Schwarzenegger Bush.jpg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. '' Time'' magazine named Schwarzenegger one of the
100 most influential people in the world ''Time'' 100 (often stylized as ''TIME'' 100) is an annual listicle of the 100 most influential people in the world, assembled by the American news magazine ''Time''. First published in 1999 as the result of a debate among American academics, po ...
in 2004 and 2007. Schwarzenegger began lifting weights at the age of 15 and went on to win the Mr. Universe title at age 20 and subsequently won the
Mr. Olympia Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation ...
title seven times. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest
bodybuilders Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...
of all time, and has written many books and articles about bodybuilding. The Arnold Sports Festival, considered the second-most important bodybuilding event after Mr. Olympia, is named after him. He appeared in the bodybuilding documentary '' Pumping Iron'' (1977). Schwarzenegger retired from bodybuilding and gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action star, with his breakthrough in the
sword and sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tale ...
epic '' Conan the Barbarian'' (1982), a box-office hit with a sequel in 1984. After playing the title character in the science fiction film ''
The Terminator ''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whos ...
'' (1984), he starred in the sequels '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991), '' Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'' (2003), '' Terminator Genisys'' (2015), and '' Terminator: Dark Fate'' (2019). His other successful action films included '' Commando'' (1985), ''
The Running Man Running Man may refer to: Literature * ''The Running Man'', a 1963 novel by Joan Carol Holly under the pseudonym J. Hunter Holly * ''The Running Man'' (novel), a 1982 novel by Stephen King under the pseudonym Richard Bachman * ''The Running Man' ...
'' (1987), '' Predator'' (1987), '' Red Heat'' (1988), '' Total Recall'' (1990), and ''
True Lies ''True Lies'' is a 1994 American spy action comedy film written and directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Art Malik, Tia Carrere, Bill Paxton, Eliza Dushku, Grant Heslov and Charlton Heston. ...
'' (1994), in addition to comedy films such as '' Twins'' (1988), '' Kindergarten Cop'' (1990), '' Junior'' (1994), and ''
Jingle All the Way ''Jingle All the Way'' is a 1996 American Christmas family comedy film directed by Brian Levant. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad as two rival fathers, mattress salesman Howard Langston (Schwarzenegger) and postal worker Myron Larabe ...
'' (1996). He is the founder of the film production company Oak Productions. As a Republican candidate, Schwarzenegger was first elected on October 7, 2003, in a special recall election to replace then-Governor
Gray Davis Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. (born December 26, 1942) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, only a few months into his second term, Davis was recalled and remov ...
. He received 48.6% of the vote, 17 points ahead of
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
runner-up Cruz Bustamante. He was sworn in on November 17 to serve the remainder of Davis' term, and was re-elected in the
2006 California gubernatorial election The 2006 California gubernatorial election occurred on November 7, 2006. The primary elections took place on June 6, 2006. The incumbent Republican Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, won re-election for his first and only full term. His main oppone ...
with an increased vote share of 55.9% to serve a full term as governor. In 2011, he reached his term limit as governor and returned to acting. Schwarzenegger was nicknamed the "Austrian Oak" in his bodybuilding days, "Arnie" or "Schwarzy" during his acting career, and "the Governator" (a portmanteau of "Governor" and "Terminator") during his political career. He married Maria Shriver, a niece of President John F. Kennedy, in 1986. They separated in 2011 after he admitted to having fathered a child with their housemaid in 1997; their divorce was finalized in 2021.


Early life

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger was born in
Thal Thal may refer to: Places * Thal, Lower Austria, Austria * Thal, Styria, Austria * Thal, Ruhla, Germany * Thal, Uttarakhand, Didihat district, India * Thal, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan ** Thal railway station * Thal, St. Gallen, Switzerland * Th ...
on July 30, 1947, the second son of
Gustav Schwarzenegger Gustav Schwarzenegger (17 August 190713 December 1972) was an Austrian police chief (), postal inspector, member of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA), and a military police officer. He was the father of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Biography Gustav Schw ...
and his wife, Aurelia (née Jadrny). Schwarzenegger's father was the local chief of police. After the Anschluss in 1938, he joined the Nazi Party and, in 1939 the
Sturmabteilung The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi ral ...
(SA). In World War II, he served as a military policeman in the invasions of Poland, France and the Soviet Union, including the
siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of L ...
, rising to the rank of '' Hauptfeldwebel''. He was wounded in the
Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...
, and was discharged in 1943 following a bout of malaria. According to Holocaust scholar Michael Berenbaum, Gustav Schwarzenegger served "in theaters of the war where atrocities were committed. But there is no way to know from the documents whether he played a role." Gustav's background received wide press attention during the
2003 California gubernatorial recall election The 2003 California gubernatorial recall election was a special election permitted under California state law. It resulted in voters replacing incumbent Democratic Governor Gray Davis with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. The recall effort spa ...
in which Schwarzenegger was elected governor. Gustav Schwarzenegger married Aurelia on October 20, 1945; he was 38 and she was 23. 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 Catholic family. Gustav preferred his elder son, Meinhard, over Arnold. His favoritism was "strong and blatant", which stemmed from unfounded suspicion that Arnold was not his biological child. Schwarzenegger has said that his father had "no patience for listening or understanding your problems". He had a good relationship with his mother, with whom he kept in touch until her death.


Early education and bodybuilding beginnings

At school, Schwarzenegger was reportedly academically average but stood out for his "cheerful, good-humored, and exuberant" character. Money was a problem in their household; Schwarzenegger recalled that one of the highlights of his youth was when the family bought a refrigerator. Schwarzenegger's father Gustav was an athlete, and wished for his sons to become a champion in
Bavarian curling Ice stock sport (also known as ''"Icestocksport"'' or ''"Bavarian curling"'') is a winter sport, somewhat similar to curling. In German, it is known as Eisstockschießen. Although the sport is traditionally played on an ice surface, events are al ...
. Influenced by his father, Schwarzenegger played several sports as a boy. Schwarzenegger began weight training in 1960 when his
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
coach took his team to a local gym. At the age of 14, he chose bodybuilding over football as a career. He later said, "I actually started weight training when I was 15, but I'd been participating in sports, like soccer, for years, so I felt that although I was slim, I was well-developed, at least enough so that I could start going to the gym and start
Olympic lifting Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lift ...
." However, his official website biography claims that "at 14, he started an intensive training program with Dan Farmer, studied psychology at 15 (to learn more about the power of mind over body) and at 17, officially started his competitive 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." Schwarzenegger took to visiting a gym in
Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
, where he also frequented the local movie theaters to see bodybuilding idols such as Reg Park,
Steve Reeves Stephen Lester "Steve" Reeves (January 21, 1926 – May 1, 2000) was an American professional bodybuilder, actor, and philanthropist. He was famous in the mid-1950s as a movie star in Italian-made sword-and-sandal films, playing the protagon ...
, and Johnny Weissmuller on the big screen. When Reeves died in 2000, Schwarzenegger fondly remembered him: "As a teenager, I grew up with Steve Reeves. His remarkable accomplishments allowed me a sense of what was possible when others around me didn't always understand my dreams. Steve Reeves has been part of everything I've ever been fortunate enough to achieve." 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 broke into the local gym on weekends in order to train even when it was closed. "It would make me sick to miss a workout... I knew I couldn't look at myself in the mirror the next morning if I didn't do it." When Schwarzenegger was asked about his first cinema experience as a boy, he replied: "I was very young, but I remember my father taking me to the Austrian theaters and seeing some newsreels. The first real movie I saw, that I distinctly remember, was a
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
movie." In Graz, Schwarzenegger was mentored by Alfred Gerstl, who had Jewish ancestry and later became president of the Federal Council, and befriended his son Karl. Schwarzenegger's brother, Meinhard, died in a car crash on May 20, 1971. He was driving drunk and died instantly. Schwarzenegger did not attend his funeral. Meinhard was engaged to Erika Knapp, and they had a three-year-old son named
Patrick Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...
. Schwarzenegger paid for Patrick's education and helped him to move to the U.S. Gustav died of a stroke on December 13, 1972. In '' Pumping Iron'', Schwarzenegger claimed that he did not attend his father's funeral because he was training for a bodybuilding contest. Later, he and the film's producer said this story was taken from another bodybuilder to show the extremes some would go to for their sport and to make Schwarzenegger's image colder to create controversy for the film. However, Barbara Baker, his first serious girlfriend, recalled that he informed her of his father's death without emotion and that he never spoke of his brother. Over time, he has given at least three versions of why he was absent from his father's funeral. In an interview with ''
Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
'' in 2004, Schwarzenegger told how he suffered what "would now be called
child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...
" at the hands of his father: "My hair was pulled. I was hit with belts. So was the kid next door. It was just the way it was. Many of the children I've seen were broken by their parents, which was the German-Austrian mentality. They didn't want to create an individual. It was all about conforming. I was one who did not conform, and whose will could not be broken. Therefore, I became a rebel. Every time I got hit, and every time someone said, 'You can't do this,' I said, 'This is not going to be for much longer because I'm going to move out of here. I want to be rich. I want to be somebody.'" Schwarzenegger served in the Austrian Army in 1965 to fulfill the one year of service required at the time of all 18-year-old Austrian males. During his army service, he won the Junior Mr. Europe contest. He went AWOL during basic training so he could take part in the competition and then spent a week in military prison: "Participating in the competition meant so much to me that I didn't carefully think through the consequences." He entered another bodybuilding contest in Graz, at Steirerhof Hotel, where he placed second. He was voted "best-built man of Europe", which made him famous in bodybuilding circles. "The Mr. Universe title was my ticket to America—the land of opportunity, where I could become a star and get rich." Schwarzenegger made his first plane trip in 1966, attending the
NABBA Mr. Universe NABBA may refer to: * National Amateur Body-Builders' Association * North American Brass Band Association The North American Brass Band Association (NABBA) is among the organizations whose goal is to promote the British brass band in North Ame ...
competition in London. He placed second in the Mr. Universe competition, not having the muscle definition of American winner
Chester Yorton Chester Yorton (1940 – November 21, 2020) also known as Chet Yorton, was an American bodybuilder who became known as "The Father of Natural Bodybuilding" for his advocacy of steroid-free bodybuilding. He defeated Arnold Schwarzenegger at the ...
. Charles "Wag" Bennett, one of the judges at the 1966 competition, was impressed with Schwarzenegger and he offered to coach him. As Schwarzenegger had little money, Bennett invited him to stay in his crowded family home above one of his two gyms in Forest Gate, London. Yorton's leg definition had been judged superior, and Schwarzenegger, under a training program devised by Bennett, concentrated on improving the muscle definition and power in his legs. Staying in the
East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
helped Schwarzenegger improve his rudimentary grasp of the English language. Living with the Bennetts also changed him as a person: "Being with them made me so much more sophisticated. When you're the age I was then, you're always looking for approval, for love, for attention and also for guidance. At the time, I wasn't really aware of that. But now, looking back, I see that the Bennett family fulfilled all those needs. Especially my need to be the best in the world. To be recognized and to feel unique and special. They saw that I needed that care and attention and love." Also in 1966, while at Bennett's home, Schwarzenegger had the opportunity to meet childhood idol Reg Park, who became his friend and mentor. The training paid off and, in 1967, Schwarzenegger won the title for the first time, becoming the youngest ever Mr. Universe at the age of 20. He would go on to win the title a further three times. Schwarzenegger then flew back to Munich, where he attended a business school and worked in a health club (Rolf Putziger's gym, where he worked and trained from 1966 to 1968), returning in 1968 to London to win his next Mr. Universe title. He frequently told
Roger C. Field Roger C. Field (born 31 July 1945) is best known as the inventor of the Foldaxe folding electric guitar which won the Designers' Choice Award for the United States in 1980. He is also an inventor with over 100 patents, an industrial designer, ...
, his English coach and friend in Munich at that time, "I'm going to become the greatest actor!" Schwarzenegger, who dreamed of moving to the U.S. since the age of 10, and saw bodybuilding as the avenue through which to do so, realized his dream by moving to the United States in October 1968 at the age of 21, speaking little English. There he trained at Gold's Gym in Venice, Los Angeles, California, under Joe Weider's supervision. From 1970 to 1974, one of Schwarzenegger's weight training partners was Ric Drasin, a professional wrestler who designed the original Gold's Gym logo in 1973. Schwarzenegger also became good friends with professional wrestler Superstar Billy Graham. In 1970, at age 23, he captured his first
Mr. Olympia Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation ...
title in New York, and would go on to win the title a total of seven times. The immigration law firm Siskind & Susser has stated that Schwarzenegger may have been an
illegal immigrant Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...
at some point in the late 1960s or early 1970s because of violations in the terms of his visa. ''
LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...
'' would later say in 2002 that Schwarzenegger is the most famous immigrant in the United States, who "overcame a thick Austrian accent and transcended the unlikely background of bodybuilding to become the biggest movie star in the world in the 1990s". In 1977, Schwarzenegger's autobiography/weight-training guide ''Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder'' became a huge success. In 1977, he posed for the gay magazine '' After Dark''. Due to taking an assortment of courses at Santa Monica College in California (including English classes), as well as further upper division classes at the University of California, Los Angeles as part of UCLA's extension program, Schwarzenegger had by then accumulated enough credits so as to be "within striking distance" of graduation. In 1979, he enrolled in the University of Wisconsin–Superior as a distance education student, completing most of his coursework by correspondence and flying out to Superior to meet professors and take final exams. In May 1980, he formally graduated and received his bachelor's degree in business administration and marketing. He received his United States citizenship in 1983.


