Arnold Schwarzenegger Biography

Arnold Schwarzenegger was born on July 30, 1947, in the small Austrian town of Graz, Schwarzenegger went on to win several European contests and international titles (including Mr. Olympia) and then came to the U.S. for body-building exhibitions, billing himself immodestly but fairly accurately as 'The Austrian Oak'.The turn of the century found Schwarzenegger's star losing some of its luster with a pair of millennial paranoia films, 1999's End of Days and 2000's The 6th Day. The former film -- in which a security consultant has to save the world from Satan -- was critically lambasted and, despite a powerful opening weekend, failed to recoup its cost in the States. The latter film -- a cloning parable which bore more than a passing resemblance to Total Recall -- received more positive notices, but took in less than half the receipts Days did just one year prior. Perhaps as a response to these failures, Schwarzenegger prepped three films reminiscent of former successes, all scheduled for release in 2001 and 2002: the terrorist action thriller Collateral Damage, True Lies 2, and the long-anticipated Terminator 3. Though Collateral Damage received a chilly reception at the box office and the development of True Lies 2 fell into question, longtime fans of the cigar chomping strongman rejoiced when Arnold resumed his role as a seriously tough cyborg in Terminator 3. Though slated to make a cameo in director Frank Coraci's adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days, Arnold's most notable new role is political -- Schwarzenegger replaced Gray Davis as governor of California in the widely lauded, highly controversial recall election of 2003.