An Austrian-born American actor, film producer, activist, businessman, investor, writer, philanthropist, and former bodybuilder, he was a two-term Governor of California. He 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. He has remained a prominent presence in bodybuilding and has written many books and articles on the sport. He gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film icon.
However, he had an unhappy childhood. His father intimidated and beat him whenever he got the chance, because he suspected that he was not his biological son. His father always openly favoured his brother, so much so that he refused to attend their funerals when they died.
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger was born on July 30, 1947 in Thal, Austria. The Schwarzenegger family was not economically sound as Arnold recalls that one of the highlights of his youth was when the family bought a refrigerator.
The Austrian Oak
From a young age, he took a keen interest in physical fitness and bodybuilding. Schwarzenegger also served in the Austrian Army in 1965. He went AWOL from the Austrian army to take part in the bodybuilding competition which earned him the title Mr Europa Junior.
This little move also earned him a short stint in prison. Two years, and much muscle pumping later, Arnold became the youngest ever Mr Universe.
Arnold studied marketing at the University of Munich for two years before leaving for America, at the invitation of muscle entrepreneur, Joe Weider, to study Business and Economics.
His body building success continued as he picked up the title of Mr Olympia seven times and Mr Universe five times.
Equally significant, Schwarzenegger, helped propel the sport of body building into the mainstream, culminating in the 1977 documentary, ‘Pumping Iron’.
The Running Man
Arnold wanted to move from bodybuilding into acting, finally achieving it when he was chosen to play the role of Hercules in 1970’s Hercules in New York. Arnold’s breakthrough film was the sword-and-sorcery epic ‘Conan the Barbarian’ in 1982, which was a box-office hit.
‘Conan’ kick-started his career but his next role catapulted him into stardom. He played the villain in ‘Terminator’ in 1984, which became a worldwide success and led to Arnold’s catchphrase ‘I’ll be back’.
He then appeared in ‘Commando’ (1985), ‘Raw Deal’ (1986), ‘Kindergarten Cop’ (1990),‘The Running Man’ (1987) and ‘Total Recall’ (1988), which were all box office smashes.Â
The Governator
Arnold had held positions within the American Government as chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in 1990 and the weight lifting trainer for the Special Olympics weight training team.
In 2003, Arnold, running as a Republican, was elected Governor of California in a special recall election of then governor Gray Davis. He brought his own unique brand of confidence to his new job. He worked to improve the state’s financial situation, promote new businesses, and protect the environment. In 2006, he easily won his bid for re-election.