Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian and American bodybuilder, film actor and producer, businessman and politician.
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on July 30, 1947 in the village of Tal in the state of Styria in Austria.
As a child, he played football, but at the age of 14 he decided to devote himself to bodybuilding. He was inspired by famous athletes and actors – Reg Park, Steve Reeves and Johnny Weissmuller, whom he often saw in movies.
Career
Military service
In 1965, when Schwarzenegger was 18 years old, he was drafted into the Austrian army. The service lasted 1 year. There he received the specialty of a tank driver, although usually military personnel at least 21 years old were appointed to this position.
During this period, he took part in the junior contest “Mr. Europe” and won. To do this, he had to leave the unit without permission, for which he received a disciplinary punishment and spent some time in the guardhouse.
However, this tournament was not his first appearance. He made his debut earlier – about 2 years before at the competition in Graz, where he took second place.
Recalling the service, Schwarzenegger said in his autobiography that he was most looking forward to the moments when soldiers were allowed to exercise. During his year in the army, he significantly increased his muscle mass. In particular, he joked that he was not a perfect soldier – once he even drowned a tank.
After completing his service, in 1966, Schwarzenegger moved to Munich. There he worked in a fitness club. Later, he began to manage the hall, but financial difficulties remained.
In the same year, he performed at the Mr. Universe contest in London and took second place, losing to the American Sheth Jorton. For the athlete himself, this result came as a surprise, since he counted on a maximum of 6-7 position. Already in 1967, Schwarzenegger won this title.
Moving to the USA
In September 1968, Schwarzenegger moved to the United States of America (USA). At the time, he had poor command of English and spoke with a strong accent, which created difficulties.
After moving, he began training at the famous Gold’s Gym club in Santa Monica under the guidance of Joe Vader. Already in 1970, at the age of 23, he won his first Mr. Olympia title at a competition in New York.
In 1983, Schwarzenegger received US citizenship, while retaining Austrian citizenship.
Bodybuilder career
In fact, Schwarzenegger started bodybuilding at the age of 14. After the first workout, he was so exhausted that, according to him, he couldn’t even lift a cup of coffee. At the beginning of his career, the biggest problem was the lack of knowledge and experience, since bodybuilding was only gaining popularity at that time.
The first performances also took place without proper preparation. At one of the early competitions, he did not have special swimming trunks or body oil, and he studied posing only from photographs of his idol Park.
Despite this, progress has been very rapid. Schwarzenegger mentioned that during active training, the volume of his arms increased by about half an inch every 2 months, and in a year he added about 20 pounds of muscle mass.
He reached his first Mr. Olympia title after 5 years of training, while other athletes often took up to 10 years.
After moving to the United States, Schwarzenegger set himself a new goal – to improve the muscle mass he had gained in Europe and give it a clearer shape. He listened to the advice of the judges in competitions and often asked them what needed to be improved. He learned a lot from other bodybuilders, including his idol Reg Park, whom he later met personally.
Thanks to hard training, Schwarzenegger won many victories. A special place in his career was taken by winning the Mr. Olympia contest in 1980. It was an unexpected comeback after a 5-year hiatus. By that time, competition at the tournament had increased significantly, and the athlete himself was already more than 30 years old, so during the preparation he paid more attention to nutrition and regimen.
After 1980, Schwarzenegger left his sports career.
In 1988, he founded his own tournament “Arnold Classic”.
Film career
Schwarzenegger began acting in films in 1970. He was largely inspired by bodybuilding actors, including Steve Reeves. However, at the beginning of his career, he faced difficulties: a large muscle mass looked unusual for the screen, and a strong German accent made it difficult to perform long lines. Because of this, in some films he had to reduce weight. At the same time, he studied acting and worked on pronunciation.
The actor himself later called his least successful work the first film “Hercules in New York”.
The first films with the participation of Schwarzenegger were received by the audience rather restrainedly. The real success came after the release of the film “Conan the Barbarian”.
At the beginning of his career, his fees were small. The situation changed after the films “Terminator”, “Commando”, “Remember Everything” and “Terminator 2”. After these roles, the payment increased sharply, and the fee for the film “Terminator 3”, released in 2003, amounted to $ 35 million and became a record for that time.
During his career, the actor received various awards, but also had 8 nominations for the Golden Raspberry anti-award. Critics have often pointed out that his acting is not too strong and that he avoids long, difficult dialogues.
Over time, the actor decided to move away from the image of a silent action movie and began acting in comedies. For example, in the film “Twins”, which was released in 1988, he agreed to work without a fee, receiving only a percentage of the profit.
The film “The Last Movie Hero” became a kind of parody of his own on-screen image of an action hero.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Schwarzenegger’s films “The End of the World”, “The Sixth Day” and “Indemnity” received restrained reviews from critics and audiences. In 2003, the film “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” was released. After that, the 56-year-old actor temporarily left the cinema.
In the same 2003, he won the election for governor of California. Due to his political position, Schwarzenegger hardly acted in films, appearing only in brief cameos.
He returned to the film business after the end of his governorship in 2011.
After that, he began acting again, in particular in the action movie “The Expendables 2”.
For his work in cinema, he received a number of awards. For his role in the film “Stay Hungry”, the actor won the Golden Globe Award for Best Debutant. He also had nominations for the films “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”, “Junior” and “True Lies”.
Business career
Even before the age of 30, Schwarzenegger became a millionaire. He earned a considerable part of his fortune thanks to investments.
He opened a mailing business, a construction company, and began investing in real estate.
The center of his financial projects was the company “Oak Productions”. Income from cooperation with film studios, as well as interest on the sale of comics and video games, passes through it.
Political Career
In 2003, Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California from the Republican Party.
The election campaign was actively covered by the American media. The headlines often used wordplay associated with his film roles – titles like “The Governess”, “The Running Man” or “Terminator 4: Rise of the Candidate” appeared.
After taking office, he faced serious political opposition. A campaign of criticism was launched against him, and even before the elections, 15 women accused him of sexual harassment, which affected his rating.
In 2006, Schwarzenegger was re-elected governor for a second term. His powers ended in 2011. According to the state constitution, he was not eligible to run for a third time.
During his tenure, Schwarzenegger began a campaign to cut budget spending. In particular, he refused the annual salary of the governor, which was 175 thousand dollars.
After re-election, he took a more moderate political position between Republicans and Democrats. Schwarzenegger supported the signing of the Kyoto Protocol, criticized the war in Iraq, and had several conflicts with US President George W. Bush.
At the end of 2007, he was criticized for signing the amendment S.B. 777, which introduced a list of types of discrimination prohibited in public schools. The law included protections for people with alternative sexual orientations and transgender individuals.
Before the 2024 US elections, Schwarzenegger announced his support for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
Marital Status
Schwarzenegger’s personal life after starting his bodybuilding career was quite turbulent.
In 1969, he met English teacher Barbara Outland Baker. Their relationship lasted until 1974.
In 1975, on Venice Beach in Los Angeles, Schwarzenegger met hairdresser Sue Moray. In August 1977, he began dating Maria Shriver at the same time. This continued until August 1978, when Moray gave him an ultimatum. However, at that time he was already engaged to Shriver.
On April 26, 1986, Schwarzenegger married television journalist Maria Shriver, the niece of US President John F. Kennedy.
The couple had 4 children:
- Katherine Eunice Schwarzenegger on December 13, 1989;
- Christina Maria Aurelia Schwarzenegger on July 23, 1991;
- Patrick Arnold Schwarzenegger on September 18, 1993;
- Christopher Sargent Shriver Schwarzenegger on September 27, 1997.
