- Dakota Alan is a 23-year-old American martial arts fighter and one of Chuck Norris’ five children
- He is the only one out of Norris’ five children to not take up acting
- Aside from this, he is a fifth-degree black belt holder in his chosen career
Dakota Alan Norris is a 23-year-old American mixed martial artist and son of famous American actor and mixed martial artist, Carlos Ray Norris, popularly known as Chuck Norris and Gene O’Kelley
As you will find, he has taken after his father in mixed martial but not acting, and has gone on to win the UFAF championships more than three times. At the moment, he is yet to feature in any major fight, as he continues to hone his skill.
Dakota Alan Norris is a Martial Artist
Chuck Norris’s son, Dakota is a mixed martial artist. Unlike his father who started out as a martial artist before launching into movies as an action hero, Dakota chose the action part but away from the screen. His father appeared in the 1972 movie The Way of the Dragon alongside the martial arts actor, Bruce Lee as well as Walker, Texas Ranger.
Through this and many roles, the 84-year-old movie veteran who has spent more than 4 decades in the industry has stolen the hearts of movie aficionados.
It is not surprising that many assumed that with the fame and success that Norris attained in his career, his son, Dakota will also follow suit. Regardless of Dakota’s career choice, his father has been one of his greatest supporters.
His father started the kid’s kickboxing program over two decades ago and through this, many have been trained in the arts that made him famous. Not to be left out, his son also became passionate about fighting. Starting from the age of 8 when Dakota decided to start practicing martial arts, he and his father have pursued his dreams without turning back. Dakota and his twin sister, Danilee have been in their father’s martial arts school since then. They passed the test for their second-degree black belt in 2015.
In 2021, the twins marked another milestone when they earned their 5th-degree black belt. Dakota revealed this feat in an Instagram post while thanking his family and trainer, Derrick Stinson of the United Fighting Arts Federation, a martial arts school owned by his father. Thusly, winning such a grand belt was also a proud moment for the veteran actor. Aside from this, he is also a five-time winner of the UFAF ITC championship.
See Also: Ron O’Neal: His Life, Death, Marriages, And Other Shocking Facts
Other Fascinating Facts About Chuck Norris’s Son You Should Know
1. Dakota Alan Norris Has Indian Ancestry
He is one half of a twin born on August 30, 2001, to Chuck and his wife, Gena O’Kelley. Through his father, Dakota, and his twin sister, Danilee traces their ancestry to a Cherokee grandfather. Aside from this, their paternal grandmother is of Irish origin. While this mixed ancestry did not have much impact on them, their father was taunted by other kids while growing up.
Away from his ancestry, his father had him way past his prime. Chuck was 61 years old when Dakota and Danilee were born. Regardless of their father’s age, it did not slow him down in how he trained them. In fact, the 23-year-old twins grew up engaging in activities that may be considered strenuous for other older parents. They went to the family’s stables as well as practice shooting and martial arts together.
2. His Father Was Married Before his Mother
Looking at how tight-knit Dakota and other members of his family are, one would assume Dakota’s mother, Gena is the only wife of the actor. This is not the case as Chuck has been married and divorced in the past. Chuck Norris’ first wife Dianne was his high school sweetheart whom he married in 1958.
They were together till 1989 when they divorced. While the reason for their divorce may be due to irreconcilable differences, there is speculation that it may be due to an extramarital affair he had with a woman named Joanna. Away from this, the actor revealed in his tell-all book, Against All Odds that he did not tell Joanna that he was married at the time they met.
3. The Fifth Degree Black Belt Martial Arts Fighter has 5 Older Siblings
As captured, Dakota’s father was previously married and through this, Chuck fathered two children-Mike Norris and Eric Norris. Aside from these two, Dakota also has an older sister named Dina from his father’s affair with Joanna. While Dakota’s siblings are not as publicized on their father’s social media handles, the action actor has a cordial relationship with all. When he discovered that he had a daughter, Chuck did not ask for any DNA results or blood tests, he just accepted her.
Like Dina, Mike and Eric also have a cordial relationship with Chuck as can be seen in their social media updates celebrating him.
On his mother’s side, Dakota has one half-brother named Timothy Robert Hinschberger and a half-sister named Kelley Gene Tagudin from his mother’s first marriage with Gordon Hinschberger.
4. He is the Only Child of Chuck Norris That Has Not ventured Into Acting
Considering how much his children adore him, it is not surprising that all three older siblings and Danilee have ventured into acting at different points in time. Mike’s first movie role was in his father’s A Force of One(1979). After this role, he took part in other aspects of movie making such as doing stunts.
Eric also started out as an actor before branching out into racing cars. Reportedly, he won three out of 87 races he participated in before his career stalled for a decade. Thankfully, he made another appearance in 2022 which may signal that he is not yet done with the sports.
His twin sister also has credits in her father’s Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial By Fire. She appeared as Angela Walker in the 2005 movie. Since then, she has not taken any other roles. Nonetheless, she shares another passion of her father’s which is martial arts. Per her Instagram bio, she is also a musician.
5. The California Native Almost Lost His Mother
In 2013, Dakota and other members of his family almost lost Gena to untimely death. She was allegedly poisoned during a routine MRI scan for rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that attacks the healthy cells of the body leading to inflammation in the joints. Reportedly, she was injected with three gadolinium injections within eight days.
Unfortunately, it had long-term effects which left her bedridden for months. Following this, Chuck left his acting career to be with her while also suing the drug companies responsible. While not much has been heard of the issue, she has since recovered from the ordeal.
6. Who is Dakota Dating?
Going through his social media updates, he has many loved-up pictures with a woman named Ashleigh R.G. The two have been together since high school and have remained together.
The pair have shared moments on vacation or at home with their dogs as well as other members of the family which suggests she is quite cordial with Dakota’s family.
7. Dakota Alan Norris’s Net Worth
The rising martial arts fighter has not revealed his net worth. However, he is known to be one of the heirs to his father’s impressive net worth of $100 million which he made in his acting career.
His father also makes cash through his martial arts school where students get trained as well as brand endorsements he does.
