Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t get to where he is today without a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.
All of his impressive titles — movie star, bodybuilder, and politician — required a lot of hard work and determination.
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Interested to learn more about this fascinating man and his interesting life? Here are 10+ interesting things fans didn’t know about him.
1. He’s a self-made man:
Everything Arnold has today, he worked hard for. When he moved from Austria to America, he was after the American Dream and made it happen.
He’s now worth around $400 million (!!).
2. He’s a proud father to his five kids:
Their names are Katherine, Patrick, Christopher, Christina, and Joseph.
He once told Men’s Health that fatherhood is his greatest joy.
“Watching all five of my kids grow into their own successful lives is fantastic,” he said.
3. Chris Pratt is his son-in-law:
The actor married Arnold’s daughter, Katherine, in 2019 after two years of dating.
When Arnold was on Jimmy Kimmel Live , he even revealed what Pratt did to win him over.
Surprise, surprise: it had to do with the gym!
“When I watched him make his moves in the gym, the incline press specifically did it. [That’s] why I wanted him to become my son-in-law. It was the incline press.”
4. He’s been training in the gym with his kids since they were young:
In fact, it’s one of his favorite pastimes with them! This definitely makes sense since he’s such a family man.
“Spending time with them, working out together, answering their questions makes me so happy,” he once shared.
5. He has a pet donkey and pony:
Their names are Lulu and Whiskey and Arnold loves showing them off on his social media!
He even used them as an adorable PSA for people to stay at home when the coronavirus pandemic first began.
6. He had a tough childhood:
When the actor was on 60 Minutes , he revealed that his father used to hurt him since he thought he was gay.
“He ran after me with a belt and beat me.” Even his mother seemed to be worried about his sexuality.
“I don’t know if mum thought I was gay, or if she just thought there was something off. And ‘let’s catch it early,'” the *Terminator* star.
“She asked the doctor, ‘Can you help me? I don’t know if there’s something wrong with my son because his wall is full of naked men. All of Arnold’s friends have pictures of girls above their bed. And Arnold has no girls.'”
7. His dad used to restrict him from power-lifting:
Since his father didn’t approve of Arnold taking up bodybuilding and powerlifting at 15, he restricted him from going to the gym only three days per week.
Arnold didn’t let this stop him, though; he simply began training at home.
8. He’s the youngest Mr. Universe:
Back when he was a competitive bodybuilder, Arnold made history by earning the acclaimed title at just 20.
He even won it four more times before he retired from the industry at 33.
9. He fathered a love child with the family’s former housekeeper, Mildred Baenahis:
This news was a huge shock to the family and even led to the divorce between Arnold and Maria Shriver, his wife of 25 years.
Arnold later revealed that he first learned about his son’s identity when he was just seven.
Naturally, and understandably, It took a while for the family to adjust.
“He’s terrific and he totally understands the situation. So, it all has worked out… It’s a very tough situation for him,” Arnold told Howard Stern about his son.
“It’s a very tough situation for my kids, very tough situation for my family. It was tough for everybody. But it has happened and now we have to figure it out, right?”
Arnold has worked on his relationship with his son since then.
Joseph is even following in his father’s bodybuilding footsteps!
10. He was the Governor of California:
After Governor Gray Davis was recalled in a special election in 2003, Arnold saw his shot and ran with it.
He became the 38th Governor of California, a role he held from 2003 to 2011.
11. He’s won a Golden Globe:
This was for his role in Stay Hungry in 1976.
While his movies have always been popular, he hasn’t earned much more critical acclaim than that. This can’t take away from the fact that fans love him, though!
12. He’s had several affairs:
Big yikes. The actor was open about this dark period in his autobiography, Total Recall .
“I had others,” he confessed . “I did feel bad about it. They were mistakes. This is my failure. My screw-ups.”
“It’s something that’s between Maria and me. She knew. I’m not perfect.”
In addition to his high-profile affair with the family’s former housekeeper, Arnold was also involved with Hollywood star Brigitte Nielsen.
At least he’s honest about it, I guess!
13. He served in the Austrian army:
It is customary for all Austrian men to devote a year to the military once they turn 18.
One time, though, he went AWOL so he could compete in a bodybuilding competition.
This backfired majorly, as he was thrown into military jail for a week.
Oh, well. He had to chase his dreams!
At least his military training helped him work on his tough-guy persona. This came in handy in the movie, Commando .
