Austrian-American actor, former bodybuilder, film producer, businessman, and former politician
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-American actor, former bodybuilder, film producer, businessman, and former politician who served as the 38th governor of California from 2003 to 2011. As of January 2022, he is the most recent Republican governor of California.
Schwarzenegger began lifting weights at the age of 15 and went on to win the Mr. Universe title at age 20, subsequently winning the Mr. Olympia contest seven times; he remains a prominent figure in bodybuilding, and has written many books and articles on it. The Arnold Sports Festival, considered the second-most important bodybuilding event after Mr. Olympia, is named after him. He appeared in the bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron (1977). After retiring from bodybuilding, Schwarzenegger gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film star, with his breakthrough the sword-and-sorcery epic Conan the Barbarian (1982), a box-office hit that resulted in a sequel in 1984. He then appeared as the title character in the successful sci-fi film The Terminator (1984), reprising similar characters in the sequels Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), Terminator Genisys (2015), and Terminator: Dark Fate (2019). He starred in other successful action films such as Commando (1985), The Running Man (1987), Predator (1987), Total Recall (1990), and True Lies (1994), in addition to comedy films such as Twins (1988), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), and Jingle All the Way (1996), and the buddy cop action film Red Heat (1988). He is the founder of the film production company Oak Productions.
As a Republican candidate, Schwarzenegger was first elected on October 7, 2003, in a special recall election to replace then-Governor Gray Davis. He received 48.6% of the vote, 17 points ahead of Democrat runner-up Cruz Bustamante. He was sworn in on November 17 to serve the remainder of Davis' term, and was re-elected in the 2006 California gubernatorial election with an increased vote share of 55.9% to serve a full term as governor. In 2011, he reached his term limit as Governor and returned to acting.
Schwarzenegger was nicknamed the "Austrian Oak" in his bodybuilding days, "Arnie" or "Schwarzy" during his acting career, and "The Governator" (a portmanteau of "Governor" and "Terminator") during his political career. He married Maria Shriver, a niece of President John F. Kennedy, in 1986. They separated in 2011 after he admitted to having fathered a child with their housemaid in 1997, and their divorce was finalized in 2021.
The mind is incredible. Once you've gained mastery over it, channelling its powers positively, for your purpose you can do anything.
I found a new me. When I first came over to America, it was like, 'How can I be rich? How can I build my movie career? How can I become the most muscular man?' It was all about me, and then there was this turn, and I found it was really great to do this.
I think that the important thing to know is, which is great about this country [the USA], when it comes to domestic issues, we all battle it out and fight it between the parties and all those kind of things to get things done, but when it comes to foreign issues, overseas kind of things, then we all speak with one voice.
I have to say that the judges and our judiciary system makes better decisions than the politicians.
I think that if you grow up trying to be the best then you have to be competitive because the more you compete, the more someone is there that is a challenge and the more your performance improves.
People are always making a fuss over my $15-20-million salaries. Believe me, the amount is meaningless once my wife, Maria, finds out about it. She's already spent half of my salary from Terminator 7!
When you see a blonde with great tits and a great ass, you say to yourself, 'Hey, she must be stupid or must have nothing else to offer', which maybe is the case many times. But then again there is the one that is as smart as her breasts look, great as her face looks... so people are shocked.
Combating climate change requires collaboration with many levels of government.
I will not change. Because if you are successful and you change, you are an idiot.
The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow.
It doesn't matter if you are a Democrat or Republican, if you're young or old, what the racial thing is, nothing matters to me.
I know now why you cry, but it's something I can never do.
To those critics who are so pessimistic about our economy, I say: Don't be economic girlie men!
Government's first duty and highest obligation is public safety.
Look, I'm an immigrant, so I know what it is like to dream about coming to America and then to get here and be able to make your dreams a reality, ... Of course, there are millions of people who want to come here. Let's help them, let's find a legal way t
Anything I’ve ever attempted, I was always willing to fail.
I cannot - nor will not - be ordinary. I have to keep training and seeking and growing. I have to stay hungry. It is my will and so has become my nature.
Mentally it is possible to break records, once you understand that, you can do anything.
Almost anything difficult, any challenge takes time, patience, and hard work.
Having chicks around is the kind of thing that breaks up the intense training. It gives you relief, and then afterward you go back to the serious stuff.
I've seen firsthand coming here with empty pockets but full of dreams, full of desire, full of will to succeed, but with the opportunities that I had, I could make it. This is why we have to get back and bring California back to where it once was.
On the way up here to the podium, a gentleman came up to me and said, "Governor, you are as good a politician as you were an actor." What a cheap shot.
For 20 years, Simon & Schuster asked me, 'Why don't you write your autobiography?'
I will not fail, I will not disappoint you, I will not let you down.
I think that we have to do everything we can to work together, Democrats and Republicans, and then if we go the initiative route like we have done in the past, go together.
You keep pushing because you believe in yourself and in your vision and you know that it is the right thing to do, and success will come. So don't be afraid to fail!
