The Austrian-American Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is most known for his appearances in blockbuster action blockbusters, but he is also a successful entrepreneur, ex-politician, and former professional bodybuilder. From 2003 until 2011, he was the 38th governor of California.
Starting weightlifting at the tender age of fifteen, Arnold Schwarzenegger went on to win the Mr. Olympia title seven times and the Mr. Universe title at the age of twenty. With eight victories apiece, Ronnie Coleman and Lee Haney are equal for first place all-time, while he and Phil Heath are tied for second. When he was competing in bodybuilding events, he went by the moniker "Austrian Oak." Today, he is considered a legend in the sport. Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder, an autobiography, and The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding are among his works pertaining to the sport of bodybuilding. He is the second most revered figure in bodybuilding, and the Arnold Sports Festival is named after him. He got his start in the film industry with an appearance in the pumping iron bodybuilding documentary.
Following his retirement from bodybuilding, Arnold Schwarzenegger became an international superstar as an action hero thanks to his breakout role in the 1984 sequel to the critically acclaimed medieval and sorcery epic Conan the Barbarian. He went on to star in three more Terminator sequels after stealing the show in the first science fiction picture The Terminator. He has directed comedies like Jingle All the Way, Twins, and Kindergarten Cop, and action flicks like Commando, The Running Man, Predator, Total Recall, and True Lies. When Schwarzenegger was at the top of his game, his feud with Sylvester Stallone was all anybody could talk about. He started Oak Productions, a film production firm, himself.
During the majority of George H. W. Bush's administration, Schwarzenegger served as chair of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. He is a registered Republican. After Gray Davis was removed from office in a special recall election in 2003, he succeeded Davis as governor of California. He was seventeen points ahead of the Democratic Party's Cruz Bustamante, who came in second, with 48.6 percent of the vote. On November 17, he took the oath of office to finish out Davis' tenure, and in the 2006 gubernatorial election, he received 55.9 percent of the vote, which allowed him to fulfill a full term. After serving his maximum number of years as governor in 2011, he went back to acting.
Childhood and formal schooling
where Arnold Schwarzenegger was born
In Thal, Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger came into this world on July 30, 1947, as the second of Gustav and Aurelia's sons. Gustav, who had served as the chief of police for the area, became a member of the Nazi Party and the Sturmabteilung in 1939, following the Anschluss in 1938. Gustav rose through the ranks of the German military police force during WWII, becoming Hauptfeldwebel and participating in invasions of Poland, France, and the Soviet Union (among other things, during the siege of Leningrad). After suffering wounds in the Stalingrad Battle and a subsequent case of malaria in 1943, he was released. Nazi war criminal Gustav Schwarzenegger served "in theaters of the war where atrocities were committed," claims Holocaust researcher Michael Berenbaum. Despite Gustav's prominence in the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election—an election in which Schwarzenegger was victorious—the documents do not reveal whether or not he had any involvement.
On October 20, 1945, at the age of 38, Gustav wed Aurelia, who was 23 years her junior. It was a completely different world in Austria back then, says Schwarzenegger, so his parents were extremely rigid. He came from a strict Catholic household where the rod was never spared for misbehavior or disobedience. Meinhard, Gustav's eldest son, was more beloved than Arnold. The irrational belief that Arnold was not his biological offspring gave rise to his "strong and blatant" partiality. According to Schwarzenegger, his first recollection is of huddling up with his parents in bed during a violent thunderstorm. His father, he claims, "no patience for listening or understanding your problems." He maintained cordial contact with his mother right up to her passing.
'My hair was pulled,' Schwarzenegger said in a 2004 interview with Fortune about the "what would now be called child abuse" he endured at his father's mercy. I took a beating from belts. The neighbor kid was, too. That was simply how things were. The Germanic and Austrian mindset caused a lot of the children I've observed to be damaged. They preferred not to make a unique person. Conformity was the key. Someone whose will could not be broken was I; I was the one who refused to conform. Consequently, I decided to revolt. "This won't be for much longer because I'm going to move out of here" was my response to every time someone told me I couldn't do something or slapped me. Becoming wealthy is my goal. I aspire to achieve greatness.
Despite his 'cheerful, good-humored, and enthusiastic' personality, Schwarzenegger supposedly had mediocre grades in school. His difficulties with reading led to a dyslexia diagnosis. Their family struggled financially; an event that stood out to Schwarzenegger as a child was the purchase of a refrigerator. Gustav, his athletic father, dreamed of his sons being Bavarian curling champions. Young Schwarzenegger drew inspiration from his father and participated in a variety of sports.
