Maria Shriver

November 6, 2024

Fast Facts
Background
Career Timeline
Why We Love
Surprising Facts
FAQs

Maria Owings Shriver, born on November 6, 1955, is an American journalist and author. She is the former First Lady of California as she was married to former California Governor and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The couple got divorced in 2021. She is a recipient of a Peabody Award and has co-anchored N.B.C. ‘s coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics. Shriver is an inspiring woman and we’ll help you celebrate her birthday with rich insights into her and her life’s journey right here!

Fast Facts

Full Name:

Maria Owings Shriver

Birth date:

November 6, 1955

Age:

Zodiac Sign:

Scorpio

Height:

5' 5.35"

Relationship Status:

Divorced

Net Worth:

$200 million

Background

Maria Shriver was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 6, 1955, and is the second child of politician Sargent Shriver and activist Eunice Kennedy. Her ancestry is Irish and German. The journalist spent her high school years living in Paris, except for a period when her family moved to Chicago, Illinois, in the summer of 1968, following Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s work with the Special Olympics. She eventually returned permanently from France to Bethesda, Maryland, in 1970 and attended Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, graduating in 1973. Years later, she went to Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York for two years, then ended up asking to transfer to a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., from which she graduated in June 1977.

In 1977, Tom Brokaw introduced her to bodybuilder and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger at a charity tennis tournament held at his mother’s house. Shriver married Schwarzenegger in April 1986, in Massachusetts, at St. Francis Xavier’s Roman Catholic Church. They share two sons and two daughters. In mid-2011, Shriver and Schwarzenegger announced their divorce after 25 years of marriage. After the divorce, Shriver moved out of the couple’s Brentwood mansion.

In 2011, Schwarzenegger also publicly admitted to fathering a child from an out-of-wedlock relationship. The actor confessed to Shriver only after she confronted him. The divorce was finalized in December 2021. In 2018, in an interview with the Commonwealth Club of California, Shriver said that he had changed his registration from Democrat to Independent and stated that there are good and bad people in both parties.

Career timeline

1985

The Beginning of a Promising Career

Shriver starts hosting "The C.B.S. Morning News" with Forrest Sawyer.

1990

Her Stint at N.B.C

Shriver hosts "N.B.C. Nightly News."

2003

A Career Break

Shriver leaves N.B.C. News when her husband becomes a candidate for the governorship of California.

2018

Working with Family

She and her daughter, Christina Schwarzenegger, produce the documentary "Take Your Pills."

Why We Love Maria Shriver

She advocates for intellectual disabilities
Shriver is a member of the International Special Olympics Council. She is also an executive advisor for Best Buddies, an individual friendship and employment program for people with intellectual disabilities.
She works toward Alzheimer’s awareness
Shriver's father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She has since then struggled to make people learn more about the disease and founded the Women's Alzheimer's Movement (WAM).
She loves many charitable causes
Shriver helps many causes and foundations for the betterment of society. The charities that she works for include the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, Best Buddies International, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Habitat For Humanity.

5 Surprising Facts

Her career choice was radical
Shriver became the first person in her family to pursue a career in journalism.
She’s an author
Shriver has written seven books.
A flower is named after her
In 2004, a hybrid rose was named after Shriver.
She was honored as a mother
A nursery is named after her at Saint John's Health Center, where she delivered all four of her children.
She has won an Emmy twice
Shriver won an Emmy for the Outstanding Children's Nonfiction Program — 2009 and Exceptional Merit In Nonfiction Filmmaking — 2009 categories for her work in “Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am?” and “The Memory Loss Tapes,” respectively.