The words "I Can't" should be permanently stricken from your vocabulary, especially the vocabulary of your thoughts. You must see yourself always growing and improving.
Within twenty years, he was the world's biggest movie star, the husband of Maria Shriver, and an emerging Republican leader who was part of the Kennedy family.
Together, we must renew our continued commitment to serve and pledge to bring a positive change to our communities.
If they don't have the guts to come up here in front of you and say, 'I don't want to represent you, I want to represent those special interests, the unions, the trial lawyers ... if they don't have the guts, I call them girlie men.
If I would do another 'Terminator' movie I would have Terminator travel back in time and tell Arnold not to have a special election.
I like the color red because it's a fire. And I see myself as always being on fire.
If I can sell tickets to my movies like Red Sonja or Last Action Hero, you know I can sell just about anything.
We have to show leadership in protecting our environment so that we have a future for our children and grandchildren.
During the time I was in office we have seen the beginning of the elimination of the fire season completely and are having fires all year round. I think we have seen the major problem of the destruction of land and property and lives that is a major problem because we don't have the resources for that many fires and we don't have the resources and the manpower to fight those fires throughout the year.
Within ten years, he had earned his college degree and was a millionaire from his business enterprises in real estate, landscaping, and bodybuilding. He was also the winner of a Golden Globe Award for his debut as a dramatic actor in Stay Hungry.
Always listen to your inner voice, your instincts
Someday the world is going to know who I am-just be hearing my first name.
We have to make sure everyone in California has a great job. A fantastic job!
Thirty-six years after coming to America, the man once known by fellow bodybuilders as the Austrian Oak was elected governor of California, the seventh largest economy in the world.
Between your faith and my Glock nine millimeter, I'll take the Glock.
With Maria Shriver, he raised four fantastic children. In the wake of a scandal he brought upon himself, he tried to keep his family together.
Until now, he has never told the full story of his life, in his own voice.
The c**k isn't a muscle so it doesn't grow in relation to the shoulders, say, or the pectorals. You can't make it bigger through exercise, that's for sure.
I went from being the Terminator to being the governator.
We've got to let the people know that there is a necessity, it's not even an option, it's a necessity to have a chiropractor. As much as it is a necessity to have a dentist, if you have a dentist for the family, you should have your chiropractor for the family.
I found the best way is to use Chiropractors, not only after injury, but also before injury.
I set out to be the best and I am.
I think that if it is - has to do with global warming, or if it has to do with raising the minimum wage, or if it has to do with lowering prescription drugs for vulnerable citizens - all of those things are people issues, not Democratic issues or Republican issues.
I can look at a chick who's a little out of shape and if she turns me on, I won't hesitate to date her. If she's a good f**k she can weigh 150 pounds, I don't care.
My relationship to power and authority is that I'm all for it.
I ask citizens and governments everywhere to do their part by conserving energy and reducing the use of fossil fuels for the good of the world community. This is our duty to those who share this world with us and to those who follow us: Wherever we see a threat to our environment we must take action
I never listen that you can't.
All of our deeply held dreams and aspirations require us to build on our common bonds.
We simply must do everything we can in our power to slow down global warming before it is too late. We can save our planet and also boost our economy at the same time.
After watching mulattas shake it, I can totally understand why Brazil is devoted to my favorite body part, the ass.
We made, actually, history, because it was the first time ever that doctors could prove that a lifelong Republican has a heart.
Milk are for babies, when you get older you drink beer.
I have rarely seen the government do anything that was effective.
I did smoke a joint and I did inhale. The bottom line is that's what it was in the '70s, that's what I did.
We had the Berlin Wall; we had walls everywhere. But we always looked at the wall as kind of like the outside of the wall is the enemy. Are we looking at Mexico as the enemy? No, it's not. These are our trading partners.
I know a lot of athletes and models are written off as just bodies. I never felt used for my body.
I made my fair share of mistakes.
Whatever I thought might hold me back, I avoided. I crossed girls off my list, except as tools for my sexual needs.
To restore the trust of the people, we must reform the way the government operates.
I have a private plane. But I fly commercial when I go to environmental conferences.
If you work hard and play by the rules, this country is truly open to you. You can achieve anything.
I really like Thanksgiving turkey... it does not take only time in Houston that you look at natural breasts.
The future is green energy, sustainability, renewable energy.
I propose that a teacher's pay be tied to merit, not tenure. And I propose that a teacher's employment be tied to performance, not just showing up.
And you know something, because everything that I've gotten - my career, my money, my family; everything that I've gotten and achieved is because of California.
We want to make sure children aren't left without any books. We want to make sure our children have the books, that they have a place in the castle. We want to make sure that their mothers have affordable day care. We want to make sure we give the older people the care that they need.
My relationship to power and authority is that I'm all for it. People need somebody to watch over them. Ninety-five percent of the people in the world need to be told what to do and how to behave.
The forest fires are the worst disaster in California since I was elected.
Don't be economic Girlie-Men