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I.1 Biography
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Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger was born on July 30, 1947 in Graz, Austria.
His parents were Gustav Schwarzenegger (1907-1972), a policeman, and his wife Aurelia (1922-1998).
He was early interested in Sports (soccer, boxing and running). His Father supported him and wanted him to take things more seriously. At the age of 15 he began with strength training, three years later, at the age of 18 he decided to do bodybuilding.
Bodybuilding career
His career started when he won the title "Junior Mr. Europe" in March 1966. After he gained the title "Mr. Universe", the IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilding & Fitness) invited him to the U.S. and although he could not speak English very well, he accepted the invitation. In America he became "Mr. Olympia", "Mr. World" and again "Mr. Universe". Schwarzenegger set a world record because of winning the title "Mr. Universe" seven times (1980). His physics earned him his nickname The Austrian Oak.
At this time he also studied psychology and economics. So he was not the type of man about whom one would say that he has got his brain in his muscles.
Acting Career
In 1970 he got his first role in a movie called "Hercules in New York" but it was not very successful. After this the documentation "Pumping Iron" followed. This film pointed out the other site of bodybuilding. The director Bob Rafelson was impressed by Arnold Schwarzenegger's abilities and gave him a role in the movie "Stay Hungry". This role brought him a Golden Globe for "Best Newcomer".
His breakthrough film was "Conan the Barbarian", since then many movies followed (p.6 filmography) and he became a Hollywood superstar.
His most famous quotation is "Hasta la vista, Baby" (Terminator 2).
In 1983 he decided to be an American citizen and received the US citizenship.
Political Career
Politically, Arnold became a Republican and justified his decision in an interview with MSNBC (Microsoft & National Broadcasting Company).
"Well, I think because a lot of people don\'t know why I\'m a Republican, I came first of all from a socialistic country which is Austria and when I came over here in 1968 with the presidential elections coming up in November, I came over in October, I heard a lot of the press conferences from both of the candidates Humphrey and Nixon, and Humphrey was talking about more government is the solution, protectionism, and everything he said about government involvement sounded to me more like Austrian socialism.
Then when I heard Nixon talk about it, he said open up the borders, the consumers should be represented there ultimately and strengthen the military and get the government off our backs. I said to myself, what is this guy\'s party affiliation? I didn\'t know anything at that point. So I asked my friend, what is Nixon? He\'s a Republican. And I said, I am a Republican. That\'s how I became a Republican." (Arnold Schwarzenegger, October 29, 2002)[1].
But he is not a radical Republican in that he is not against abortion.
From 1990 until 1993 he was Chairman of the President\'s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Later he became Chairman of the California Governor\'s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
On August 7, 2003 he declared his intention to become the Governor of California. Exactly 2 months later he won the election with more than 48%. He was inaugurated into Office as the 38th Governor of California on November 17, 2003 and thus replaced Gray Davis. Because of his popular trilogy (Terminator I, II, and III) where he was the leading actor and because of his present job (Governor) he is called the Governator.
Family Life
Arnold Schwarzenegger's family life is not as turbulent as his careers. He married his wife Maria Shriver, a newscaster and Kennedy niece, on August 26, 1986 in the Church of St. Francis Xavier. They have 4 Children named Katherine, Christina, Patrick, and Christopher. Unlike other famous families, the Schwarzenegger's do not fight or argue publicly. Their family life seems to be entirely harmonic, which might also be a reason for his success with the people, i.e. for the trust the people have in him and all the sympathies he is gaining.
I.2 Filmography
o "Hercules in New York (1970)
o The Long Goodbye (1973)
o Stay Hungry (1976)
o Pumping Iron (1977) (documentary)
o The Villain (1979)
o Scavenger Hunt (1979)
o The Comeback (1980) (documentary)
o Body by Garret (1982) (short subject)
o Conan the Barbarian (1982)
o Conan the Destroyer (1984)
o The Terminator (1984)
o Red Sonja (1985)
o Commando (1985)
o Raw Deal (1986)
o Predator (1987)
o The Running Man (1987)
o Red Heat (1988)
o Twins (1988)
o Total Recall (1990)
o Kindergarten Cop (1990)
o Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
o Freed (1992) (documentary)
o Dave (1993) (cameo)
o Last Action Hero (1993)
o The Last Party (1993) (documentary)
o A Century of Cinema (1994) (documentary)
o Beretta\'s Island (1994)
o True Lies (1994)
o Junior (1994)
o T2 3-D: Battle Across Time (1996) (short subject)
o Eraser (1996)
o Jingle All the Way (1996)
o Stand Tall (1997) (documentary)
o Batman & Robin (1997)
o Junket Whore (1998) (documentary)
o End of Days (1999)
o The 6th Day (2000)
o Last Party 2000 (2001) (documentary)
o Collateral Damage (2002)
o Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
o The Rundown (2003) (cameo)
o Around the World in 80 Days (2004)
o How Arnold Won the West (2004) (documentary)
o WMD: Weapon of Mass Destruction (2004)(documentary) [2]"I
I.3 Maria Shriver
Maria Owings Shriver Schwarzenegger, the First Lady of California, was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 6, 1955.
As the daughter of Sargent Shriver and Eunice Kennedy, and thus the granddaughter of Joseph Kennedy and niece to John F., Edward, and Robert Kennedy, Maria grew up amidst politicians and therefore is, as opposed to her husband, a democrat.
She got the Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies at Georgetown University in 1977. After her graduation she started to work at a TV station called KYW in Philadelphia. She became a famous national reporter and moved to NBC where she presented NBC Dateline (a US weekly television newsmagazine) from 1989 to 2004, but in November 2003 she took an unpaid furlough to support his husband as he offered himself as a candidate in the 2003 California Recall.
Due to the fact that she became first Lady of California when her husband won the election, she wanted to leave NBC and concentrate on her new job.
Maria Shriver is additionally the author of two best-selling books: the self-help book "Ten Things I Wish I\'d Known - Before I Went Into the Real World", and the children's book "What's wrong with Timmy?".[3]
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