Schwarzenegger was born in
Thal, Austria, a town bordering the Styrian capital, Graz, and christened
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger. His parents were the local police chief Gustav Schwarzenegger (1907-1972), and his wife, the former Aurelia Jadrny (1922-1998), who had been married on October 20, 1945, when he was 38 and she was 23 and widowed.




Schwarzenegger first gained fame as a
bodybuilder. One of the first competitions he won was
Junior Mr. Europe. He would go on to compete in and win many bodybuilding (as well as some powerlifting) contests, including
4 NABBA Mr. Universe wins and
7 Mr. Olympia wins, a record which would remain until
Lee Haney won his eighth straight Mr. Olympia title in 1991.












In 1986, Schwarzenegger married TV journalist
Maria Shriver, niece of the late President of the United States John F. Kennedy. The couple have four children: daughters
Katherine (born December 13, 1989) and
Christina (b. July 23, 1991), and sons
Patrick (b.September 18, 1993) and
Christopher (b. September 27, 1997).





In 1967 Schwarzenegger won the
Munich stone lifting contest in which a stone weighing
508 German pounds, approximately
560 English pounds, is lifted between the legs while standing on two foot rests. Arnold broke the existing record, winning the contest. Schwarzenegger's goal was to become the
greatest bodybuilder in the world, which meant becoming Mr. Olympia. His first attempt was in 1969 where he lost to three-time champion
Sergio Oliva.
































