A household name the world over today, Arnold Schwarzenegger climbed to the top of not just one, or two, but three careers. This article follows his extraordinary journey from a small town in Austria to Mr. Universe, Hollywood superstar, and governor of California.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was born near Graz, Austria, on July 30, 1947
He was the second son of Gustav and Aurelia Schwarzenegger. Gustav Schwarzenegger was a chief of police.
Serving as a military policeman throughout World War II, Gustav Schwarzenegger was posted to Poland, France, and the Soviet Union. After sustaining injury in the Battle of Stalingrad, then contracting malaria, Gustav Schwarzenegger was discharged in 1943.
Arnold Schwarzenegger recounts that Austria was a very different world when he was a small boy, and his parents were very strict. Gustav was said to show a “strong and blatant” preference for Arnold’s older brother, although Arnold did enjoy a good relationship with his mother, with the two keeping in touch until her death.
Arnold Schwarzenegger started weight training at age 15
Schwarzenegger developed an interest in weight training after his soccer coach took the team to a local gym. By 14, Arnold Schwarzenegger was already determined to become a professional bodybuilder.
Having participated in sports like soccer for years, Schwarzenegger recognized that, although he was slim, he was well developed, and able to get into the gym and start Olympic lifting. Growing up, his heroes were bodybuilders like Johnny Weissmuller, Reg Parks, and Steve Reeves. Schwarzenegger reflects that watching them gave him a sense of what was possible, even if the people around him did not really understand his dreams. He developed a fascination with America, convinced that his future lay there.
Schwarzenegger emigrated to the US in 1968, with the support of Joe Weider
Joe Weider was the man behind the International Federation of Body Building, the organization that sponsored events such as Mr. Olympia and Mr. Universe. He appreciated the sense of humor, bravado, and potential he saw in the young Schwarzenegger.
Schwarzenegger is a five-time Mr. Universe and six-time Mr. Olympia winner
He is widely credited with propelling the sport of bodybuilding into the mainstream, largely thanks to his 1977 documentary Pumping Iron, which follows his story defending the Mr. Olympia title.
Having achieved global fame as a world champion bodybuilder, Arnold Schwarzenegger started attracting attention from Hollywood filmmakers.
Schwarzenegger’s performance in Stay Hungry earned him a Golden Globe
After a few small parts on the big screen, Arnold Schwarzenegger landed a role in Stay Hungry, acting opposite Sally Field, for which he was recognized with the Golden Globe’s New Male Star of the Year award. His breakthrough role came in 1982, when he was cast in the epic Conan the Barbarian, which struck gold at the box office.
Schwarzenegger subsequently appeared in Conan the Barbarian; Terminator 1, 2, and 3; Commando; Predator; The Running Man; Total Recall; True Lies; Twins; and Kindergarten Cop in a highly successful movie career.
Arnold Schwarzenegger made his political debut in 2003
Already world famous, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s third career was no less ambitious than the other two. He ran in the 2003 California governor’s race, winning a seat in a special election. Mired in severe budget woes, the state looked to the newly elected Republican to live up to his promises of restoring economic stability.
True to his word, Schwarzenegger set about improving the state’s financial situation, promoting new businesses, and supporting environmental programs. He won his bid for re-election in 2006. During his time in office, Arnold Schwarzenegger cited the former US President Ronald Reagan as his inspiration, recounting that Regan was the first president he voted for after gaining American citizenship, and that he made him even prouder to be a new American.
Sadly, Schwarzenegger’s second term did not run as smoothly as his first, although he did see the state through some uncertain times financially. After leaving office in January 2011, Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to acting, and went on to appear in The Expendables 1, 2, and 3; Terminator Genisys; and Terminator: Dark Fate.
Schwarzenegger recently spoke out against the invasion of the Ukraine
In a compelling video, Arnold Schwarzenegger reflected that, after fighting in World War II, his father was plagued by both mental and physical problems for the rest of his life. Schwarzenegger appealed directly to Russian soldiers, calling for peace, and praising the bravery of Russian anti-war protestors.
Released on March 17, 2022, by noon that day, Schwarzenegger’s video had been viewed almost 6 million times on Twitter alone, and 400,000 times on Telegram, a video sharing platform still available in Russia. Hours after Schwarzenegger’s video went live, Russian opposition politician Lubov Sobol tweeted that Schwarzenegger’s opinion was very important to Russian people, with generations raised on his movies.