Arnold Alois SchwarzeneggerΒ (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profileΒ action films. HeΒ servedΒ as theΒ 38th governor of CaliforniaΒ from 2003 to 2011.
Schwarzenegger beganΒ lifting weightsΒ at age 15 and won theΒ Mr. UniverseΒ title at age 20 and, subsequently, theΒ Mr. OlympiaΒ title seven times. He is tied withΒ Phil HeathΒ for the joint-second number of all-time Mr. Olympia wins, behindΒ Ronnie ColemanΒ andΒ Lee Haney, who are joint-first with eight wins each. Nicknamed the "Austrian Oak" in his bodybuilding days, he is regarded as one of the greatestΒ bodybuildersΒ ever. He has written books and articles about bodybuilding, including the autobiographicalΒ Arnold: The Education of a BodybuilderΒ (1977) andΒ The New Encyclopedia of Modern BodybuildingΒ (1998).Β TheΒ Arnold Sports Festival, the second-most prestigious bodybuilding event after Mr. Olympia, is named after him.Β He appeared in the bodybuilding documentaryΒ Pumping IronΒ (1977), which set him on his way to a film career.
After retiring from bodybuilding, Schwarzenegger gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action star with his breakthrough in theΒ sword and sorceryΒ epicΒ Conan the BarbarianΒ (1982),Β a box-office success withΒ a sequelΒ in 1984.Β After playing theΒ title characterΒ in the science fiction filmΒ The TerminatorΒ (1984), he starred inΒ Terminator 2: Judgment DayΒ (1991) and three other sequels. His other successful action films includedΒ CommandoΒ (1985),Β The Running ManΒ (1987),Β PredatorΒ (1987),Β Total Recall(1990), andΒ True LiesΒ (1994), in addition to comedy films such asΒ TwinsΒ (1988),Β Kindergarten CopΒ (1990) andΒ Jingle All the WayΒ (1996).Β At the height of his career, Schwarzenegger was known for hisΒ rivalry with Sylvester Stallone.Β He is the founder of the film production company Oak Productions.
As a registered member of theΒ Republican Party, Schwarzenegger chaired theΒ President's Council on Physical Fitness and SportsΒ during most of theΒ George H. W. Bush administration. In 2003, he was electedΒ governor of CaliforniaΒ inΒ a special recall electionΒ to replaceΒ Gray Davis, the governor at the time. He received 48.6 per cent of the vote, 17 points ahead of the runner-up,Β Cruz BustamanteΒ of theΒ Democratic Party. He was sworn in on November 17 to serve the remainder of Davis' term. He was reelected in theΒ 2006 gubernatorial electionΒ with an increased vote share of 55.9 per cent to serve a full term.Β In 2011, he reached hisΒ term limitΒ as governor and returned to acting.