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. He has remained a prominent face in bodybuilding 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 Flex or FLEX may refer to: Computing * Flex (language), developed by Alan Kay * FLEX (operating system), a single-tasking operating system for the Motorola 6800 * FlexOS, an operating system developed by Digital Research * FLEX (protocol), a comm ...
''. Shortly after being elected governor, he was appointed the 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. When the deal, including the contract that gave Schwarzenegger at least $1 million a year, was made public in 2005, many criticized it as being a
conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...
since the governor's office made decisions concerning regulation of
dietary supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order ...
s in California.Megerian, Chris. (March 1, 2013)
"Schwarzenegger to be executive editor of magazines"
''Los Angeles Times''.
Consequently, Schwarzenegger relinquished the executive editor role in 2005. American Media Inc., which owns ''Muscle & Fitness'' and ''Flex'', announced in March 2013 that Schwarzenegger had accepted their renewed offer to be executive editor of the magazines. 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 many bodybuilding contests, and win most of them. His bodybuilding victories included five Mr. Universe wins (4 – NABBA ngland 1 – IFBB SA, and seven Mr. Olympia wins, a record which would stand until Lee Haney won his eighth consecutive Mr. Olympia title in 1991. Schwarzenegger continues to work out. When asked about his personal training during the 2011 Arnold Classic he said that he was still working out a half an hour with weights every day.


Powerlifting/weightlifting

During Schwarzenegger's early years in bodybuilding, he also competed in several Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting contests. Schwarzenegger's first professional competition was in 1963 and he won two weightlifting contests in 1964 and 1965, as well as two powerlifting contests in 1966 and 1968. In 1967, Schwarzenegger won the Munich stone-lifting contest, in which a stone weighing 508 German pounds (254 kg / 560 lb) is lifted between the legs while standing on two footrests.


Personal records

* Clean and press * Snatch *
Clean and jerk The clean and jerk is a composite of two weightlifting movements, most often performed with a barbell: the clean and the jerk. During the ''clean'', the lifter moves the barbell from the floor to a racked position across the deltoids, without res ...
* Squat *
Bench press The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...
– * Deadlift


Mr. Olympia

Schwarzenegger's goal was to become the greatest bodybuilder in the world, which meant becoming
Mr. Olympia Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation ...
. His first attempt was in 1969, when he lost to three-time champion Sergio Oliva. However, Schwarzenegger came back in 1970 and won the competition, making him the youngest ever Mr. Olympia at the age of 23, a record he still holds to this day. He continued his winning streak in the 1971–1974 competitions. He also toured different countries selling vitamins, as in Helsinki, Finland in 1972, when he lived at the YMCA Hotel Hospiz (nowadays Hotel Arthur) on Vuorikatu and presented vitamin pills at the Stockmann shopping center. In 1975, Schwarzenegger was once again in top form, and won the title for the sixth consecutive time, beating Franco Columbu. After the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest, Schwarzenegger announced his retirement from professional bodybuilding. Months before the 1975 Mr. Olympia contest, filmmakers George Butler and Robert Fiore persuaded Schwarzenegger to compete and film his training in the bodybuilding documentary called '' Pumping Iron''. Schwarzenegger had only three months to prepare for the competition, after losing significant weight to appear in the film '' Stay Hungry'' with Jeff Bridges. Although significantly taller and heavier, Lou Ferrigno proved not to be a threat, and a lighter-than-usual Schwarzenegger convincingly won the 1975 Mr. Olympia. Schwarzenegger came out of retirement, however, to compete in the 1980 Mr. Olympia. Schwarzenegger was training for his role in '' Conan'', and he got into such good shape because of the running, horseback riding and sword training, that he decided he wanted to win the Mr. Olympia contest one last time. He kept this plan a secret in the event that a training accident would prevent his entry and cause him to lose face. Schwarzenegger had been hired to provide color commentary for network television when he announced at the eleventh hour that, while he was there, "Why not compete?" Schwarzenegger ended up winning the event with only seven weeks of preparation. Having been declared Mr. Olympia for a seventh time, Schwarzenegger then officially retired from competition. This victory (subject of the documentary '' The Comeback'') was highly controversial, though, as fellow competitors and many observers felt that his lack of muscle mass (especially in his thighs) and subpar conditioning should have precluded him from winning against a very competitive lineup that year. Mike Mentzer, in particular, felt cheated and withdrew from competitive bodybuilding after that contest.


Steroid use

Schwarzenegger has acknowledged using performance-enhancing
anabolic steroid Anabolic steroids, also known more properly as anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS), are steroidal androgens that include natural androgens like testosterone (medication), testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related ...
s while they were legal, writing in 1977 that "steroids were helpful to me in maintaining muscle size while on a strict diet in preparation for a contest. I did not use them for muscle growth, but rather for muscle maintenance when cutting up." He has called the drugs "tissue building". In 1999, Schwarzenegger sued Willi Heepe, a German doctor who publicly predicted his early death on the basis of a link between his steroid use and later heart problems. Since the doctor never examined him personally, Schwarzenegger collected a US$10,000
libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
judgment against him in a German court. In 1999, Schwarzenegger also sued and settled with '' Globe'', a U.S. tabloid which had made similar predictions about the bodybuilder's future health.


