Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor, model, businessman and politician, who served as the 38th Governor of California.

Schwarzenegger began weight-training at 15. He was awarded the title of Mr. Universe at age 20 and went on to win the Mr. Olympia contest a total of seven times. Schwarzenegger has remained a prominent face in the sport of bodybuilding long after his retirement, and has written several books and numerous articles on the sport.

Schwarzenegger gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film icon, noted for his lead role in such films as Conan the Barbarian and The Terminator. He was nicknamed the "Austrian Oak" and the "Styrian Oak" in his bodybuilding days, "Arnie" during his acting career, and more recently the "Governator".

As a Republican, he was first elected on October 7, 2003, in a special recall election to replace then-Governor Gray Davis. Schwarzenegger was sworn in on November 17, 2003, to serve the remainder of Davis's term. Schwarzenegger was then re-elected on November 7, 2006, in California's 2006 gubernatorial election, to serve a full term as governor, defeating Democrat Phil Angelides, who was California State Treasurer at the time. Schwarzenegger was sworn in for his second term on January 5, 2007

Schwarzenegger at the 1977 Cannes film festival, where he presented a documentary about his bodybuilding career called Pumping Iron.

Schwarzenegger's film career took off after he landed the leading role in this 1984 film (the source of his Governator nickname).

Schwarzenegger married Maria Shriver, the daughter of Eunice Kennedy and niece of President John F. Kennedy, in 1986. He claims that interacting with her family inspired him to get involved in politics. The two have four children together.

In the 1990s, in one of his first forays into politics, Schwarzenegger chaired President George H.W. Bush’s President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports

Schwarzenegger inspected an ethanol-powered vehicle in 2007, in the midst of his legal battle with the federal government over reducing tailpipe emissions. In