By now, Arnold was already a successful businessman, combining real estate investments, a best selling biography, and bodybuilding training courses. This meant that he could afford to wait for just the right film project. He filled his time with public appearances and social functions. One such function was the Robert F. Kennedy Tennis Tournament in Hyannisport. There he caught the eye of a beautiful dark haired girl by the name of Maria Shriver. She was the daughter of Sargent and Eunice Kennedy Shriver and the niece of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Arnold and Maria fell in love at first sight. The Shrivers were great philanthropists and through them Arnold was introduced to the Special Olympics, which he has been passionately involved with ever since. In 1979, Arnold began a career as a CBS sports commentator. He also graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a business degree. A year later, he stunned the bodybuilding world with his comeback at the Mr. Olympia competition in Australia. There he captured his 7th title, cementing his legendary status as the greatest bodybuilder of all time. Arnold's comeback, however, wasn't without controversy. He went to Australia in the role of a TV reporter, only signing his name on the competitor register at the last minute. He was also good friends with head judge, bodybuilding legend Bill Pearl. The general consensus was that the Arnold on stage was a mere shadow of his former self. His victory was, for the first time, greeted by boo's. Still, his 7th Mr. Olympia title was on the books.

Breakthrough

The great shape that Arnold had got into for the 1980 Mr. Olympia propelled him into his breakthrough role as Conan the Barbarian. After spending a year in training working on his speech and learning how to use iron broadswords, he headed of to Yugoslavia and Spain for a grueling 6-month shoot. Conan the Barbarian raked in more than $100 million at the box office. Together with its sequel, Conan the Destroyer, it firmly embedded the name Arnold Schwarzenegger into movie goes consciousnesses. Following his success with the Conan movies, Arnold was offered a low budget movie by first time director and screenwriter James Cameron. This would prove to be his most iconic role. In The Terminator, Arnold plays a cyborg sent back in time to kill the mother of the man who will save humankind from destruction. The role, it was made for Arnold. His accent and his body – the very things that the agents had said would work against him – were perfect to play the part of the T-1000. The Terminator was a worldwide smash, firmly establishing Arnold as the next great action star. By 1985, he had already been named International Star of the Year. On April 26th, 1986 Arnold, a staunch Republican, and Maria Shriver, a member of Democratic royalty, were married. The honeymoon was barely over before Arnold flew to Mexico to film his latest action blockbuster, Predator. This movie again won him the title of action star of the year.

After a string of action films – Commando, Raw Deal, Predator and The Running Man – the forward thinking Arnold was ready for a new challenge – and that, was comedy. Few were willing to take a gamble on Arnold the comic actor. But one who was was director Ivan Reitman, who created a special vehicle for Arnold. That vehicle was called Twins... The irresistible chemistry of Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito made Twins an immediate hit. Two years later, Arnold again teamed with Reitman for Kindergarten Cop, another comedy success. A large part of the success of these films is Arnold's ability to laugh at himself. Arnold always got the joke, which was very endearing to fans. Over and above that, Arnold was a gifted comedian, which anybody whose seen Pumping Iron will know. One person who noticed Arnold's abilities on Kindergarten Cop – especially his rapport with children – was President George Bush. Bush appointed Arnold as the Chairman of the Presidents' Council on Physical Fitness. This could have been a largely symbolic role, but Arnold threw himself into it with relish, visiting every state to promote the fitness lifestyle. The movie winning streak continued for Arnold – with Total Recall, and Terminator 2. This sequel cost $102 million, making it the most expensive film to that date. It returned $519.8 million, with Arnie pocketing a cool $15 million. Arnold's next big movie outing was Last Action Hero, a hundred-million dollar extravaganza which seemed like a sure thing. But the film was a box office bomb, and a critical flop. Hollywood was quick to tear Arnie down, claiming that his time in the limelight was over. But Schwarzenegger had other ideas. He bounced back from defeat with the same focused determination as in his bodybuilding days. He reteamed with James Cameron for the action-back James Bond spoof True Lies. The movie was a smash and Arnold was back on top.

In the mid-1990's Arnold began focusing on giving back to the country that had given him so much. He became an organizer and sponsor of the Annual Inner City Games. He was also very involved in the After School Care program. In 2003, during an appearance on the Jay Leno show, Arnold announced his candidacy for Governor of California. This was following the recall of Governor Gray Davis, sparked by the California electricity crisis. Arnold ran an energetic campaign, despite a smear campaign organized by the LA Times. A number of women claimed that, over the years, Arnold had molested them, while others claimed to have had affairs with him. Still, Arnold was able to rise above this with his unique mix of charm, intelligence and wit. On one occasion, someone in a crowd threw an egg which splattered on Arnie's jacket. He immediately whipped the jacket off, threw it over his shoulder and called out to the thrower, 'Hey, I ordered bacon with those eggs!' He easily won the Governorship and immediately set about cleaning house at Sacramento. Bringing his own unique style to the position he would constantly refer to his Democratic opposition as 'girlie men.' Arnold's first term was marked by such early victories as repealing a vehicle license increase and stopping illegals from getting driver's licenses. But then powerful state unions began to oppose his initiatives and four ballot measures he sponsored in a special election in 2005 were defeated. Despite this, Arnold was re-elected Governor in 2006 with 56% of the vote. On his second term he put a lot of effort in environmental issues. In 2006 he signed the Global Warming Solutions Act, making California the first state to put a cap on greenhouse gas emissions. Arnold's second term as Governor came to an end in January, 2011. A few months later the LA Times ran a cover story reporting that Arnold had fathered a child fourteen years previously with the family's long time maid. As a direct result of this revelation Arnold and Maria ended their 25-year marriage. She and their four children moved out of the family home in Brentwood.

Post-Governorship

Arnold's post Governorship movie career has seen him feature in such action flicks as The Expendables 2 and 3, Escape Plan, Sabotage and the fifth instalment of Terminator in which he battles his younger self. Arnold has continued to maintain strong ties to the bodybuilding world. Following his retirement from the sport in 1975, he promoted the Mr. Olympia competition. Then, in 1989, he and long time partner Jim Lorimer started the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic, which is now the second biggest Pro Bodybuilding Show, behind the Mr. Olympia. Arnold credits all of his success to the self discipline, drive and focus that he learnt from his bodybuilding career. In recent times, Arnold has been involved in a Social Media feud with President Donald Trump, in the wake of Arnie's replacing Trump on Celebrity Apprentice. Trump blamed Arnold for the show's dismal ratings, with Arnold offering the Commander-in-Chief some timely advice on how to run the country. Arnold, a staunch Republican, refused to vote for Trump in the 2016 presidential election, the first time he had not supported the Republican candidate since becoming a US citizen. Although it's one battle that we'd all love to see, Arnold cannot challenge The Donald for the top job as he wasn't born in the United States, even though he did become a citizen in 1983. Arnold still lives the fitness lifestyle. Having just celebrated his 70th birthday, he works out every day.

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