Who is Arnold Schwarzenegger: Biography, Profile of Actor and Political Careers

Laelia Yang January 14, 2021 | 06:28

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American actor, businessman, professional bodybuilder, and former politician who served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 to 2011. Read this article of KnowInsiders to know more about his biography, his personal life, and his career!

Arnold Schwarzenegger. Photo: vi.m.wikipedia.org

Who Is Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Arnold Schwarzenegger, in full Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger, was born on July 30, 1947, near Graz, Austria. He rose to fame as the world's top bodybuilder, launching a career that would make him a giant Hollywood star via films like Conan the Barbarian, The Terminator, and Total Recall. After years of blockbuster movie roles, Schwarzenegger went into politics, becoming governor of California in 2003. He returned to the big screen after leaving office in 2011, finding success with The Expendables franchise and a return to the Terminator series.

Early life

According to filmibeat, Schwarzenegger was born in Thal, Austria (German: Thal bei Graz), a small village bordering the Styrian capital Graz, and was christened Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger. His parents were the local police chief Gustav Schwarzenegger (1907 – 1972), and his wife, Aurelia Jadrny (1922 – 1998). According to Schwarzenegger, his parents were very strict: "Back then in Austria, it was a very different world, if we did something bad or we disobeyed our parents, the rod was not spared." He grew up in a Roman Catholic family who attended church service every Sunday.

As a boy, Schwarzenegger played many sports—heavily influenced by his father. He picked up his first barbell in 1960 when his football coach took his team to a local gym. At the age of 14, Schwarzenegger chose bodybuilding over football (soccer) as a career. During a speech in 2001, he said, "My own plan formed when I was 14 years old. My father had wanted me to be a police officer like he was. My mother wanted me to go to trade school."

In 1961, Schwarzenegger met former Mr. Austria Kurt Marnul, who invited him to train at the gym in Graz. He was so dedicated as a youngster that he was known to break into the local gym on weekends when it was usually closed so that he could train.

Personal life

Early relationships

In 1969, Schwarzenegger met Barbara Outland (later Barbara Outland Baker), an English teacher with whom he lived until 1974.

Baker claims that she only learned of his being unfaithful after they split, and talks of a turbulent and passionate love life. The couple first met six to eight months after his arrival in the U.S. Their first date was watching the first Apollo Moon landing on television. They shared an apartment in Santa Monica, California for three and a half years, and having little money, they would visit the beach all day or have barbecues in the back yard.

Schwarzenegger met his next lover, Beverly Hills hairdresser's assistant Sue Moray, on Venice Beach in July 1977. According to Moray, the couple led an open relationship: "We were faithful when we were both in LA... but when he was out of town, we were free to do whatever we wanted."

Marriage to Maria Shriver

Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver. Photo: today.com

Schwarzenegger met television journalist Maria Shriver, niece of President John F. Kennedy, at the Robert F. Kennedy Tennis Tournament in August 1977. He went on to have a relationship with both Moray and Shriver until August 1978 when Moray (who knew of his relationship with Shriver) issued an ultimatum, reported Biography.

Off-screen Schwarzenegger continued his remarkable story, marrying into the Kennedy family in 1986 by tying the knot with Maria Owings Shriver.

They have four children: Katherine Eunice Schwarzenegger (1989), Christina Maria Aurelia Schwarzenegger (1991), Patrick Arnold Shriver Schwarzenegger (1993), and Christopher Sargent Shriver Schwarzenegger (1997). All of their children were born in Los Angeles. The family lived in an 11,000-square-foot (1,000 m2) home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, with vacation homes in Sun Valley, Idaho, and Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.

The couple announced their decision to separate in May 2011, after Schwarzenegger's acknowledgment that he'd fathered a baby with a member of the family's household staff.

Bodybuilding Career

Schwarzenegger is considered among the most important figures in the history of bodybuilding, and his legacy is commemorated in the Arnold Classic annual bodybuilding competition. Schwarzenegger has remained a prominent face in the bodybuilding sport long after his retirement, in part because of his ownership of gyms and fitness magazines. He has presided over numerous contests and awards shows.

For many years, he wrote a monthly column for the bodybuilding magazines Muscle & Fitness and Flex. Shortly after being elected Governor, he was appointed executive editor of both magazines, in a largely symbolic capacity. The magazines agreed to donate $250,000 a year to the Governor's various physical fitness initiatives.