List of competitions


Statistics

* Height: * Contest weight: —the lightest in 1980 Mr. Olympia: around , the heaviest in 1974 Mr. Olympia: around * Off-season weight: * Chest: * Waist: * Arms: * Thighs: * Calves:


Acting career


Early roles

Schwarzenegger wanted to move from bodybuilding into acting, finally achieving it when he was chosen to play the title role in ''
Hercules in New York ''Hercules in New York'' is a 1970 American fantasy-comedy film directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman and written by Aubrey Wisberg. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger in his acting debut as the Hercules, eponymous divine hero, who engages in escapade ...
'' (1970). Credited under the stage name "Arnold Strong", his accent in the film was so thick that his lines were dubbed after production. His second film appearance was as a mob hitman in '' The Long Goodbye'' (1973), which was followed by a much more significant part in the film '' Stay Hungry'' (1976), for which he won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor. Schwarzenegger has discussed his early struggles in developing his acting career: "It was very difficult for me in the beginning – I was told by agents and casting people that my body was 'too weird', that I had a funny accent, and that my name was too long. You name it, and they told me I had to change it. Basically, everywhere I turned, I was told that I had no chance." Schwarzenegger drew attention and boosted his profile in the bodybuilding film ''Pumping Iron'' (1977), elements of which were dramatized. In 1991, he purchased the rights to the film, its outtakes, and associated still photography. In 1977, he made guest appearances in single episodes of the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
sitcom ''
The San Pedro Beach Bums ''The San Pedro Beach Bums'' is a 1977 American sitcom that aired on ABC. It is about five carefree, young men living together on a houseboat in San Pedro, California. The pilot, titled ''The San Pedro Bums'', originally aired on May 13, 1977.Mc ...
'' and the ABC
police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...
'' The Streets of San Francisco''. Schwarzenegger auditioned for the title role of '' The Incredible Hulk'', but did not win the role because of his height. Later, Lou Ferrigno got the part of Dr. David Banner's alter ego. Schwarzenegger appeared with
Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in ''The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Do ...
and Ann-Margret in the 1979 comedy '' The Villain''. In 1980, he starred in a biographical film of the 1950s actress Jayne Mansfield as Mansfield's husband, Mickey Hargitay.


Action superstar

Schwarzenegger's breakthrough film was the
sword and sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tale ...
epic '' Conan the Barbarian'' in 1982, which was a box-office hit. This was followed by a sequel, ''
Conan the Destroyer ''Conan the Destroyer'' is a 1984 American epic sword and sorcery film directed by Richard Fleischer from a screenplay by Stanley Mann and a story by Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway. Based on the character Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E. ...
'', in 1984, although it was not as successful as its predecessor. In 1983, Schwarzenegger starred in the promotional video ''
Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...
in Rio''. In 1984, he made his first appearance as the eponymous character in
James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post-New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability w ...
's science fiction action film ''
The Terminator ''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whos ...
''. It has been called his acting career's signature role. Following this, Schwarzenegger made another sword and sorcery film, '' Red Sonja'', in 1985. During the 1980s, audiences had an appetite for action films, with both Schwarzenegger and
Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...
becoming international stars. During the Schwarzenegger-Stallone rivalry they attacked each other in the press, and tried to surpass the other with more on-screen killings and larger weapons. Schwarzenegger's roles reflected his sense of humor, separating him from more serious action hero films. He made a number of successful action films in the 1980s, such as '' Commando'' (1985), '' Raw Deal'' (1986), ''
The Running Man Running Man may refer to: Literature * ''The Running Man'', a 1963 novel by Joan Carol Holly under the pseudonym J. Hunter Holly * ''The Running Man'' (novel), a 1982 novel by Stephen King under the pseudonym Richard Bachman * ''The Running Man' ...
'' (1987), '' Predator'' (1987), and '' Red Heat'' (1988). '' Twins'' (1988), a comedy with Danny DeVito, also proved successful. '' Total Recall'' (1990) netted Schwarzenegger $10 million (equivalent to $ million today) and 15% of the film's gross. A science fiction script, the film was based on the
Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928March 2, 1982), often referred to by his initials PKD, was an American science fiction writer. He wrote 44 novels and about 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his l ...
short story " We Can Remember It for You Wholesale". '' Kindergarten Cop'' (1990) reunited him with director Ivan Reitman, who directed him in ''Twins''. Schwarzenegger had a brief foray into directing, first with a 1990 episode of the TV series ''
Tales from the Crypt Tales from the Crypt may refer to: * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s ** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...
'', entitled " The Switch", and then with the 1992 telemovie ''
Christmas in Connecticut ''Christmas in Connecticut'' is a 1945 American Christmas romantic comedy film about an unmarried city magazine writer who pretends to be a farm wife and mother and then falls in love with a returning war hero. The film was directed by English d ...
''. He has not directed since. Schwarzenegger's commercial peak was his return as the title character in '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991), which was the highest-grossing film of the year. Film critic
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
commented that "Schwarzenegger's genius as a movie star is to find roles that build on, rather than undermine, his physical and vocal characteristics." In 1993, the National Association of Theatre Owners named him the "International Star of the Decade". His next film project, the 1993 self-aware action comedy
spoof Spoof, spoofs, spoofer, or spoofing may refer to: * Forgery of goods or documents * Semen, in Australian slang * Spoof (game), a guessing game * Spoofing (finance), a disruptive algorithmic-trading tactic designed to manipulate markets __NOTOC__ ...
'' Last Action Hero'', was released opposite ''
Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when ...
'', and did not do well at the box office. His next film, the comedy drama ''
True Lies ''True Lies'' is a 1994 American spy action comedy film written and directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Art Malik, Tia Carrere, Bill Paxton, Eliza Dushku, Grant Heslov and Charlton Heston. ...
'' (1994), was a popular spy film and saw Schwarzenegger reunited with James Cameron. That same year, the comedy '' Junior'' was released, the last of Schwarzenegger's three collaborations with Ivan Reitman and again co-starring Danny DeVito. This film brought him his second Golden Globe nomination, this time for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. It was followed by the action thriller '' Eraser'' (1996), the Christmas comedy ''
Jingle All The Way ''Jingle All the Way'' is a 1996 American Christmas family comedy film directed by Brian Levant. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad as two rival fathers, mattress salesman Howard Langston (Schwarzenegger) and postal worker Myron Larabe ...
'' (1996), and the comic book-based '' Batman & Robin'' (1997), in which he played the villain
Mr. Freeze Mr. Freeze is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Dave Wood, Sheldon Moldoff and Bob Kane, and first appeared in '' Batman'' #121 in February 1959 as the ice-based criminal Mr. ...
. This was his final film before taking time to recuperate from a back injury. Following the critical failure of ''Batman & Robin'', his film career and box office prominence went into decline. He returned with the supernatural thriller ''
End of Days End of days may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''End of Days'' (film), a 1999 supernatural film Music * ''The End of Days'', a 2010 album by Abney Park * ''End of Days'' (soundtrack), a soundtrack album from the 1999 film ...
'' (1999), later followed by the action films '' The 6th Day'' (2000) and '' Collateral Damage'' (2002), both of which failed to do well at the box office. In 2003, he made his third appearance as the title character in '' Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'', which went on to earn over $150 million domestically (equivalent to $ million today). In tribute to Schwarzenegger in 2002, Forum Stadtpark, a local cultural association, proposed plans to build a ''Terminator'' statue in a park in central
Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
. Schwarzenegger reportedly said he was flattered, but thought the money would be better spent on social projects and the Special Olympics.


Retirement

His film appearances after becoming Governor of California included a three-second cameo appearance in '' The Rundown'' and the 2004 remake of '' Around the World in 80 Days''. In 2005, he appeared as himself in the film ''
The Kid & I ''The Kid & I'' is a 2005 American comedy film directed by Penelope Spheeris and starring Tom Arnold and Eric Gores. Plot Former actor Bill Williams ( Tom Arnold) is about to commit suicide over his ruined career. He throws out all his stuff ...
''. He voiced
Baron von Steuben Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben (born Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin Louis von Steuben; September 17, 1730 – November 28, 1794), also referred to as Baron von Steuben (), was a Prussian military officer who p ...
in the '' Liberty's Kids'' episode " Valley Forge". He had been rumored to be appearing in '' Terminator Salvation'' as the original T-800; he denied his involvement, but he ultimately did appear briefly via his image being inserted into the movie from stock footage of the first ''Terminator'' movie. Schwarzenegger appeared in Sylvester Stallone's '' The Expendables'', where he made a cameo appearance.


Return to acting

In January 2011, just weeks after leaving office in California, Schwarzenegger announced that he was reading several new scripts for future films, one of them being the World War II action drama ''With Wings as Eagles'', written by Randall Wallace, based on a true story. On March 6, 2011, at the Arnold Seminar of the Arnold Classic, Schwarzenegger revealed that he was being considered for several films, including sequels to ''
The Terminator ''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whos ...
'' and remakes of '' Predator'' and ''
The Running Man Running Man may refer to: Literature * ''The Running Man'', a 1963 novel by Joan Carol Holly under the pseudonym J. Hunter Holly * ''The Running Man'' (novel), a 1982 novel by Stephen King under the pseudonym Richard Bachman * ''The Running Man' ...
'', and that he was "packaging" a comic book character. The character was later revealed to be the Governator, star of the comic book and animated series of the same name. Schwarzenegger inspired the character and co-developed it with
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
, who would have produced the series. Schwarzenegger would have voiced the Governator. On May 20, 2011, Schwarzenegger's entertainment counsel announced that all film projects currently in development were being halted: "Schwarzenegger is focusing on personal matters and is not willing to commit to any production schedules or timelines." On July 11, 2011, it was announced that Schwarzenegger was considering a comeback film, despite legal problems related to his divorce. He starred in '' The Expendables 2'' (2012) as Trench Mauser, and starred in ''
The Last Stand Last stand is a position against overwhelming odds. Last Stand or The Last Stand may also stand for: Film and TV Film * ''The Last Stand'' (1938 film), an American film directed by Joseph H. Lewis * ''The Last Stand'' (1984 film), a film about ...
'' (2013), his first leading role in 10 years, and '' Escape Plan'' (2013), his first co-starring role alongside Sylvester Stallone. He starred in '' Sabotage'', released in March 2014, and returned as Trench Mauser in ''
The Expendables 3 ''The Expendables 3'' is a 2014 American action film directed by Patrick Hughes and written by Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt and Sylvester Stallone. It is the third installment in ''The Expendables'' franchise and the sequel to '' Th ...
'', released in August 2014. He starred in the fifth Terminator film '' Terminator Genisys'' in 2015, and would reprise his role as Conan the Barbarian in '' The Legend of Conan'', later renamed ''
Conan the Conqueror ''The Hour of the Dragon'', also known as ''Conan the Conqueror'', is a fantasy novel by American writer Robert E. Howard featuring his sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian. It was one of the last Conan stories published before Howard ...
.'' However, in April 2017, producer Chris Morgan stated that Universal had dropped the project, although there was a possibility of a TV show. The story of the film was supposed to be set 30 years after the first, with some inspiration from
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...
's '' Unforgiven''. In August 2016, his filming of action-comedy '' Killing Gunther'' was temporarily interrupted by bank robbers near the filming location in
Surrey, British Columbia Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surr ...
. The film was released in September 2017. He was announced to star and produce in a film about the ruins of Sanxingdui called ''The Guest of Sanxingdui'' as an ambassador. On February 6, 2018, Amazon Studios announced they were working with Schwarzenegger to develop a new series entitled ''Outrider'' in which he will star and executive produce. The western-drama set in the Oklahoma Indian Territory in the late 19th century will follow a deputy (portrayed by Schwarzenegger) who is tasked with apprehending a legendary outlaw in the wilderness, but is forced to partner with a ruthless Federal Marshal to make sure justice is properly served. The series will also mark as Schwarzenegger's first major scripted TV role. Schwarzenegger returned to the ''Terminator'' franchise with '' Terminator: Dark Fate'', which was released on November 1, 2019. It was produced by the series' co-creator James Cameron, who directed him previously in the first two films in the series and in ''True Lies''. It was shot in Almería, Hungary and the US.


