Arnold Schwarzenegger Austrian Actor Born 1947 in Thal

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger, born on 30 July 1947 in Thal, Styria, Austria, is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman and former professional bodybuilder. He served as the 38th governor of California from 2003 to 2011.

Early life

Schwarzenegger was the second son of Gustav Schwarzenegger, who served as the local chief of police, and Aurelia (née Jadrny). He had an older brother, Meinhard. He grew up in a Catholic household in which money was scarce, and as a boy he played several sports, including soccer. He began weight training in 1960, when his football coach took the team to a local gym, and by the age of fourteen he had chosen bodybuilding over football. He trained at a gym in Graz, where Kurt Marnul, a former Mr. Austria, invited him to join in 1961. In Graz he was also mentored by Alfred Gerstl.

His later education included a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Superior, completed largely by correspondence, as well as studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Career

In bodybuilding, Schwarzenegger won the Mr. Universe title at the age of twenty and went on to win the Mr. Olympia title seven times. He wrote about the sport in books that include the autobiographical Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder (1977) and The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding (1998). The Arnold Sports Festival carries his name. His appearance in the documentary Pumping Iron (1977) opened the way to acting, and his screen credits begin with Hercules in New York (1970). He received the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year in 1977.

He became a leading action performer in the 1980s. His starring role in Conan the Barbarian (1982) was followed by a sequel, Conan the Destroyer (1984), and by The Terminator (1984), in which he played the title machine. He played John Matrix in Commando (1985), Dutch in Predator (1987) and the lead in The Running Man (1987). He also starred in the comedies Twins (1988) and Kindergarten Cop (1990). Total Recall (1990), in which he played Douglas Quail, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) came next, and Last Action Hero (1993), True Lies (1994), Jingle All the Way (1996) and Batman & Robin (1997), in which he played Mr. Freeze, followed during the rest of the decade. He returned to the Terminator role in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), Terminator Genisys (2015) and Terminator: Dark Fate (2019). Films in which he has appeared have grossed more than 5.4 billion dollars worldwide, and his production company is called Oak Productions.

His later film work includes The Expendables (2010) and its sequels in 2012 and 2014. His listed credits extend to The Family Stallone (2023), and in total the records show more than eighty screen credits.

Public roles

A registered Republican, Schwarzenegger chaired the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports during most of the George H. W. Bush administration. In the 2003 special recall election in California he was elected governor to replace Gray Davis, taking 48.6 percent of the vote, and he was sworn in on 17 November 2003. He won a full term in 2006 with 55.9 percent of the vote. He left office in 2011 on reaching the term limit and returned to acting.

Recognition

Schwarzenegger has received honors from several countries. Austria gave him the Great Golden Medal of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria in 1991, and France made him both a Knight and a Commander of the Legion of Honour. He received the Goldene Kamera in 1996 and again in 2015, the American Cinematheque Award in 1998, the Great Immigrants Award in 2006 and an induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015. He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Personal life

Schwarzenegger married Maria Shriver in 1986, and their marriage ended in divorce in 2021. He has five children. His son Patrick Schwarzenegger, his daughter Katherine Schwarzenegger and his son Joseph Baena are listed in the biographical records as public figures.