Edge

Adam Joseph Copeland was born in Orangeville, Ontario, Canada, and was raised by his single mother, Judy Copeland. He grew up without meeting or seeing a photograph of his father. At age 18, he earned free wrestling training by winning an essay contest hosted by Sully's Gym in Toronto, where he received instruction from Sweet Daddy Siki and Ron Hutchinson. While training and competing on the independent circuit, he worked various jobs and completed a diploma in radio broadcasting at Humber College.

Copeland has been married three times. His first marriage was to Alannah Morley, which lasted from 2001 to 2004. He was married to Lisa Ortiz from 2004 to 2005. Copeland married fellow professional wrestler Beth Phoenix on October 30, 2016. The couple resides in North Carolina and has two daughters, Lyric and Ruby.

Copeland debuted on WWF television in June 1998 as Edge, initially portrayed as a solitary figure entering through arena crowds. He soon formed The Brood with Gangrel and his childhood friend Christian Cage, before Edge and Christian evolved into a dominant tag team. Together, the duo captured seven World Tag Team Championships and competed in historic Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches against The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz.

Edge transitioned to singles competition after winning the 2001 King of the Ring tournament. In 2005, he won the inaugural Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 21, cashing in the contract in January 2006 to defeat John Cena for his first WWE Championship. Adopting the moniker "The Rated-R Superstar," Edge formed notable pairings, including the tag team Rated-RKO with Randy Orton and the stable La Familia with on-screen partner Vickie Guerrero. Over his WWE career, Edge became an 11-time world champion, winning seven World Heavyweight Championships and four WWE Championships, in addition to winning the Royal Rumble in 2010. Severe cervical spinal stenosis forced him to vacate his title and retire in April 2011, leading to his WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2012.

After nearly nine years away from in-ring competition, Edge made an unannounced return at the 2020 Royal Rumble match. He engaged in a high-profile rivalry with Randy Orton and won the 2021 Royal Rumble match after entering from the number one spot. In 2022, Edge established the faction The Judgment Day alongside Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley before feuding with the group following his expulsion.

Edge concluded his WWE tenure in September 2023 and debuted in All Elite Wrestling at WrestleDream on October 1, 2023, performing under his real name before also adopting the ring name Cope. In AEW, he captured the TNT Championship twice, engaged in a rivalry with Christian Cage, and later united with Cage to hold the AEW World Tag Team Championship. He also joined Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler to form the trio Rated FTR.

In addition to professional wrestling, Copeland has built a career in film and television. He portrayed the recurring character Dwight Hendrickson on the Syfy supernatural drama series Haven from 2011 to 2015. He also appeared as the Norse settler Kjetill Flatnose in the fifth and sixth seasons of the History Channel series Vikings.

His film credits include a cameo in Highlander: Endgame (2000), a leading role as Nick Blades in the action comedy Bending the Rules (2012), and the role of Jack Reese in Money Plane (2020). In 2024, Copeland joined the cast of the Disney+ television series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, portraying Ares, the god of war.