''The Celebrity Apprentice''

In September 2015, the media announced that Schwarzenegger was to replace Donald Trump as host of ''
The New Celebrity Apprentice ''The New Celebrity Apprentice'' (also known simply as ''The Apprentice'') was the eighth and final installment of the reality game show ''The Celebrity Apprentice'', thus making it the fifteenth and final installment of ''The Apprentice'' as a wh ...
''. This show, the 15th season of ''The Apprentice'', aired during the 2016–2017 TV season. In the show, he used the phrases "you're terminated" and "get to the choppa", which are quotes from some of his famous roles (''
The Terminator ''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whos ...
'' and '' Predator'', respectively), when firing the contestants. In March 2017, following repeated criticisms from Trump, Schwarzenegger announced that he would not return for another season on the show. He also reacted to Trump's remarks in January 2017 via Instagram: "Hey, Donald, I have a great idea. Why don't we switch jobs? You take over TV because you're such an expert in ratings, and I take over your job, and then people can finally sleep comfortably again."


Political career


Early politics

Schwarzenegger has been a registered Republican for many years. When he was 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 left-wing and
Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
-leaning community. At the
2004 Republican National Convention The 2004 Republican National Convention took place from August 30 to September 2, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The convention is one of a series of historic quadrennial meetings at which the Republican candidates fo ...
, Schwarzenegger gave a speech and explained that he was a Republican because he believed the Democrats of the 1960s sounded too much like Austrian socialists. In 1985, Schwarzenegger appeared in "
Stop the Madness "Stop the Madness" is an anti-drug music video uniquely endorsed and supported by United States President Ronald Reagan and the Reagan administration in 1985. The video includes Claudia Wells, New Edition, La Toya Jackson, Whitney Houston, David Ha ...
", an anti-drug music video sponsored by the Reagan administration. He first came to wide public notice as a Republican during the 1988 presidential election, accompanying then–Vice President
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
at a campaign rally. Schwarzenegger famously introduced the first episode of the 1990 Milton Friedman hosted PBS series '' Free to Choose'' stating: Schwarzenegger goes on to tell of how he and his then wife Maria Shriver were in Palm Springs preparing to play a game of
mixed doubles Mixed doubles or mixed pairs is a form of mixed-sex sports that consists of teams of one man and one woman. This variation of competition is prominent in curling and racket sports, such as tennis, table tennis and badminton (where it is known as ...
when Milton Friedman's famous show came on the television. Schwarzenegger recalls that while watching Friedman's ''Free to Choose'', Schwarzenegger, "...recognized Friedman from the study of my own degree in economics, but I didn't know I was watching Free to Choose... it knocked me out. Dr. Friedman expressed, validated and explained everything I ever thought or experienced or observed about the way the economy works, and I guess I was really ready to hear it." Numerous critics state that Schwarzenegger strayed from much of Friedman's economic ways of thinking in later years, especially upon being elected Governor of California from 2003 through 2011. Schwarzenegger's first political appointment was as chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, on which he served from 1990 to 1993. He was nominated by the then-President Bush, who dubbed him " Conan the Republican". He later served as chairman for the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under Governor Pete Wilson. Between 1993 and 1994, Schwarzenegger was a Red Cross ambassador (a ceremonial role fulfilled by celebrities), recording several television and radio public service announcements to donate blood. In an interview with ''
Talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...
'' magazine in late 1999, Schwarzenegger was asked if he thought of running for office. He replied, "I think about it many times. The possibility is there because I feel it inside." '' The Hollywood Reporter'' claimed shortly after that Schwarzenegger sought to end speculation that he might run for
governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...
. Following his initial comments, Schwarzenegger said, "I'm in show business – I am in the middle of my career. Why would I go away from that and jump into something else?"