When Schwarzenegger's football coach started taking the team to the gym in 1960, he started weight training. Opting for bodybuilding over football as a professional path, he was fourteen years old. In a 2001 speech, he claimed that his own plan was formed when he was 14 years old, but his official website biography states that he began an intensive training program with Dan Farmer at 14, studied psychology at 15, and officially began his competitive career at 17. He went on to say, "I actually started weight training when I was 15, but I had 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." Following in my father's footsteps as a police officer was his dream job. Going to trade school was my mother's wish for me.
The 1971 Schwarzenegger
While in Graz, Schwarzenegger became a regular at a gym and would often go to the movies to watch roles portrayed by bodybuilding legends like Reg Park, Steve Reeves, and Johnny Weissmuller. In a heartfelt tribute to Reeves, Schwarzenegger said, "As a teenager, I grew up with Steve Reeves." In 2000, Reeves passed away. His incredible achievements gave me hope for the future even when those around me failed to comprehend my aspirations. Everything that Schwarzenegger has accomplished thus far has been made possible by Steve Reeves. In 1961, he met Kurt Marnul, the former Mr. Austria, who asked him to train at his gym in Graz. In his youth, he was so committed to his workouts that he would sneak into the closed gym on weekends to get in his workouts. Missing a workout would be quite disheartening for me. When questioned about his first cinematic experience as a youngster, he replied: "I was very young, but I remember my father taking me to the Austrian theaters and seeing some newsreels." This was because he knew he couldn't face himself in the mirror the next morning if he didn't. John Wayne's instructor at Graz was Alfred Gerstl, whose Jewish heritage led to his presidency of the Federal Council and friendship with Karl, the actor's son. "The first real movie I saw that I distinctly remember" was a John Wayne film.
May 20, 1971 was the date of the car accident that killed Schwarzenegger's brother Meinhard. His death was instantaneous due to drunk driving. He was laid to rest without Schwarzenegger's presence. Meinhard was planning to marry Erika Knapp, and the couple already had a son, Patrick, who was three years old. Both Patrick's education and his immigration to the United States were funded by Schwarzenegger. On December 13, 1972, Gustav Schwarzenegger passed away after a stroke. Schwarzenegger stated in Pumping Iron that he didn't go to his dad's funeral since he was busy getting ready for a tournament. The film's producer and he later claimed that the narrative was lifted from another bodybuilder in order to highlight the lengths to which some will go in pursuit of their sport and to further tarnish Schwarzenegger's reputation in order to spur controversy surrounding the picture. When he told his first serious girlfriend, Barbara Baker, about his father's death, he was cold and distant, and he avoided talking about his brother. He has explained his absence from his father's burial in at least three different ways throughout the years.
In 1965, when he was 18 years old, Schwarzenegger fulfilled the mandatory military service for all men in Austria by serving in the Austrian Army. While serving in the army, he was named Junior Mr. Europe. 'Participating in the competition meant so much to me that I didn't carefully think through the consequences.' He went AWOL during basic training to compete and spent a week in military prison. He then competed in another bodybuilding contest in Graz at the Steirerhof Hotel, where he placed second. The title of "best-built man of Europe" catapulted him to fame among bodybuilding enthusiasts. According to Schwarzenegger, "the Mr. Universe title was my ticket to America—the land of opportunity, where I could become a star and get rich." In 1966, he had his first airline trip, traveling to London for the NABBA Mr. Universe competition. He came in second place at Mr. Universe, losing to American victor Chester Yorton due to his lack of muscle definition.
Charles 'Wag' Bennett, a judge at the 1966 competition, was so taken by Schwarzenegger that he offered to teach him. Bennett extended an invitation for Schwarzenegger to remain in his overcrowded family home, situated above one of his two gyms in Forest Gate, London, due to Schwarzenegger's financial situation. Schwarzenegger, following a training regimen developed by Bennett, focused on enhancing his leg definition after Yorton's was deemed superior. While staying in London's East End, Arnold Schwarzenegger was able to hone his very basic English skills. 'Being with them made me so much more sophisticated.' This is just one way in which his time with the Bennetts impacted him personally. When you're a kid my age, you're continually seeking affirmation, affection, attention, and direction. That didn't occur to me at the time. Looking back, though, I can see that the Bennetts provided for all of those requirements. I have an insatiable desire to excel to the highest level. To feel special and to be acknowledged for one's uniqueness. They could see that I was in need of their love and care.
