Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb
We take a look at who actor Dave Bautista’s parents are as the Glass Onion star goes viral for removing a tattoo in defense of his lesbian mom, Donna Raye Bautista.
Dave Bautista is a WWE wrestler-turned-Hollywood actor who has starred in Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy alongside Chris Pratt and Vin Diesel, and in Blade Runner 2094.
Having started his career as a bodybuilder, he is now known for his hyper-muscular aesthetic and his impressive quantity of tattoos. Bautista even has his own tattoo studio in Tampa, Florida called DC Society Ink.
We explore Dave Bautista’s parents, his early life, and his support of the LGBTQ community.
Dave Bautista’s parents were high school sweethearts
Dave Bautista was born in Washington DC on January 18, 1969, to mother Donna Raye Bautista (née Mullins), who is of Greek descent, and father David Michael Bautista, who is of Philippine descent.
Bautista said that his parents were high school sweethearts and got married young. They would often break up and reconcile until they eventually split up when he was still a young child.
In his 2007 autobiography Batista Unleashed, the 53-year-old describes a childhood filled with hardship. He claimed that he had witnessed three murders on his front lawn by the time he was nine years old. By 17, he was estranged from his parents and living on his own.
He described his dysfunctional relationship with his father in the book: “In all the years after my parents split up, basically since I was able to walk, I never felt that my father supported us.” He added: “Things are still hard between us.”
He described his mom as being the ‘black sheep’ of her family as she was a left-wing lesbian among conservatives.
Read Related Also: North West, 9, snaps back at mom Kim Kardashian after she gives daughter major side-eye during dance off in new TikTok
In the book, he wrote: “She still jokes that she did two things that disappointed her father: told him that she was a Democrat and told him she was a lesbian.”
Dave Bautista covered up a tattoo to support his mom
In a recent interview with GQ, Dave Bautista breaks down the story behind his many tattoos. In a moment that has gone viral, he explained that he covered up a tattoo of Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao’s team logo from his left forearm.
“It used to be a team logo,” he explained. “I was part of a team of a person I considered a friend and someone I really looked up to. And then, he later came out publicly with some anti-gay statements and turned out to be an extreme homophobe.”
“So, I had a huge issue with it. It’s a personal issue with me, my mom’s a lesbian. And I just could no longer call him a friend. So, I had it covered up.”
Bautista is the ‘Proud son of a lesbian’
Dave Bautista is a proud advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. At the time of Pacquiao’s anti-gay comments, he publicly called the boxer an “f—ing idiot,” adding “You can’t come back from that, man. There’s no coming back from that.”
He shared a post to Instagram in June 2022, celebrating Pride month and honoring his mom.
Bautista wrote: “I was always proud of who my mom was because she was always proud of who she was. And her son payed [sic] attention. BE LOUD, BE PROUD, BE YOU.”
Have something to tell us about this article?