Governor of California

Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy in the
2003 California recall election The 2003 California gubernatorial recall election was a special election permitted under California state law. It resulted in voters replacing incumbent Democratic Governor Gray Davis with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. The recall effort span ...
for Governor of California on the August 6, 2003, episode of '' The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''. Schwarzenegger had the most name recognition in a crowded field of candidates, but he had never held public office and his political views were unknown to most Californians. His candidacy immediately became national and international news, with media outlets dubbing him the "Governator" (referring to ''The Terminator'' movies, see above) and "
The Running Man Running Man may refer to: Literature * ''The Running Man'', a 1963 novel by Joan Carol Holly under the pseudonym J. Hunter Holly * ''The Running Man'' (novel), a 1982 novel by Stephen King under the pseudonym Richard Bachman * ''The Running Man' ...
" (the name of another one of his films), and calling the recall election " Total Recall" (yet another movie starring Schwarzenegger). Schwarzenegger declined to participate in several debates with other recall replacement candidates, and appeared in only one debate on September 24, 2003. On October 7, 2003, the recall election resulted in Governor
Gray Davis Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. (born December 26, 1942) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, only a few months into his second term, Davis was recalled and remov ...
being removed from office with 55.4% of the ''Yes'' vote in favor of a recall. Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California under the second question on the ballot with 48.6% of the vote to choose a successor to Davis. Schwarzenegger defeated Democrat Cruz Bustamante, fellow Republican Tom McClintock, and others. His nearest rival, Bustamante, received 31% of the vote. In total, Schwarzenegger won the election by about 1.3 million votes. Under the regulations of the
California Constitution The Constitution of California ( es, Constitución de California) is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of California. California's original co ...
, no runoff election was required. Schwarzenegger was the second foreign-born governor of California after Irish-born Governor
John G. Downey John Gately Downey (June 24, 1827 – March 1, 1894) was an Irish-American politician and the List of Governors of California, seventh governor of California from January 14, 1860, to January 10, 1862. Until the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger ...
in 1862. Schwarzenegger is a
moderate Republican Moderate Republicans may refer to: * Within the United States Republican Party: ** Moderate Republicans (Reconstruction era), active from 1854 to 1877 ** Moderate Republicans (United States, 1930s–1970s) or Rockefeller Republicans ** Moderate Rep ...
. He says he is fiscally conservative and socially liberal. On the issue of abortion, he describes himself as pro-choice, but supports parental notification for minors and a ban on partial-birth abortion. He has supported gay rights, such as domestic partnerships, and he performed a same-sex marriage as governor. However, Schwarzenegger vetoed bills that would have legalized same-sex marriage in California in 2005 and 2007. He additionally vetoed two bills that would have implemented a
single-payer health care Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from p ...
system in California in 2006 and 2008, respectively. Schwarzenegger was entrenched in what he considered to be his mandate in cleaning up
political gridlock In politics, gridlock or deadlock or political stalemate is a situation when there is difficulty passing laws that satisfy the needs of the people. A government is gridlocked when the ratio between bills passed and the agenda of the legislatur ...
. Building on a catchphrase from the sketch "
Hans and Franz Hans and Franz are characters in a recurring sketch called "Pumping Up with Hans & Franz" on the television sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', played by Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon, respectively. Description In the sketch, Carvey and ...
" from '' Saturday Night Live'' (which partly parodied his bodybuilding career), Schwarzenegger called the Democratic State politicians "
girlie men ''Girlie men'' is a pejorative term that was notably used by former Governor of California, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to characterize opponents in the state legislature of California over the state budget. History of the phrase ...
". Schwarzenegger's early victories included repealing an unpopular increase in the vehicle registration fee as well as preventing driver's licenses from being given out to illegal immigrants, but later he began to feel the backlash when powerful state unions began to oppose his various initiatives. Key among his reckoning with political realities was a special election he called in November 2005, in which four ballot measures he sponsored were defeated. Schwarzenegger accepted personal responsibility for the defeats and vowed to continue to seek consensus for the people of California. He would later comment that "no one could win if the opposition raised 160 million dollars to defeat you". The U.S. Supreme Court later found the public employee unions' use of compulsory fundraising during the campaign had been illegal in '' Knox v. Service Employees International Union, Local 1000''. Schwarzenegger, against the advice of fellow Republican strategists, appointed a Democrat, Susan Kennedy, as his Chief of Staff. He gradually moved towards a more politically moderate position, determined to build a winning legacy with only a short time to go until the next gubernatorial election. Schwarzenegger ran for re-election against Democrat Phil Angelides, the California State Treasurer, in the
2006 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2006. * Elections in 2006 * Electoral calendar 2006 * 2006 Acehnese regional election * 2006 American Samoan legislative election * 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2006 Costa Rican presidenti ...
, held on November 7, 2006. Despite a poor year nationally for the Republican party, Schwarzenegger won re-election with 56.0% of the vote compared with 38.9% for Angelides, a margin of well over 1 million votes. Around this time, many commentators saw Schwarzenegger as moving away from the right and towards the center of the political spectrum. After hearing a speech by Schwarzenegger at the 2006 Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast, in which Schwarzenegger said, in part "How wrong I was when I said everyone has an equal opportunity to make it in America ..the state of California does not provide (equal) education for all of our children", San Francisco mayor & future governor of California Gavin Newsom said that " 's becoming a Democrat .. H's running back, not even to the center. I would say center-left". Some speculated that Schwarzenegger might run for the United States Senate in 2010, as his governorship would be term-limited by that time. Such rumors turned out to be false. Wendy Leigh, who wrote an unofficial biography on Schwarzenegger, claims he plotted his political rise from an early age using the movie business and bodybuilding as the means to escape a depressing home. Leigh portrays Schwarzenegger as obsessed with power and quotes him as saying, "I wanted to be part of the small percentage of people who were leaders, not the large mass of followers. I think it is because I saw leaders use 100% of their potential – I was always fascinated by people in control of other people." Schwarzenegger has said that it was never his intention to enter politics, but he says, "I married into a political family. You get together with them and you hear about policy, about reaching out to help people. I was exposed to the idea of being a public servant and Eunice and Sargent Shriver became my heroes." Eunice Kennedy Shriver was the sister of John F. Kennedy, and mother-in-law to Schwarzenegger; Sargent Shriver is husband to Eunice and father-in-law to Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger cannot run for U.S. president as he is not a natural-born citizen of the United States. Schwarzenegger is a
dual Dual or Duals may refer to: Paired/two things * Dual (mathematics), a notion of paired concepts that mirror one another ** Dual (category theory), a formalization of mathematical duality *** see more cases in :Duality theories * Dual (grammatical ...
Austrian and United States citizen. He has held Austrian citizenship since birth and
U.S. citizenship Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...
since becoming naturalized in 1983. Being Austrian and thus European, he was able to win the 2007
European Voice ''Politico Europe'' (stylized as ''POLITICO Europe'') is the European edition of the German-owned news organization ''Politico'' reporting on political affairs of the European Union. Its headquarters are located in Brussels with additional offices ...
campaigner of the year award for taking action against climate change with the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 and plans to introduce an emissions trading scheme with other US states and possibly with the EU. Because of his personal wealth from his acting career, Schwarzenegger did not accept his governor's salary of $175,000 per year. Schwarzenegger's endorsement in the Republican primary of the
2008 U.S. presidential election The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from ...
was highly sought; despite being good friends with candidates
Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
and Senator
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
, Schwarzenegger remained neutral throughout 2007 and early 2008. Giuliani dropped out of the presidential race on January 30, 2008, largely because of a poor showing in Florida, and endorsed McCain. Later that night, Schwarzenegger was in the audience at a Republican debate at the
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is the repository of presidential records from the administration of Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, and the burial place of the president and first lady, Nancy Reagan. It is the larg ...
in California. The following day, he endorsed McCain, joking, "It's Rudy's fault!" (in reference to his friendships with both candidates and that he could not make up his mind). Schwarzenegger's endorsement was thought to be a boost for Senator McCain's campaign; both spoke about their concerns for the environment and economy. In its April 2010 report,
Progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...
ethics watchdog group
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) and nonpartisan U.S. government ethics and accountability watchdog organization.''Washington Information Directory 2017-2018''; CQ Press; 2017; Pg. 327 Founded ...
named Schwarzenegger one of 11 "worst governors" in the United States because of various ethics issues throughout Schwarzenegger's term as governor. Governor Schwarzenegger played a significant role in opposing Proposition 66, a proposed amendment of the Californian Three Strikes Law, in November 2004. This amendment would have required the third felony to be either violent or serious to mandate a 25-years-to-life sentence. In the last week before the ballot, Schwarzenegger launched an intense campaign against Proposition 66. He stated that "it would release 26,000 dangerous criminals and rapists". Although he began his tenure as governor with record high approval ratings (as high as 65% in May 2004), he left office with a record low 23%, only one percent higher than that of Gray Davis, when he was recalled in October 2003.


Death of Luis Santos

In May 2010, Esteban Núñez pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the
death of Luis Santos Luis Santos (Luis Felipe Watson dos Santos) (June 27, 1986 – October 4, 2008) was a 22-year-old San Diego Mesa College, Mesa College student who was fatally stabbed near San Diego State University campus on October 4, 2008. History On Octobe ...
. Núñez is the son of Fabian Núñez, then California Assembly Speaker of the House and a close friend and staunch political ally of then governor Schwarzenegger. As a personal favor to "a friend", just hours before he left office, and as one of his last official acts, Schwarzenegger commuted Núñez's sentence by more than half, to seven years. He believed that Núñez's sentence was "excessive" in comparison with the same prison term imposed on Ryan Jett, the man who fatally stabbed Santos. Against protocol, Schwarzenegger did not inform Santos' family or the San Diego County prosecutors about the commutation. They learned about it in a call from a reporter. The Santos family, along with the San Diego district attorney, sued to stop the commutation, claiming that it violated Marsy's Law. In September 2012, Sacramento County superior court judge Lloyd Connelly stated, "Based on the evidentiary records before this court involving this case, there was an abuse of discretion...This was a distasteful commutation. It was repugnant to the bulk of the citizenry of this state." However, Connelly ruled that Schwarzenegger remained within his executive powers as governor. Subsequently, as a direct result of the way the commutation was handled, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bipartisan bill that allows offenders' victims and their families to be notified at least 10 days before any commutations. Núñez was released from prison after serving less than six years.


Drug use and allegations of sexual misconduct

During his initial campaign for governor in 2003, allegations of sexual and personal misconduct were raised against Schwarzenegger. Within the last five days before the election, news reports appeared in the '' Los Angeles Times'' recounting decades-old allegations of sexual misconduct from six individual women. Schwarzenegger responded to the allegations in 2004 admitting that he has "behaved badly sometimes" and apologized, but also stated that "a lot of hatyou see in the stories is not true". One of the women who came forward was British television personality Anna Richardson, who settled a libel lawsuit in August 2006 against Schwarzenegger; his top aide, Sean Walsh; and his publicist, Sheryl Main. A joint statement read: "The parties are content to put this matter behind them and are pleased that this legal dispute has now been settled." During this time a 1977 interview in adult magazine '' Oui'' gained attention, in which Schwarzenegger discussed using substances such as
marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...
. Schwarzenegger is shown smoking a marijuana joint after winning Mr. Olympia in 1975 in the documentary film '' Pumping Iron'' (1977). In an interview with '' GQ'' magazine in October 2007, Schwarzenegger said, " arijuanais not a drug. It's a leaf. My drug was pumping iron, trust me." His spokesperson later said the comment was meant to be a joke.


Citizenship

Schwarzenegger became a naturalized U.S. citizen on September 17, 1983. Shortly before he gained his citizenship, he asked the Austrian authorities for the right to keep his Austrian citizenship, as Austria does not usually allow dual citizenship. His request was granted, and he retained his Austrian citizenship. In 2005, Peter Pilz, a member of the Austrian Parliament from the
Austrian Green Party Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
, unsuccessfully advocated for Parliament to revoke Schwarzenegger's Austrian citizenship due to his decision not to prevent the executions of Donald Beardslee and
Stanley Williams Stanley Tookie Williams III (December 29, 1953 – December 13, 2005) was an American gang member and spree killer who co-founded and led the Crips gang in Los Angeles. He and Raymond Washington formed an alliance in 1971 that established the ...
. Pilz argued that Schwarzenegger caused damage to Austria's reputation in the international community because Austria abolished the death penalty in 1968. Pilz based his argument on Article 33 of the Austrian Citizenship Act, which states: "A citizen, who is in the public service of a foreign country, shall be deprived of his citizenship if he heavily damages the reputation or the interests of the Austrian Republic." Pilz claimed that Schwarzenegger's actions in support of the death penalty (prohibited in Austria under Protocol 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights) had damaged Austria's reputation. Schwarzenegger explained his actions by pointing out that his only duty as Governor of California with respect to the death penalty was to correct an error by the justice system by pardon or clemency if such an error had occurred.


Environmental record

On September 27, 2006, Schwarzenegger signed the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, creating the nation's first cap on greenhouse gas emissions. The law set new regulations on the amount of emissions utilities, refineries, and manufacturing plants are allowed to release into the atmosphere. Schwarzenegger also signed a second global warming bill that prohibits large utilities and corporations in California from making long-term contracts with suppliers who do not meet the state's greenhouse gas emission standards. The two bills are part of a plan to reduce California's emissions by 25 percent to 1990s levels by 2020. In 2005, Schwarzenegger issued an executive order calling to reduce greenhouse gases to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Schwarzenegger signed another executive order on October 17, 2006, allowing California to work with the Northeast's Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. They plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by issuing a limited amount of carbon credits to each power plant in participating states. Any power plants that exceed emissions for the number of carbon credits will have to purchase more credits to cover the difference. The plan took effect in 2009. In addition to using his political power to fight global warming, the governor has taken steps at his home to reduce his personal carbon footprint. Schwarzenegger has adapted one of his Hummers to run on hydrogen and another to run on biofuels. He has also installed solar panels to heat his home. In respect for his contribution to the direction of the US motor industry, Schwarzenegger was invited to open the 2009
SAE SAE or Sae may refer to: Science and technology : * Selective area epitaxy, local growth of epitaxial layer through a patterned dielectric mask deposited on a semiconductor substrate * Serious adverse event, in a clinical trial * Simultaneous Auth ...
World Congress in Detroit on April 20, 2009. In 2011, Schwarzenegger founded the
R20 Regions of Climate Action The R20 – Regions of Climate Action is a non-profit environmental organization founded in September 2011, by former governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, with the support of the United Nations. R20 is a coalition of sub-national governm ...
to develop a sustainable, low-carbon economy. In 2017, he joined French President
Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...
in calling for the adoption of a
Global Pact for the Environment The Global Pact for the Environment project was launched in 2017 by a network of experts known as the "International Group of Experts for the Pact" (IGEP). The group is made up of more than a hundred legal experts in environmental law and is chair ...
. In 2017, Schwarzenegger launched the Austrian World Summit, an international climate conference that is held annually in Vienna, Austria. The Austrian World Summit is organized by the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative and aims is to bring together representatives from politics, civil society and business to create a broad alliance for climate protection and to identify concrete solutions to the climate crisis.