Additionally, in 1966, Schwarzenegger had the chance to meet Reg Park, his childhood idol and later friend and mentor, at Bennett's house. Schwarzenegger became the youngest Mr. Universe ever in 1967 after winning the title for the first time at the age of twenty—all thanks to his training. Three more championships would be his. From 1966 to 1968, he worked and trained at Rolf Putziger's gym in Munich while attending business school. In 1968, he returned to London to win his second Mr. Universe title. In Munich, he would often tell his English coach and buddy Roger C. Field, "I'm going to become the greatest actor!"'
At the age of 21, despite his limited English proficiency, Arnold Schwarzenegger moved to the United States in October 1968, fulfilling a lifelong ambition of his. He had dreamed of doing so since he was eight years old and considered bodybuilding as a means to an end. Joe Weider oversaw his training sessions at Gold's Gym in Venice, Los Angeles, California. Schwarzenegger worked out with professional wrestler Ric Drasin from 1970 to 1974. Drasin also created the first logo for Gold's Gym in 1973. Billy Graham, a professional wrestler, and Arnold Schwarzenegger became fast friends. At the young age of 23, Schwarzenegger won his first of seven Mr. Olympia titles in 1970 in New York.
According to the immigration law firm Siskind & Susser, Schwarzenegger might have been in the country illegally in the late 1960s or early 1970s due to visa infractions. In 2002, Schwarzenegger was hailed by LA Weekly as "the most famous US immigrant" after he overcome his heavy Austrian accent and rose to the status of the world's biggest movie star in the 1990s, despite his unusual background in bodybuilding.
Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder, Schwarzenegger's autobiography and workout manual published in 1977, was an enormous hit. After Dark, a gay magazine, featured him in 1977. He was 'within striking distance' of graduating after completing a variety of programs at Santa Monica College in California and more upper-division coursework through UCLA's extension program. He started attending UW–Superior as a distance learner in 1979, getting the most of his classes through mail and only traveling to Superior for in-person meetings and exams. He received his bachelor's degree in marketing and business administration in May of 1980. In 1983, he was granted U.S. citizenship. Stockton University bestowed an honorary degree to him in 2023.
Bodybuilding career
Every year, the Arnold Classic bodybuilding competition pays tribute to Schwarzenegger, who is widely regarded as one of the sport's most influential individuals. Even after retiring, he has maintained a strong profile in the bodybuilding industry thanks to his clubs and fitness periodicals. He has acted as host for a number of competitions and award ceremonies.
He contributed a monthly piece to Flex and Muscle & Fitness, two publications devoted to bodybuilding, for a long time. He was made the symbolic executive editor of both journals shortly after being elected governor. The magazines have committed to donating $250,000 annually to support the Governor's wellness programs. Many people felt that there was a conflict of interest when the deal—which included the contract that paid Schwarzenegger at least $1 million per year—was revealed in 2005. This was because the governor's office was responsible for making decisions about the regulation of dietary supplements in California. As a result, Schwarzenegger stepped down as executive editor in 2005. Arnold Schwarzenegger was re-appointed as executive editor of Muscle & Fitness and Flex in March 2013 by American Media Inc., the magazine's owners.
In 1965, he took first place in the Junior Mr. Europe pageant. The next year, at the age of nineteen, he became Mr. Europe. He continued to compete in and win a slew of bodybuilding competitions. Until Lee Haney won his eighth consecutive Mr. Olympia title in 1991, his record of seven Mr. Olympia triumphs stood. He also won five Mr. Universe titles.
Schwarzenegger keeps up with his exercise routine. At the 2011 Arnold Classic, when questioned about his training regimen, he stated that he continued to lift weights for half an hour daily.
