Interesting Facts About Arnold Schwarzenegger

For much of his career, Arnold Schwarzenegger was known as a champion bodybuilder, a movie star, and a successful businessman. Then in 2003, he took on a new career—politics. Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California. He served as governor until 2011.

Born in Austria, Schwarzenegger moved to the United States in 1968. He earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from the University of Wisconsin–Superior in 1979. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1983. As a bodybuilder, he won 13 championships; his titles included Mr. Universe, Mr. Olympia, and Mr. World. His leading role in the 1977 documentary Pumping Iron brought him to Hollywood's attention. It also helped to popularize bodybuilding competitions.
 
Schwarzenegger soon became a top box-office attraction. He made his mark as an action star in Conan the Barbarian (1982), The Terminator (1984), Predator (1987), and Total Recall (1990). He also displayed a talent for comedy in Twins (1988), Kindergarten Cop (1990), and True Lies (1994).

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush named Schwarzenegger to serve as chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. He remained in that post until 1993. He served as a global ambassador for the Special Olympics. He established the National Inner-City Games Foundation. He also supported many other philanthropic causes. In 2002, Schwarzenegger sponsored Proposition 49, a successful ballot initiative to finance before- and after-school programs.

In 2003, Schwarzenegger entered a recall race to replace California's unpopular Democratic governor Gray Davis. Running as a Republican, he defeated Davis and a wide slate of other candidates. Schwarzenegger took office as California's chief executive on November 17, 2003.

As governor, Schwarzenegger focused his attention on California's budget and its schools. In November 2005, he suffered a major defeat at the polls as voters rejected four ballot measures that he had promoted. The four initiatives would have altered rules for teacher tenure, limited unions' political fund-raising, capped state spending, and revised the procedure for drawing legislative districts.

Governor Schwarzenegger subsequently signed legislation increasing the minimum wage and combating global warning. He went on to capture a full term as governor in the November 2006 elections. Fiscal problems, including budget deficits and increasing unemployment, continued to plague California during Schwarzenegger's second term. The state's term limits law prevented him from seeking reelection in 2010. After leaving the governor's office in January 2011, Schwarzenegger announced that he was returning to acting and the entertainment field.
The former governor married Maria Shriver, the niece of the late President John F. Kennedy, in 1986. They have four children. In May 2011, the couple issued a joint statement announcing that they were separating.

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