Electoral history


Presidential ambitions

Presidential aspirations by the Austrian-born Schwarzenegger would be blocked by a constitutional hurdle; Article II, Section I, Clause V prevents individuals who are not natural-born citizens of the United States from assuming the office. The Equal Opportunity to Govern Amendment in 2003 was widely accredited as the "Amend for Arnold" bill, which would have added an amendment to the U.S. Constitution allowing his run. In 2004, the "Amend for Arnold" campaign was launched, featuring a website and TV advertising promotion. In June 2007, Schwarzenegger was featured on the cover of '' Time'' magazine with
Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...
, and subsequently, the two joked about a presidential ticket together. In October 2013, the '' New York Post'' reported that Schwarzenegger was exploring a future run for president. At the time he had reportedly been lobbying legislators about a possible constitutional change, or filing a legal challenge to the requirement that presidents be native-born. Columbia University law professor Michael Dorf observed that Schwarzenegger's possible lawsuit could ultimately win him the right to run for the office, noting, "The law is very clear, but it's not 100 percent clear that the courts would enforce that law rather than leave it to the political process."


Business career

Schwarzenegger has had a highly successful business career. Following his move to the United States, Schwarzenegger became a "prolific goal setter" and would write his objectives at the start of the year on index cards, like starting a mail order business or buying a new car – and succeed in doing so. By the age of 25, Schwarzenegger was a millionaire, well before his career in Hollywood. His financial independence came from his success as a budding entrepreneur with a series of lucrative business ventures and real estate investments.


Bricklaying business, bodybuilding, and fitness mail order

In 1968, Schwarzenegger and fellow bodybuilder Franco Columbu started a bricklaying business. The business flourished thanks to the pair's marketing savvy and an increased demand following the
1971 San Fernando earthquake The 1971 San Fernando earthquake (also known as the 1971 Sylmar earthquake) occurred in the early morning of February 9 in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in southern California. The unanticipated thrust earthquake had a magnitude o ...
. Schwarzenegger and Columbu used profits from their bricklaying venture to start a mail-order business that sold bodybuilding- and fitness-related equipment and instructional tapes.


Investments

Schwarzenegger transferred profits from the mail-order business and his bodybuilding-competition winnings into his first real estate investment venture: an apartment building he purchased for $10,000. He would later go on to invest in a number of real estate holding companies. Stallone and Schwarzenegger ended their longtime rivalry by both investing in the Planet Hollywood chain of international theme restaurants (modeled after the Hard Rock Cafe) along with Bruce Willis and Demi Moore. However, Schwarzenegger severed his financial ties with the business in early 2000. Schwarzenegger said the company did not have the success he had hoped for, claiming he wanted to focus his attention on "new US global business ventures" and his movie career. Schwarzenegger also invested in a shopping mall in
Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
. He has talked about some of those who have helped him over the years in business: "I couldn't have learned about business without a parade of teachers guiding me... from Milton Friedman to Donald Trump... and now, Les Wexner and Warren Buffett. I even learned a thing or two from Planet Hollywood, such as when to get out! And I did!" He has significant ownership in Dimensional Fund Advisors, an investment firm. Schwarzenegger is also the owner of Arnold's Sports Festival, which he started in 1989 and is held annually in Columbus, Ohio. It is a festival that hosts thousands of international health and fitness professionals which has also expanded into a three-day expo. He also owns a movie production company called Oak Productions, Inc. and Fitness Publications, a joint publishing venture with Simon & Schuster. In 2018, Schwarzenegger partnered with LeBron James to found Ladder, a company that developed nutritional supplements to help athletes with severe cramps. The duo sold Ladder to Openfit for an undisclosed amount in 2020 after reporting more than $4 million in sales for that year.


Restaurant

In 1992, Schwarzenegger and his wife opened a restaurant in Santa Monica called Schatzi On Main. ''Schatzi'' literally means "little treasure," and colloquially "honey" or "darling" in German. In 1998, he sold his restaurant.


Wealth

Schwarzenegger's net worth had been conservatively estimated at $100 million to $200 million. After separating from his wife, Maria Shriver, in 2011, it was estimated that his net worth had been approximately $400 million, and even as high as $800 million, based on tax returns he filed in 2006. Over the years, he invested his bodybuilding and film earnings in an array of stocks, bonds, privately controlled companies, and real estate holdings worldwide, making his net worth difficult to accurately estimate, particularly in light of declining real estate values owing to
economic recessions An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
in the U.S. and Europe since the late 2000s. In June 1997, he spent $38 million of his own money on a private Gulfstream jet. He once quipped, "Money doesn't make you happy. I now have $50 million, but I was just as happy when I had $48 million."


Commercial advertisements

He appears in a series of commercials for the
Machine Zone Machine Zone, Inc. (MZ) is an American privately held technology company, founded in 2008 and based in Palo Alto, California. The company is best known for its widely advertised freemium mobile MMO strategy games '' Game of War: Fire Age'' and ' ...
game ''Mobile Strike'' as a military commander and spokesman.


Personal life


Early relationships

In 1969, Schwarzenegger met Barbara Outland (later Barbara Outland Baker), an English teacher with whom he lived until 1974. Schwarzenegger said of Baker in his 1977 memoir, "Basically it came down to this: she was a well-balanced woman who wanted an ordinary, solid life, and I was not a well-balanced man, and hated the very idea of ordinary life." Baker has described Schwarzenegger as a "joyful personality, totally charismatic, adventurous, and athletic" but claims that towards the end of the relationship he became "insufferable—classically conceited—the world revolved around him". Baker published her memoir in 2006, entitled ''Arnold and Me: In the Shadow of the Austrian Oak''. Although Baker painted an unflattering portrait of her former lover at times, Schwarzenegger actually contributed to the
tell-all An unauthorized biography is a biography written without the subject's permission or input. The term is usually restricted to biographies written within the subject's lifetime or shortly after their death; as such, it is not applied to biographi ...
book with a foreword, and also met with Baker for three hours. Baker claims that she only learned of his being unfaithful after they split, and talks of a turbulent and passionate love life. Schwarzenegger has made it clear that their respective recollection of events can differ. 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. Although Baker claims that when she first met Schwarzenegger, he had "little understanding of polite society" and she found him a turn-off, she says, "He's as much a self-made man as it's possible to be—he never got encouragement from his parents, his family, his brother. He just had this huge determination to prove himself, and that was very attractive ... I'll go to my grave knowing Arnold loved me." 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." 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.


Marriage and family

On April 26, 1986, Schwarzenegger married Shriver in
Hyannis, Massachusetts Hyannis is the largest of the seven villages in the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is the commercial and transportation hub of Cape Cod and was designated an urban area at the 1990 census. Because of this, many refer t ...
. They have four children, including Katherine Schwarzenegger and Patrick Schwarzenegger. All of their children were born in Los Angeles. The family lived in an home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, with vacation homes in
Sun Valley, Idaho Sun Valley is a resort city in the western United States, in Blaine County, Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum in the Wood River valley. The population was 1406 at the 2010 census, down from 1427 in 2000.Hyannis Port, Massachusetts Hyannis Port (or Hyannisport) is a small residential village located in Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. It is an affluent summer community on Hyannis Harbor, 1.4 miles (2.3 km) to the south-southwest of Hyannis. Community It has ...
. They attended St. Monica's Catholic Church.


Divorce

On May 9, 2011, Shriver and Schwarzenegger ended their relationship after 25 years of marriage with Shriver moving out of their Brentwood mansion. On May 16, 2011, the '' Los Angeles Times'' revealed that Schwarzenegger had fathered a son more than 14 years earlier with an employee in their household, Mildred Patricia "Patty" Baena. "After leaving the governor's office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago," Schwarzenegger said to the ''Times''. In the statement, Schwarzenegger did not mention that he had confessed to his wife only after she had confronted him with the information, which she had done after confirming with the housekeeper what she had suspected about the child. Baena is of Guatemalan origin. She was employed by the family for 20 years and retired in January 2011. The pregnant Baena was working in the home while Shriver was pregnant with the youngest of the couple's four children. Baena's son with Schwarzenegger was born days after Shriver gave birth. Schwarzenegger said that it took seven or eight years before he found out that he had fathered a child with his housekeeper. It was not until the boy "started looking like im... that eput things together". Schwarzenegger has taken financial responsibility for the child "from the start and continued to provide support".
KNX 1070 KNX (1070 Hertz, kHz) is a commercial radio, commercial AM radio, AM radio station in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. It airs an all news radio, all-news radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. KNX is one of the oldest stations in the U ...
radio reported that, in 2010, he bought a new four-bedroom house with a pool for Baena and their son in
Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...
. Baena separated from her husband, Rogelio, a few months after Joseph’s birth. She filed for divorce in 2008. Rogelio said that the child's birth certificate was falsified and that he planned to sue Schwarzenegger for engaging in conspiracy to falsify a public document, a serious crime in California. Pursuant to the divorce judgment, Schwarzenegger kept the Brentwood home, while Shriver purchased a new home nearby so that the children could travel between their parents' homes. They shared custody of the two youngest children. Schwarzenegger came under fire after the initial petition did not include spousal support and a reimbursement of attorney's fees. However, he claims this was not intentional and that he signed the initial documents without having properly read them. He filed amended divorce papers remedying this. Schwarzenegger and Shriver finalized their divorce in 2021, ten years after separating. In June 2022, a jury ruled that Maria Shriver was entitled to half of her ex-husband's post-divorce savings that he earned from 1986 to 2011, including a pension. After the scandal, Danish-Italian actress Brigitte Nielsen came forward and stated that she too had an affair with Schwarzenegger during the production of '' Red Sonja'', while he had just started his relationship with Shriver. When asked in January 2014, "Of all the things you are famous for ... which are you least proud of?" Schwarzenegger replied, "I'm least proud of the mistakes I made that caused my family pain and split us up."


