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Arnold Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an American actor and political figure, born in Graz, Austria. He is married to noted TV journalist Maria Shriver, niece of late President Kennedy. The couple has 4 children.

Bodybuilding career

Schwarzenegger first gained fame as a prominent bodybuilder. His well-developed physique revolutionized the sport, and won him the titles of Junior Mr. Europe, Mr. World, Mr. Universe (five times) and Mr. Olympia (seven times). He is considered one of the most important figures in the history of bodybuilding, and his legacy in the sport is commemorated in the Arnold Classic annual bodybuilding competition.

Acting career

Arnold's uniquely muscular apperance earned him several movie roles. His first film appearance was in Hercules in New York (1970), in which he played the title character, who goes to New York and befriends a mild-mannered man. His accent in the film was so thick that his voice was dubbed instead. Schwarzenegger came to the attention of more people in the documentary Pumping Iron (1977). His breakthrough film was Conan the Barbarian (1982), cemented by Conan the Destroyer (1984). He is perhaps most known for his role in The Terminator (1984) where his deadpan acting style actually helped the film. Schwarzenegger's acting ability (described by one critic as having an emotional range that "stretches from A almost to B") has long been the butt of many jokes; he retains a strong German accent in his speech even in roles which do not call for such an accent. However, few of the fans of his work seem to care. He also made a mark with injecting his films with a droll sense of humor, setting him apart from the more serious action heroes played by Sylvester Stallone.

Following his arrival as a Hollywood superstar, he made a number of commercially successful films: Commando (1985), Raw Deal (1986), The Running Man (1987), Predator (1987) and Red Heat (1988). Twins (1988) a comedy with Danny DeVito was a change of pace. Total Recall (1990) got Schwarzenegger $10m and 15% of the gross, and hid a widely praised, thought-provoking science-fiction script behind his usual violent action. Kindergarten Cop (1990) was another comedy. Terminator 2 (1991) was his high-water mark. After the box-office failure of The Last Action Hero, (1993) Schwarzenegger's career never again achieved quite the same prominence. True Lies (1994), was a sendup of spy films. It was followed by Eraser (1996) End of Days (1999), The 6th Day (2000) and Collateral Damage (2002). He stars in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) and is slated to star in 2004's True Lies 2.

In April 1997 he underwent an operation to correct a congenital heart valve defect.

Political career

Unusual for a Hollywood actor, he is a registered voter of the Republican party, although he describes himself as fiscally conservative and socially moderate. He scored his first political success on November 5, 2002 when Californians approved his personally crafted and sponsored Proposition 49, the After School Education and Safety Program Act of 2002. In addition, it was generally believed that Schwarzenegger has considered, and may still be considering, running for political office (a belief jokingly referenced in a Sylvester Stallone film, Demolition Man, where a future America passed a constitutional amendment to allow foreign-born Americans and thus Schwarzenegger to become President).

In 2003, Schwarzenegger was widely rumored to be considering a run at becoming Governor of California. In the July 2003 issue of Esquire magazine, he said, "Yes, I would love to be governor of California ... If the state needs me, and if there's no one I think is better, then I will run." When a recall campaign against Democratic governor Gray Davis qualified for the ballot on July 24, Schwarzenegger left many wondering whether he would jump into the contest. Schwarzenegger was just wrapping up a promotional tour for Terminator 3 and said he would announce his decision on whether to run on August 6 on the The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

In the days and even hours leading up to the show's taping, political experts and insiders concluded that Schwarzenegger was leaning against running. Even his closest advisors believed he was probably not going to run. Schwarzenegger stunned the pundits when he announced that he did intended to run in the October 7 recall election. He said, "The politicians are fiddling, fumbling and failing. The man that is failing the people more than anyone is Gray Davis. He is failing them terribly, and this is why he needs to be recalled and this is why I am going to run for governor." Rumors leading up to the announcement said that his wife, Maria Shriver, a Kennedy family Democrat, was against his running, and he wanted her approval in order to run. He said, "It's the most difficult I've made in my entire life." Ultimately, Shriver said she would support Schwarzenegger no matter what he chose, so he decided to run. Schwarzenegger has the most name recognition in a crowded field of candidates for Governor, but he has never held public office and his political views are unknown to most Californians.

Schwarzenegger's candidacy was immediate national and international news, with media outlets dubbing him the "Governator" and "The Running Man", and calling the recall election "Total Recall" and "Terminator 4: Rise of the Candidate." Schwarzenegger was quick to use his well-known one-liners, promising to "pump up Sacramento" (the state capital) and tell Gray Davis "hasta la vista". At the end of his first press conference, he said "I'll be back."