After meeting Barbara Outland in 1969, Schwarzenegger lived with her until 1974. Outland was an English teacher. Six or eight months after he arrived in the United States, the pair first crossed paths. Observing the historic first Apollo Moon landing on television was their first date. For three and a half years, they lived in an apartment together in Santa Monica, California. With little money, they would spend all day at the beach or have backyard barbecues. Schwarzenegger is "as much a self-made man as it's possible to be" according to Baker, who claims that she found him off-putting since he had "little understanding of polite society" when they first met. However, Baker also notes that Schwarzenegger never received encouragement from his family or brother. It was endearing how he was so fiercely committed to proving himself. Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote 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 had described Arnold as a "joyful personality, totally charismatic, adventurous, and athletic," but claimed that towards the end of their relationship, he became "insufferable—classically conceited—the world revolved around him." Arnold and Me: In the Shadow of the Austrian Oak, Baker's book, was released in 2006. Despite Baker's sometimes unsavory portrayal of her ex-lover in the memoir, Schwarzenegger not only met with Baker for three hours but also wrote a preface. Baker talks about her intense and tumultuous love affair and says she found out about his infidelity after they broke up. Their memories of what happened can diverge, as Schwarzenegger has made plain.
In July 1977, Schwarzenegger met Sue Moray, an assistant at a Beverly Hills hair salon, on Venice Beach; they went on to become lovers. When they were both in Los Angeles, the couple was faithful, says Moray, who claims that they had an open relationship. while he was away, though, we could do as we pleased.
At the Robert F. Kennedy Tennis Tournament in August 1977, Schwarzenegger crossed paths with television journalist Maria Shriver, who happened to be the niece of President John F. Kennedy. After that, he dated Moray and Shriver until Moray gave him an ultimatum in August 1978.
The aortic valve that Schwarzenegger was born with is bicuspid, meaning it has two leaflets instead of the usual three. In 1997, he decided to have a heart valve that was made from his own pulmonary valve instead of a cadaveric one. This procedure was called a Ross procedure. The doctors told him that his valve would wear down over the next two to eight years, so he would have to have another heart valve replacement. It appears that Schwarzenegger chose not to have a mechanical valve installed, which would have severely restricted his ability to exercise, even though it was the only permanent option available during his surgery.
The replacement pulmonic valve for Schwarzenegger's heart was installed during emergency open-heart surgery on March 29, 2018. "I had open-heart surgery this spring, I had to use a walker," he said, detailing his road to recovery. Retraining my lungs required me to undertake breathing exercises five times daily. In the depths of my anguish, I felt trapped and unable to find a means to restore my former self.
Schwarzenegger had a new aortic valve implanted in 2020, which was 23 years subsequent to his initial operation.
'Arnie' or 'Schwarz'y' from his acting days, 'the Governator' from his political career, and the 'Austrian Oak' from his bodybuilding days—these are some of Schwarzenegger's nicknames. The former US president John F. Kennedy's niece, Maria Shriver, was his bride in 1986. His admission that he had fathered a kid with their housekeeper in 1997 caused them to separate in 2011, and they finally divorced in 2021.
Since the Special Olympics were established in 1968 by his subsequent mother-in-law, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Schwarzenegger has maintained an active role in its operations. The 2007 Special Olympics were held in Shanghai, China, and Schwarzenegger served as the official spokesperson for the event. Children who would not otherwise have the opportunity to attend a good school should be given that chance, according to Schwarzenegger. He established the Inner City Games Foundation in 1995 to offer youth programs that strengthen their communities via culture, education, and sports. Over 250,000 students in 400 schools across the nation get ICG's services, and the organization is active in 15 cities. Along with his involvement with After-School All-Stars, he established the Los Angeles chapter in 2002. Providing kids with health, exercise, and nutrition education, ASAS operates as an after-school program.
The Olympic Torch relay in Vancouver was something Schwarzenegger was a part of on February 12, 2010. He then passed the torch to Sebastian Coe, the runner after him.
During the fall of the Soviet Union, Schwarzenegger asked his Russian pals to destroy certain Marxist busts for his collection. Although his wife had asked him to remove them, he insisted on keeping the Vladimir Lenin one since "he was the first" (2011: 38). He claimed in 2015 that he preserved the Lenin bust in order to "show losers."
Arnold Schwarzenegger has shown his support for Israel by attending pro-Israel rallies, including one in Los Angeles. During his 2004 visit to Israel, Schwarzenegger met with President Moshe Katsav and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, laid a wreath at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, and broke ground on the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem, which is part of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Schwarzenegger made the statement, "I love Israel," during the 2011 Independence Day festivities held by the Israeli Consulate General in Los Angeles. Israel was my initial foreign destination upon becoming governor. '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.' He continued, "I immediately signed a bill calling on California pension funds to divest their money from companies that do business with Iran."