Accidents, injuries, and other health problems


Health problems

Schwarzenegger was born with a bicuspid aortic valve, an aortic valve with only two leaflets, where a normal aortic valve has three. He opted in 1997 for a replacement heart valve made from his own
pulmonic valve The pulmonary valve (sometimes referred to as the pulmonic valve) is a valve of the heart that lies between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery and has three cusps. It is one of the four valves of the heart and one of the two semilunar v ...
, which itself was replaced with a cadaveric pulmonic valve, in a Ross procedure; medical experts predicted he would require pulmonic heart valve replacement surgery within the next two to eight years because his valve would progressively degrade. Schwarzenegger apparently opted against a mechanical valve, the only permanent solution available at the time of his surgery, because it would have sharply limited his physical activity and capacity to exercise. On March 29, 2018, Schwarzenegger underwent emergency open-heart surgery for replacement of his replacement pulmonic valve. He said about his recovery: "I underwent open-heart surgery this spring, I had to use a walker. I had to do breathing exercises five times a day to retrain my lungs. I was frustrated and angry, and in my worst moments, I couldn't see the way back to my old self." In 2020, 23 years after his first surgery, Schwarzenegger underwent a surgery for a new aortic valve.


Accidents, injuries

On December 9, 2001, he broke six ribs and was hospitalized for four days after a motorcycle crash in Los Angeles. Schwarzenegger saved a drowning man in 2004 while on vacation in Hawaii by swimming out and bringing him back to shore. On January 8, 2006, while Schwarzenegger was riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle in Los Angeles with his son Patrick in the sidecar, another driver backed into the street he was riding on, causing him and his son to collide with the car at a low speed. While his son and the other driver were unharmed, Schwarzenegger sustained an injury to his lip requiring 15 stitches. "No citations were issued," said Officer Jason Lee, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman. Schwarzenegger did not obtain his motorcycle license until July 3, 2006. Schwarzenegger tripped over his ski pole and broke his right femur while skiing in
Sun Valley, Idaho Sun Valley is a resort city in the western United States, in Blaine County, Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum in the Wood River valley. The population was 1406 at the 2010 census, down from 1427 in 2000.St. John's Health Center on December 30, 2006. Schwarzenegger's private jet made an emergency landing at Van Nuys Airport on June 19, 2009, after the pilot reported smoke coming from the cockpit, according to a statement released by his press secretary. No one was harmed in the incident. On May 18, 2019, while on a visit to South Africa, Schwarzenegger was attacked and
dropkick A dropkick is an attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as they jump so that when the feet connec ...
ed from behind by an unknown malefactor while giving autographs to his fans at one of the local schools. Despite the surprise and unprovoked nature of the attack, he reportedly suffered no injuries and continued to interact with fans. The attacker was apprehended and Schwarzenegger declined to press charges against him. Schwarzenegger was involved in a multi-vehicle collision on the afternoon of Friday, January 21, 2022. Schwarzenegger was driving a black GMC Yukon SUV near the intersections of
Sunset Blvd Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...
and Allenford Ave in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, when his vehicle collided with a red Toyota Prius. The driver of the Prius was transported to the hospital for injuries sustained to her head. Schwarzenegger was uninjured.


Height

Schwarzenegger's official height of has been brought into question by several articles. During his bodybuilding days in the late 1960s, it was claimed that he measured . However, in 1988, both the ''Daily Mail'' and ''Time Out'' magazine mentioned that Schwarzenegger appeared noticeably shorter.Andrews, N: ''True Myths: The Life and Times of Arnold Schwarzenegger'', page 157. Bloomsbury, 2003 Prior to running for governor, Schwarzenegger's height was once again questioned in an article by the ''
Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...
''. As governor, Schwarzenegger engaged in a light-hearted exchange with Assemblyman Herb Wesson over their heights. At one point, Wesson made an unsuccessful attempt to, in his own words, "settle this once and for all and find out how tall he is" by using a tailor's tape measure on the Governor. Schwarzenegger retaliated by placing a pillow stitched with the words "Need a lift?" on the Wesson's chair before a negotiating session in his office. Democrat Bob Mulholland also claimed Schwarzenegger was and that he wore risers in his boots. In 1999, '' Men's Health'' magazine stated his height was .


Autobiography

Schwarzenegger's autobiography, ''Total Recall'', was released in October 2012. He devotes one chapter called "The Secret" to his extramarital affair. The majority of his book is about his successes in the three major chapters in his life: bodybuilder, actor, and Governor of California.


Vehicles

Growing up during the
Allied occupation of Austria The Allied occupation of Austria started on 8 May 1945 with the fall of Nazi Germany and ended with the Austrian State Treaty on 27 July 1955. After the in 1938, Austria had generally been recognized as part of Nazi Germany. In 1943, however, ...
, Schwarzenegger commonly saw heavy military vehicles such as tanks as a child. As a result, he paid $20,000 to bring his Austrian Army M47 Patton tank (331) to the United States, which he previously operated during his mandatory service in 1965. However, he later obtained his vehicle in 1991/2, during his tenure as the Chairmen of the President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, and now uses it to support his charity. His first car ever was an
Opel Kadett The Opel Kadett is a small family car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel from 1936 until 1940 and then from 1962 until 1991 (the Cabrio continued until 1993), when it was succeeded by the Opel Astra. Kadett I (1936–1940) ...
in 1969 after serving in the Austrian army, then he rode a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy in 1991. Moreover, he came to develop an interest in large vehicles and became the first civilian in the U.S. to purchase a Humvee. He was so enamored by the vehicle that he lobbied the Humvee's manufacturer, AM General, to produce a street-legal, civilian version, which they did in 1992; the first two Hummer H1s they sold were also purchased by Schwarzenegger. In 2010, he had one regular and three running on non-fossil power sources; one for hydrogen, one for vegetable oil, and one for biodiesel. Schwarzenegger was in the news in 2014 for buying a rare Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse. He was spotted and filmed in 2015 in his car, painted silver with bright aluminum forged wheels. His Bugatti has its interior adorned in dark brown leather. In 2017, Schwarzenegger acquired a
Mercedes G-Class The Mercedes-Benz G-Class, sometimes colloquially called the G-Wagen (as an abbreviation of Geländewagen) is a four-wheel drive automobile manufactured by Magna Steyr (formerly Steyr-Daimler-Puch) in Austria and sold by Mercedes-Benz. Originall ...
modified for
all-electric An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...
drive. The Hummers that Schwarzenegger bought in 1992 are so large—each weighs and is wide—that they are classified as large trucks, and U.S. fuel economy regulations do not apply to them. During the gubernatorial recall campaign, he announced that he would convert one of his Hummers to burn hydrogen. The conversion was reported to have cost about $21,000. After the election, he signed an executive order to jump-start the building of hydrogen refueling plants called the
California Hydrogen Highway The California Hydrogen Highway is a series of hydrogen refueling stations in California. These stations are used to refuel hydrogen vehicles. , there were 42 publicly accessible hydrogen refueling stations in California.U.S. Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United States. ...
grant to help pay for its projected US$91,000,000 cost. California took delivery of the first H2H (Hydrogen Hummer) in October 2004.


