Arnold Schwarzenegger
- First Name: Arnold
- Last Name: Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger, born on July 30, 1947 in Thal, Austria. Arnold is an austrian american bodybuilder, model, actor, politician and businessman. He is 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and was nicknamed "Austrian Oak". His mother was Aurelia Jadrny and his father Gustav Schwarzenegger (a police chief). He has a brother from his mother's first marriage named Meinhard. Arnold lived in a Roman-Catholic family and he attended church every sunday.
He had a tough childhood and adolescency, money was always a problem in the family and he had bad communication with his father, he described his father as being "inpatient in listening to or understanding and addressing your problems".
Schwarzenegger was age fifteen when he started weightlifting but he also participated in other sports, like soccer. At 17 years old he started his competitive career. He was inspired by bodybuilding idols of his time such as Reg Park, Steve Reeves and Johnny Weissmuller that he used to watch on in cinema.
Schwarzenegger served one year of military service for the Austrian Army in 1965, which was required by law for all 18-year-old Austrian males.
In 1865 he won the Mr. Europe Junior title in the 1965 contest and won second place in the Graz bodybuilding contest, at Steirer Hof Hotel.
He became a celebrity in Europe because of well-built body and quoting Arnold: "The Mr. Universe title was my ticket to America – the land of opportunity, where I could become a star and get rich". He attended the NABBA Mr. Universe competition in London in which he came second, behind Chester Yorton.
At the age of 21, Arnold Schwarzenegger moved to the United States. He spoke little english and said it was an obstacle in pursuing his acting career.
He continued with weight training in Santa Monica at Gold's Gym and met Ric Drasin, he also became good friends with the professional wrestler Billy Graham. He won Mr. Olympia in 1970 in New York for the first time, and since then won it a total of seven.
Who knew a poor bodybuilder with an almost unpronounceable surname from a small European village would become one of Hollywood's biggest stars, achieve high social status and marry a woman from the famous Kennedy family. He became Governor of California and amassed a huge fortune.
Trivia
He is cousin-in-law of Christopher Lawford.
A soccer stadium in his hometown (Graz, Austria) was named after him.
Arnold starred in movie The Rundown as a passerby in the bar at the beginning.
Franco Columbu was best man at Arnold's wedding.
He is the son of a police officer, his dad was also a Nazi.
He was named "Mr. Universe" in 1968.
He is a noted fan of cigar smoking.
Personal Quotes
Most famous Arnold quote: "I'll be back."
"Everything I have, my career, my success, my family, I owe to America."
"Failure is not an option. Everyone has to succeed."
"Marijuana is not a drug. It's a leaf."
"Government's first duty and highest obligation is public safety."
"Gray Davis can run a dirty campaign better than anyone, but he can't run a state."
"I can promise you that when I go to Sacramento, I will pump up Sacramento."
"Start wide, expand further, and never look back."
"I know a lot of athletes and models are written off as just bodies. I never felt used for my body."
"I have a love interest in every one of my films - a gun."
"I have inhaled, exhaled everything."
"If it's hard to remember, it'll be difficult to forget."
"It's simple, if it jiggles, it's fat."
"My body is like breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I don't think about it, I just have it."
Videos
