Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Muscled Talent

Born July 30, 1947 in a small isolated village of, Thal, Styria, Austria, Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger has had a driving desire to command his future and became a star. His late father, Gustav Schwarzenegger, was a police chief and his mother, Aurelia, died in 1998 while visiting his grave.

As a three-time Mr. Universe, seven-time Mr. Olympia, Arnold took control of his destiny early winning his first Mr. Universe title at age 20.

Now commanding salaries of $30 million for his latest film Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines (2003) he has come a long way. His first love has been bodybuilding, which became both an escape and a self-esteem booster from a difficult childhood. Even the Guinness Book of World Records claimed him as "the most perfectly developed man in the history of the world."

Good looks and a body that would impress anyone didn’t find Hollywood so easy to tackle. His thick accent and long name were set backs at the start. His first appearance in a movie called, Hercules in New York (1970) in which his voice was dubbed due to the strong accent and his name appeared as Arnold Strong (pun on names maybe?).

His luck really changed with the movie Staying Hungry (1976) staring with Sally Fields and Jeff Bridges, where he refuses to sell his building (gym) to ruthless city developers. By 1979 he stars with two big names, Ann Margaret and Kirk Douglas in the movie The Villain.

Arnold’s real break came with the made role of Conan the Barbarian (1982), which only he could play. His physique and his accent made the picture from which he made $250 thousand payroll. Not bad.

This became the launch pad for his career as the hit movie Conan the Destroyer (1984) quickly followed. Major roles seemed to follow one after another, Red Sonja (1985) was another barbaric fantasy staring Brigitte Nielsen.

The movie that thrilled millions has been The Terminator (1985) where he played an indestructible machine. This movie has spawned Terminator II –Judgment Day (1991) and now the latest Terminator III – Rise of the Machines (2003) soon to be released.

Arnold married into America’s royal family when he married his only wife to date, Maria Owings Shriver (1986) niece of President John F. Kennedy. She is a well-known news anchor journalist. They currently have four children: Katherine Eunice (b. 1989), Christina Aurelia (b. 1991), Patrick (b. 1993) and Christopher (b. 1997).

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