Public image and legacy

Schwarzenegger has been involved with the Special Olympics for many years after they were founded by his ex-mother-in-law Eunice Kennedy Shriver. In 2007, Schwarzenegger was the official spokesperson for the Special Olympics held in Shanghai, China. Schwarzenegger believes that quality school opportunities should be made available to children who might not normally be able to access them. In 1995, he founded the Inner City Games Foundation (ICG) which provides cultural, educational and community enrichment programming to youth. ICG is active in 15 cities around the country and serves over 250,000 children in over 400 schools countrywide. He has also been involved with After-School All-Stars and founded the Los Angeles branch in 2002. ASAS is an after school program provider, educating youth about health, fitness and nutrition. On February 12, 2010, Schwarzenegger took part in the Vancouver Olympic Torch relay. He handed off the flame to the next runner,
Sebastian Coe Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British politician and former track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including 1500 metres gold medal ...
. Schwarzenegger had a collection of Marxist busts, which he requested from Russian friends during the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
, as they were being destroyed. In 2011, he revealed that his wife had requested their removal, but he kept the one of Vladimir Lenin present, since "he was the first". In 2015, he said he kept the Lenin bust to "show losers". Schwarzenegger is a supporter of Israel, and has participated in a Los Angeles pro-Israel rally among other similar events. In 2004, Schwarzenegger visited Israel to break ground on Simon Wiesenthal Center's
Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem The Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem (MTJ; ) is a Simon Wiesenthal Center-planned complex due to be used from 2022 onwards as a convention center, entertainment venue, and town square, with a secondary use as a museum of tolerance in Israeli societ ...
, and to lay a wreath at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, he also met with Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...
and President Moshe Katsav. In 2011, at the
Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
celebration hosted by the Israeli Consulate General in Los Angeles, Schwarzenegger said: "I love Israel. When I became governor, Israel was the first country that I visited. When I had the chance to sign a bill calling on California pension funds to divest their money from companies that do business with Iran, I immediately signed that bill", then he added, "I knew that we could not send money to these crazy dictators who hate us and threaten Israel any time they have a bad day." Schwarzenegger supported the
2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
. Schwarzenegger also expressed support for the
2011 military intervention in Libya On 19 March 2011, a multi-state NATO-led coalition began a military intervention in Libya, to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, in response to events during the First Libyan Civil War. With ten votes in favour and five ...
. In 2014, Schwarzenegger released a video message in support of the
Euromaidan Euromaidan (; uk, Євромайдан, translit=Yevromaidan, lit=Euro Square, ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protes ...
protests against Ukraine's pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. In 2022, Schwarzenegger released another video message condemning the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
. Schwarzenegger's Twitter account is one of the 22 accounts that the president of Russia's Twitter account follows. Schwarzenegger, who played football as a boy, grew up watching
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
and Sturm Graz. He also expressed his admiration of Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool in October 2019. Schwarzenegger inspired many actors to become action heroes, including Dwayne Johnson, Matt McColm,
Christian Boeving Christian Boeving (born June 5, 1969) is an American actor, writer, producer, fitness model, personal trainer, and former bodybuilding supplement spokesperson. He grew up in Missouri, United States and resides in Los Angeles County in Southern Ca ...
, Vidyut Jamwal, and Daniel Greene. Boeving's character in the 2003 action film ''
When Eagles Strike ''When Eagles Strike'' (released in the Philippines as ''Operation Balikatan'') is a 2003 war action film co-produced and directed by Cirio H. Santiago. The film stars ex-bodybuilder Christian Boeving, Stacy Keach, Davee Youngblood, Nate Adams ...
'' was based on Schwarzenegger's image from the late 1980s: mostly on Major "Dutch" Schaefer from '' Predator'' (1987) and Colonel John Matrix from '' Commando'' (1985). In 2022, Arnold's use of shotgun in ''Terminator'' film series was referenced with actor Vijay's use of shotgun in the Indian film '' Beast''.


Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy

In 2012, Schwarzenegger helped to found the Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy, which is a part of the
USC Price School of Public Policy The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy (USC Price), previously known as School of Policy, Planning, and Development (SPPD), is the public policy school of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles & Sacramento, California. It offers ...
at the University of Southern California. The institute's mission is to " dvancepost-partisanship, where leaders put people over political parties and work together to find the best ideas and solutions to benefit the people they serve" and to "seek to influence public policy and public debate in finding solutions to the serious challenges we face". Schwarzenegger serves as chairman of the institute.


Global warming

At a 2015 security conference, Schwarzenegger called climate change the issue of our time. He also urged politicians to stop treating climate change as a political issue.


2016 presidential election

For the
2016 Republican Party presidential primaries Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place within all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories between February 1 and June 7, 2016. These elections selected the 2,472 delegates that were se ...
, Schwarzenegger endorsed fellow Republican John Kasich. However, he announced in October that he would not vote for the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in that year's United States presidential election, with this being the first time he did not vote for the Republican candidate since becoming a citizen in 1983.


Post-2016

In recent years, Schwarzenegger has been advocating for eating less meat, and he is an executive producer alongside
James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post-New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability w ...
et al. behind the documentary ''
The Game Changers ''The Game Changers'' is a 2018 documentary film about athletes who have plant-based diets. The film interviews science experts in various fields, showcases success stories of athletes that have adopted such diets, highlights favorable scientifi ...
'', that documents the explosive rise of plant-based eating in professional sports, in which he is also featured. In 2017, Schwarzenegger condemned white supremacists who were seen carrying Nazi and Confederate flags by calling their heroes "losers". In 2019, while at the "Arnold Classic Africa" sports competition as an official, Schwarzenegger was attacked by an assailant in a flying kick. The assailant was arrested. Following the January 6 United States Capitol attack by supporters of President Donald Trump, Schwarzenegger posted a video address on social media in which he likened the insurrection to Nazi Germany's Kristallnacht, which he described as "a night of rampage against the Jews carried out ythe Nazi equivalent of the
Proud Boys The Proud Boys is an American far-right, neo-fascist, and exclusively male organization that promotes and engages in political violence in the United States.Far-right: * * Fascist: * * * * * Men only: * * * Political violence: * * * It has ...
". He spoke of
his father His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, in ...
's alcoholism, domestic violence, and abuse, and how it was typical of other former Nazis and collaborators in the post-war era; and described Trump as "a failed leader. He will go down in history as the worst president ever." In late March 2021, Schwarzenegger was interviewed by '' Politico'' about the upcoming recall election in California in which he said that "it's pretty much the same atmosphere today as it was then", and when he was asked about Newsom's claim of this being a "Republican recall" he responded that "this recall effort is sparked by ordinary folks", and that this was not a power grab by Republicans. Schwarzenegger has spoken out about COVID-19, urging Americans to wear masks and practice social distancing. In August 2021, he stated "There is a virus here. It kills people and the only way we prevent it is: get vaccinated, wear masks, do social distancing, washing your hands all the time, and not just to think about, 'Well my freedom is being kind of disturbed here.' No, screw your freedom." In February 2022, Schwarzenegger said his diet has been mostly vegan for the past five years, saying it was about 80% plant-based food. He has been outspoken about the benefits of a vegan diet for health and said it had helped him feel "healthier and younger overall". He also credited it to helping him lower his cholesterol.


Filmography


Awards and honors

* Seven-time
Mr. Olympia Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation ...
winner * Four-time Mr. Universe winner * 1969 World Amateur Bodybuilding Champion * 1977
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
winner *Medal for Humanitary Merit of the Austrian Albert Schweitzer Society (2011) * Star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...
*
International Sports Hall of Fame The International Sports Hall of Fame (ISHOF) is a section 501(c)(3) Nonprofit organization established in 2012 by Dr. Robert M. Goldman to honor the world's greatest athlete legends in all categories of sports. The ISHOF's mission is to inspi ...
(class of 2012) *Public art mural portrait "Arnold Schwarzenegger" (2012) by Jonas Never, Venice, Los Angeles * WWE Hall of Fame ( class of 2015) * Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy (part of the
USC Price School of Public Policy The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy (USC Price), previously known as School of Policy, Planning, and Development (SPPD), is the public policy school of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles & Sacramento, California. It offers ...
at the University of Southern California) named in his honor. * Arnold's Run ski trail at
Sun Valley Sun Valley may refer to: Places Australia * Sun Valley, New South Wales * Sun Valley, Queensland, a suburb of Gladstone United States * Valley of the Sun, a region that covers the Phoenix metropolitan area *Sun Valley, Arizona * Sun Valley, Los A ...
Resort named in his honor. The trail is categorized as a black diamond, or most difficult, for its terrain. * "A Day for Arnold" on July 30, 2007, in Thal, Austria. For his 60th birthday, the mayor sent Schwarzenegger the enameled address sign (Thal 145) of the house where Schwarzenegger was born, declaring "This belongs to him. No one here will ever be assigned that number again". * Inkpot Award


Government orders and decorations

*
Grand Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria The Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (german: Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria. It is divided into 15 classes and is the highest award in the A ...
in Gold (1993) * Cavalier (2011) and Commander (2017) of the French
Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
* Honorary Ring of the Federal State of Styria (Austria, June 2017)


Books

* * * * * *


See also

* Genealogy of the Kennedy family * List of U.S. state governors born outside the United States


References


Footnotes


Citations


Further reading

* * * * * * * *


External links

*
Schwarzenegger Museum
* * * * * * , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarzenegger, Arnold 1947 births Living people 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century Austrian businesspeople 20th-century Austrian male actors 20th-century Austrian male writers 20th-century Austrian writers 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American politicians 21st-century Austrian businesspeople 21st-century Austrian male actors 21st-century Austrian male writers 21st-century Austrian politicians 21st-century Austrian writers 21st-century Roman Catholics Activists from California Actors from Graz Austrian autobiographers American actor-politicians American athlete-politicians American autobiographers American bodybuilders American businesspeople in retailing American education writers American exercise and fitness writers American film producers American health activists American instructional writers American investors American male film actors American male non-fiction writers American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors American male weightlifters American philanthropists American powerlifters American publishers (people) American real estate businesspeople American restaurateurs American Roman Catholics American stock traders Austrian bodybuilders Austrian emigrants to the United States Austrian expatriate male actors in the United States Austrian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Austrian film directors Austrian film producers Austrian health activists Austrian investors Austrian male film actors Austrian male television actors Austrian male voice actors Austrian male weightlifters Austrian male writers Austrian non-fiction writers Austrian philanthropists Austrian powerlifters Austrian publishers (people) Austrian real estate businesspeople Austrian restaurateurs Austrian Roman Catholics Austrian soldiers Businesspeople from Graz Businesspeople from Los Angeles Catholics from California Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Film directors from Los Angeles Film producers from California Republican Party governors of California Inkpot Award winners Kennedy family Laureus World Sports Awards winners Male actors from California Male actors from Los Angeles Male bodybuilders New Star of the Year (Actor) Golden Globe winners People from Brentwood, Los Angeles People with acquired American citizenship People with congenital heart defects Politicians from Graz Politicians from Los Angeles Santa Monica College alumni Schwarzenegger family Shriver family Sportspeople from Graz Sportspeople from Los Angeles University of California regents University of Wisconsin–Superior alumni Writers from Graz Writers from Los Angeles WWE Hall of Fame inductees