Initially known to us as an action movie star, he has transcended the
Hollywood role and delved into the political sphere in the US. Born and
raised in Austria, he came to the United States to follow his dreams of
bodybuilding championships and success. Throughout his life in the US,
he has had great success both professionally and personally.
He met and married journalist and political darling Maria Shriver,
and had four children with her. He did, however, really mess things up
when he carried on a 14-year affair with the family’s maid. That affair
produced an illegitimate child for Arnold, a son he only learned about
when he was seven years old, named Joseph. To this day, Arnold states
that being unfaithful to his wife was one of the biggest mistakes of his
life, stating: “It was me who screwed up. It was my biggest personal
failure. We all fall at one time or another and this was a major fall.
But I had to get up again because only losers stay down, winners get up.
I had to move forward and say, ‘OK, now how do I heal and how can I
bring everyone together again?’. Now I am absolutely delighted with my
life.”
He has managed to move forward as he wanted to, as did his estranged
wife, Maria, and their four children. There have been other scandals
over the years, some of which we were very surprised to learn about.
Arnold is anything but a simple man, He is a Jack of all trades who
likes to keep busy. He has returned to Hollywood’s bright light and has
been back in the acting sphere since the end of his political career.
Extra-marital affair
Arnold Schwarzenegger is known for many achievements, but it is his
extramarital affair with his household maid, Mildred Patricia Baena that
is one of the most talked about parts of his life. Arnold carried on a
14-year affair with Patty. This affair was hidden from Maria Shriver,
Arnold’s wife. The affair began in 1991 and ended in 2004. Amazingly
enough, it wasn’t discovered during the time Arnold ran for governor.
His illegitimate son
Joseph Baena was born as a result of Arnold’s affair with his mother
Patty. Arnold didn’t know that he had fathered a child with her until
Joseph was seven years old and started looking a lot like his father.
The twisted part of all of this is that Joseph was born five DAYS after
Arnold and Maria’s youngest son, Christopher, on October 2, 1997. The
world learned of Arnold’s affair and son in 2011.
Austrian roots
Arnold was born in Thal, Styria, Austria. He was the second son of
Aurelia and Gustav. Arnold said that his parents were very strict with
him, stating, “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 rural location and was brought up Roman
Catholic.
His father served Nazi Germany
Prior to marrying Arnold’s mother, Gustav Schwarzenegger joined the
Nazi Party in 1938. He was the local chief of police and postal
inspector. His role within the Nazi party was as a non-commissioned
military officer. He served until 1943, at which time he contracted
malaria. This dark spot on Arnold’s family history haunts him to this
day (which is why he has made anti-racism comments in recent times).
Abused by his father
Arnold’s father was never sure that Arnold was his son, despite there
being no evidence to prove otherwise. He preferred Arnold’s brother
Meinhard and would abuse Arnold whenever he did anything remotely out of
place. When Gustav passed away, Arnold did not return to Austria for
the funeral. Arnold’s girlfriend at the time, Barbara Baker, said that
Arnold didn’t show any emotion when he heard his father had passed.
His brother, Meinhard
His brother, on the other hand, was a person who Arnold looked up to.
Sadly, Meinhard was killed in a car accident on May 20th, 1971. Arnold
did not return for his brother’s funeral as well, which was before their
father died the following year. He said that she didn’t want to see his
father and would mourn in his own way.
The start of bodybuilding
Arnold was 15 years of age when he initially got into the
bodybuilding sphere. His soccer coach took him to his first gym, after
which he decided to pursue body building over soccer. There was
something about pushing his body to the limit that made it a fascinating
feat for Arnold. His body also went with how hard he was pushing it,
giving him the results he wanted.
He served in the Austrian military
Back in 1965, Arnold served in the Austrian military as there was
mandatory conscription for males in the country. The mandatory time was
one year of service for all males that turned 18 years of age. It was
during his time in the military that he went AWOL in order to attend and
compete in the Junior Mr. Europe contest. Arnold said, “Participating
in the competition meant so much to me that I didn’t carefully think
through the consequences.”
