Arnold Schwarzenegger (July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-born American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served two terms as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011.
Schwarzenegger began weight training at the age of 15. He won the Mr. Universe title at age 20 and went on to win the Mr. Olympia contest seven times. Schwarzenegger has remained a prominent presence in bodybuilding and has written many books and articles on the sport. Schwarzenegger gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film icon. He was nicknamed the "Austrian Oak" and the "Styrian Oak" in his bodybuilding days, "Arnie" during his acting career and more recently "The Governator" (a portmanteau of "Governor" and "The Terminator" – one of his best-known movie roles).
Career
Schwarzenegger's career in bodybuilding took off after moving to the United States in 1968. At age 21, he was already weighing an impressive 250 lbs. He began training under the guidance of veteran bodybuilder Joe Weider. He trained at Gold's Gym where he became training partners and friends with Ric Drasin who designed the first Gold's Gym logo. Schwarzenegger went on to capture his first Mr. Olympia title in 1970 at age 23. He went on to win that title six more times, with his last title win in 1980, the same year in which he retired.
Acting Career and Action Movie Star status
In 1982, Schwarzenegger starred in his first leading film role as the comic book fantasy hero Conan in Conan the Barbarian. The movie was a great success at the box office and virtually was the breakthrough role that launched Schwarzenegger's career in film. His second and perhaps biggest film role was as the near-unstoppable cyborg assassin known as The Terminator in 1984. He went on to make a sequel to that movie which was equally well-received and since then, Schwarzenegger became the iconic image of that franchise. In 2003, 12 years after Terminator 2, Schwarzenegger went on to make a third (and at the time, final) sequel entitled Terminator III: Rise of the Machines. He essentially retired from films after this movie so as to focus on a political campaign to run for governor of California, which he won and ran for a second term.
After a decade away from film cameras, Schwarzenegger returned to the action genre with the film The Last Stand in 2013. He thus resumed his film career, with roles in movies including Escape Plan, sharing the screen with fellow action movie star Sylvester Stallone, Sabotage in 2014 and once more reprised his role as the T-101 in Terminator Genisys in 2015. Also in 2015, he made a cameo as the Terminator in the last seconds of the Terminator vs. RoboCop episode of the popular Epic Rap Battles of History YouTube music video series.
Schwarzenegger in his bodybuilding prime.
World Wrestling Entertainment
Arnold appeared on the November 10th airing of the then-WWF Smackdown in 1999. Plugging promotional buzz for his upcoming movie End of Days, Arnold established good terms backstage with wrestling fan favorites Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. Schwarzenegger went on to attend the show, seated at the announcers' table providing sparse commentary during a match involving Triple H, Test and Steve Austin. During the closing moments of the match, Schwarzenegger tossed a steel chair to Austin, allowing him to even the odds. Defeated, Triple H after the match, confronted and attempted to attack Schwarzenegger at ringside. He instead received a beating by Schwarzenegger.
At WrestleMania XXIX, Schwarzenegger inducted long-time friend Bruno Sammartino into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2013.
On the March 24, 2014 edition of RAW, Schwarzenegger and co-star Joe Manganiello appeared to promote their upcoming film Sabotage while doing an in-ring segment with WrestleMania XXX host Hulk Hogan. They were interrupted by The Miz and the three friends teamed together, forcing Miz into retreat as Schwarzenegger bid The Miz a farewell using his iconic movie catchphrase "Hasta la vista baby".
Schwarzenegger was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2015 on January 26, during WWE Monday Night RAW.
Personal life
Schwarzenegger was married to Maria Shriver, niece of the late President John F. Kennedy. They married in 1986 and divorced in 2011 after 25 years. The former couple have four children Katherine Eunice Schwarzenegger (born December 13, 1989 in Los Angeles); Christina Maria Aurelia Schwarzenegger (born July 23, 1991 in Los Angeles, Patrick Arnold Shriver Schwarzenegger (born September 18, 1993 in Los Angeles); and Christopher Sargent Shriver Schwarzenegger (born September 27, 1997 in Los Angeles). Schwarzenegger is also the godfather of wrestler Billy Graham's daughter.
- Nicknames
- Arnie
- Austrian Oak
- Conan the Republican
- Styrian Oak
- The Governator
- The Running Man
- Conan the Governor
- The Machine
Championships and accomplishments
- World Wrestling Entertainment
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2015)
External links
- Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wikipedia