One of the first competitions he won was the Junior Mr. Europe contest in 1965. He won Mr. Europe the following year, at age 19. He would go on to compete in and win many bodybuilding contests, as well as some power-lifting contests, including five Mr. Universe (4 – NABBA [England], 1 – IFBB [USA]) wins, and seven Mr. Olympia wins, a record which would stand until Lee Haney won his eighth consecutive Mr. Olympia title in 1991.

Steroid Use

According to Notablebiographies, Schwarzenegger has admitted to using performance-enhancing anabolic steroids while they were legal. He has called the drugs "tissue building."

In 1999, Schwarzenegger sued Dr. Willi Heepe, a German doctor who publicly predicted an early death for the bodybuilder, based on a link between steroid use and later heart problems. Because the doctor had never examined him personally, Schwarzenegger collected a DM20,000 ($12,000 USD) libel judgment against him in a German court. In 1999, Schwarzenegger also sued and settled with The Globe, a U.S. tabloid which had made similar predictions about the bodybuilder's future health. Schwarzenegger was born with a bicuspid aortic valve, an aortic valve with only two leaflets (a normal aortic valve has three leaflets). As late as 1996, a year before Schwarzenegger's open-heart surgery to replace this aortic valve with a human homograft valve, Schwarzenegger publicly defended his use of anabolic steroids during his bodybuilding career.

Acting career

The movie roles of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Photo: denofgeek.com

With his ascension to the top of the bodybuilding world, it was only a matter of time before Schwarzenegger would move over to the big screen. After a few small parts, Schwarzenegger received a Golden Globe Award for Best Newcomer for his performance in Stay Hungry (1976).

With his immense physical strength and size, Schwarzenegger was natural for action films. He became a leading figure in several popular 1980s action movies, including Conan the Barbarian (1982) and its sequel, Conan the Destroyer (1984). Schwarzenegger also starred as a deadly machine from the future in The Terminator (1984), and later reprised the role for Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), reported Biography.

Additional action flicks from the actor's heyday include Commando (1985), Predator (1987), The Running Man (1987), Total Recall (1990), and True Lies (1994). He also used his oversized physique to comedic effect in Twins (1988) and Kindergarten Cop (1990).

Politic career

Early Politics

Schwarzenegger has been a registered Republican for many years. As an actor, his political views were always well known, as they contrasted with those of many other prominent Hollywood stars, who are generally considered to be a liberal and Democratic-leaning community.

Governor Of California

In 2003, Schwarzenegger became the 38th Governor of the State of California in a historic recall election, and as governor ushered in an era of innovative leadership and extraordinary public service. Schwarzenegger's most notable accomplishments while governor includes the nation-leading Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 - a bipartisan agreement to combat global warming by reducing California's greenhouse gas emissions - and overhauling the state's workers' compensation system - cutting costs by more than 35 percent, according to Schwarzenegger.com

In addition, Schwarzenegger was the first governor in decades to make major investments in improving California's aging infrastructure through his Strategic Growth Plan, helping to reduce congestion and clean the air. He established the Hydrogen Highway and Million Solar Roofs Plan, continuing his leadership in creating a greener environment. In November 2009, more than three years of leadership by Governor Schwarzenegger culminated with the passage of the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2010.

As governor, he was California's most effective marketing tool, traveling across the country and around the world promoting California-grown products, cutting-edge technologies, and the state's diverse travel destinations. In addition, using his background as an internationally recognized athlete, Schwarzenegger made restoring health and fitness a top priority. He signed legislation making the state's school nutrition standards the most progressive in the nation and continues to promote healthy habits by taking harmful trans fats out of California restaurants and ensuring nutritional information is available to diners. To improve classrooms across the state and ensure that all California’s students have access to the world-class education they need to grow, thrive and succeed, Schwarzenegger led the reform to make California competitive for up to $700 million in federal Race to the Top funds.

In recognition of these efforts, Schwarzenegger has been rewarded for his great leadership and vision many times over in many areas, including the Simon Wiesenthal Center's "National Leadership Award" and the American Council On Renewable Energy “Renewable Energy Leader of the Decade.”