want it to be right and to fit."
It should be noted that Golf reported that same year that Johnson was suspended six months from the PGA Tour due to a third failed drug test. The PGA claimed it was a voluntarily leave of absence.
She's raised some eyebrows in the golf world
The sport of golf can be — how should we say this? — uptight. There are some interesting personalities in the game, but it's not exactly what the sport is known for. So when a headline-maker like Paulina Gretzky stepped into that buttoned up world, it was only a matter of time before controversy ensued.
For example, her short mini-dress at the 2016 U.S. Open triggered some scandalous media attention. Firstly, it was slammed on social media (but, what isn't these days?), and then the camera guy took some heat for what was perceived to be an ogling shot of her derriere. A few months after that, Paulina's fiery comments in defense of Johnson's decision to skip the 2016 Olympics made headlines. That'll happen when you're a public figure who begins a tweet with "Listen here you hating pieces of (expletive) trolls."
And then there was Paulina's infamous Golf Digest cover in 2014. LPGA players were upset because — as pointed out by USA Today — there had been no LPGA player on the cover since 2008 at that point. To be fair, that sounds like a Golf Digest issue more than a Paulina Gretzky issue.
Her Instagram looks slightly different since she became a mom
Those who thought we'd see the end of Paulina Gretzky's bikini pics and tight-fitting Halloween costumes after she became a parent couldn't have been more wrong. She pretty much picked up where she left off after the births of sons Tatum in 2015 and River in 2017, much to the relief of her 650,000-plus followers on Instagram. But there have been slight changes: She now posts at a somewhat slower pace and sprinkles in a few "awww" baby pics now and then.
Depending on the day, you might see a bikini shot with the caption "Good times & tan lines" or a photo of her holding a child with the more heartfelt caption like, "From the moment you came into this world I knew how much you needed me but never realized how much I needed you." It's kind of a mixed bag at this point.
How did she drop the baby weight so fast?
If you're one of those people who loves stories about celebrities dropping the baby weight not long after giving birth, you're going to enjoy Paulina Gretzky's ridiculous post-birth transformation. And if you feel these kinds of quick weight loss stories are unnatural and put extra pressure on women, um, you might want to skip this one.
Paulina has twice returned to her sexy, svelte self after giving birth, to the point where you'd never guess she was ever preggers just from looking at her. Her secret: Probably good genes. Paulina has been crediting them for years. She told Golf Digest, "Look at my parents! But it's really 70-percent diet and 30-percent working out. It's all about fitting in some exercise wherever you are."
Perhaps healthy juice also played a role in the weight loss. That seemed to be the implication when she posted a bikini pic of herself holding up a bottle of the green stuff on Instagram five months after giving birth in 2015.
She gave up her career for love, but she's happy
It's been years since Paulina Gretzky has appeared in a film, and even longer since she released a song. These days, you'll probably only find her on social media or on the golf course supporting Johnson. Whatever happened to becoming a "triple threat" and wanting "to get into everything"? Her priorities changed.
She told Golf Digest, "The most important thing for me right now is my relationship with Dustin. It's what makes me happiest, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. ... If you don't want to give up something, that's OK. But if you're in love and have to give up something, that's OK, too." These comments were made before she had kids, but we're guessing she prioritizes her family just like she does her relationship. So in other words, she might not get back into acting and singing for a while, if ever.