Mr. Universe
At just 20 years old, he won the title of Mr. Universe. It was thanks
to his training with Reg Park, Arnold’s personal idol and mentor that
he got to the level of fitness he needed and wanted to in order to win
the title. He still holds the record for the youngest winner, just like
another competition he won.
Steroid use
While anabolic steroids are illegal now, there was a time that they
were legal and used by the bodybuilding community. Arnold had said,
“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 clearly
doesn’t use them anymore but there was a time he admitted to using their
assistance.
Mr. Olympia
He won the title of the greatest bodybuilder in the world when he was
just 23 years old in 1970. He still holds the record for the youngest
man to ever earn the title of Mr. Olympia. He proceeded to win the title
six more times throughout his bodybuilding career. Arnold is still
regarded as one of the major contributors to the bodybuilding world.
Coming to America
Arnold moved to the US in 1968 when he was 21 years old. He knew very
little English. It was his dream to move to America since he was 10
years old. He continued his bodybuilding planning here in the US at
Gold’s Gym in Venice, California. It was in 1983 that Arnold would
officially get his American citizenship. During those years, Arnold also
got his Bachelor’s of Arts in international marketing of fitness and
business administration.
First film
In addition to keeping his body in tip top shape, Arnold got into the
movie industry. His giant muscles and particular look had him as the
perfect candidate to play Hercules in the 1969 film by the same name. He
was credited as Arnold Strong in the film. Arnold followed up Hercules
with Happy Anniversary and Goodbye in 1974 and Stay Hungry in 1976.
First acting accolade and award
Arnold earned his first award in 1976 with the film Stay Hungry. He
earned himself a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year. Arnold
shot to mainstream success in the US with the James Cameron directed
1984 film The Terminator. Arnold knew he had a golden role as he
reprised it in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Terminator 3: Ride of the
Machines, and Terminator Genisys.
Marrying Maria
Arnold married television journalist and niece of John F. Kennedy
Maria Shriver on April 26th, 1986 after he met her in 1977 through NBC
newsman Tom Brokaw. The couple supported one another throughout their
marriage, so much so that when Arnold wanted to run for governor, Maria
said, “I realized that if I said no, I’d be stopping my husband from
achieving his dream. It was a catch-22. So I told Arnold that he should
do what he wanted to do … Two months later, I was the Democratic First
Lady of a Republican administration.”
Children
Arnold and Maria have four children together. Katherine Eunice, born
in 1989, Christina Maria Aurelia, born 1991, Patrick Arnold, born 1993,
and Christopher Sargent, born 1997. At the time the children were being
raised, they lived in an 11,000 square foot house in Brentwood,
California. They also had two vacation homes, one in Idaho and one in
Massachusetts. Today, the children are all on their way towards becoming
very successful individuals.
He doesn’t do sequels anymore
The sequel to Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, was such a
box office disaster that it put Arnold off of sequels entirely. He
rejected every single sequel idea that was sent his way, including
sequels to major hits like Total Recall, True Lies, Commando, and
Predator. The only sequels that he has done were to the Terminator
movies, and The Expendables films as he knew that they were going to be
box office successes.
Net worth
Today, Arnold is said to be worth $300 million. The net worth stems
from his many successful films, political career, endorsement deals,
television appearances, and other business ventures that he has always
been involved in. Arnold has always been very wise in his financial
decisions, and has maintained a steady income increase throughout his
life. The homes and cars that he owns along with estranged wife Maria
are part of his current net worth.
He invested his bodybuilding money
Throwing it back to Arnold’s younger years, he was a very savvy
businessman already at a young age. He invested his winnings from his
bodybuilding competitions in the real estate market and other products,
making him a self-made millionaire before the movie industry money
started kicking in. As we mentioned earlier, Arnold had a knack for
realizing smart business ventures when they came his way.
Governor of California
Arnold was the Governor of California from November 17, 2003 to
January 3, 2011. He filled the position for two terms. He was quoted 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.”
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