Making best friends in the bathroom, ditching her political party for the Terminator - Maria
Shriver has spent her life in the spotlight, but you still don't know the full story about her.
Maria Shriver grew up not only feeling the need to prove herself to the public, but she
also felt extraordinary pressure to prove herself to her family.
Her father, Robert Sargent Shriver, was the first director of the Peace Corps and ran
for vice president in the 70s, while her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founded the Special
Olympics.
Shriver told O, The Oprah Magazine that her parents were constantly urging her to have
an impact on the world.
When she told them about a friend whose very peaceful and serene home made him feel, quote,
"like I'm on a honeymoon with myself," her parents replied -
"What is the point of that?
What are you doing to make the world a better place by going on a honeymoon with yourself?"
In an interview with Winfrey for her show "Super Soul," Shriver spoke about what it
was like growing up with her mother.
"She thought everybody could change the world and had no interest in anybody unless you
were changing the world."
It's no wonder, then, that Shriver has always felt a certain anxiety to succeed, confessing
that she could never feel satisfied with her latest achievement, continuing to say -
"When you come from a family that has achieved so much, you're left with the challenge of
either making peace with that or finding some way to do what you want to do.
It's impossible to compete with that level of accomplishment."
Coming from a politi,.mcal family, Maria Shriver was well aware of the frustrations of that
lifestyle and worked hard to build a career as a journalist.
She never expected that when she got involved with a young bodybuilder named Arnold Schwarzenegger,
he would end up becoming a politician himself.
As she explained to O, The Oprah Magazine, when her husband announced he was running
for governor of California in 2003, she was working for NBC.
The network forced her off-air during the campaign, worried that there could be potential
for a conflict of interest based on the couple's positions.
Shriver expected that she would go back to reporting once the campaign had wrapped up,
but after Schwarzenegger's win, NBC let her go, and she found herself navigating life
as the Democratic wife of a Republican governor.
She later admitted -
"I was elated about Arnold's win, but I didn't want to be involved; I just wanted to go back
to my job."
Schwarzenegger later revealed in his memoir, "Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story"
that his wife had asked him not to run for office, only relenting when her mother told
her -
"We women in our family always support the men when they want to do something."
Schwarzenegger wrote that his mother-in-law warned Shriver that if she didn't back him
in his bid for governor, he would be resentful and angry at her for the rest of their lives
together, prompting her change of heart.
Maria Shriver's friendship with Oprah Winfrey might not be too surprising, considering they
are contemporaries who have both been working in media for most of their lives, but their
enduring friendship is one of the constants in Shriver's life.
Shriver even went so far as to call Winfrey her best friend in an interview with Vanity
Fair.
On Hoda Kotb's podcast, "Making Space," Winfrey and Shriver revealed that they met at work,
bumping into each other in the bathroom.
"She was one of my true, grounded friendships that carried me through my entire career."
They've been close friends ever since, with Shriver being one of the few people Winfrey
has allowed in her inner circle.
Shriver and Winfrey have supported each other through a lot in their decades-long friendship.
Shriver said of her friend -
"There's so few people you can really talk to honestly, and that you feel safe [with]
[...] In my darkest moments, she was right there, sitting right next to me, holding space."
Maria Shriver has worked to raise awareness about Alzheimer's disease for many years.
She is the founder of the Women's Alzheimer's Movement, which, per its website, was created
to help raise awareness that Alzheimer's disease is an illness that greatly impacts women.
The website went on to claim that two out of every three brains that end up developing
Alzheimer's belong to women and that women of color are at an even higher risk.
She's also written books on the topic, including "Alzheimer's In America" and "What's Happening
to Grandpa?"
Shriver became involved with Alzheimer's awareness after her father was diagnosed with the disease
in 2003.
As she explained to Feminist.com, her father's diagnosis made her realize how little she
knew about the illness, inspiring her to educate others and also work toward combating the
disease and gathering resources for those impacted by it, saying -
"I am not trying to be competitive with other diseases — this disease needs more money,
more conversation, more adjustments by all of these institutions, than perhaps any other
in American life."
The Kennedy family is known for their Catholic faith; the official website of the White House
notes that John F. Kennedy was the first Roman Catholic to be elected to the U.S. presidency.
It's a religious tradition that Maria Shriver has upheld, although she is critical of some
of the church's stances, such as its views on divorce and homosexuality, admitting to
The Washington Post -
"Even though I consider myself a Catholic in good standing, I disagree with a lot of
the teachings of the Church."
Shriver affirmed her support for the LGBTQIA+ community, adding that she is also pro-choice
and believes that women should be allowed to become priests, summing up her faith by
saying -
"I think I'm probably a cafeteria Catholic."
In spite of her disagreement with many Catholic teachings, Shriver takes comfort in her faith.
In a discussion for Inside Wink, Shriver said that faith is a cornerstone of her life and
continues to shape her choices, explaining -
"My life is very grounded in my relationship with God, in my prayer life, in my belief
that I'm here for a purpose and that I want to make my life matter.
I reassure myself of that on an ongoing basis — a daily basis, actually."
The Kennedy family is known for being Democratic, and Maria Shriver was raised deeply entrenched
in the party.
When her then-husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger, ran for governor of California as a Republican,
she remained loyal to her family's political beliefs, remaining a staunch Democrat even
as her Kennedy relatives in office at the time refused to endorse him.
That's why it was such a shock when she announced in 2021 that she had shifted her political
allegiance.
"I felt that by becoming an independent, it was just easier to have conversations with
people in both ends of the spectrum."
The move was a bold one, but Shriver had hinted at her moderate leanings before.
In a 2005 profile on her and Schwarzenegger for Vanity Fair, she said -
"People say to me, 'I can't vote for a Republican,' but I say, 'Why not?'
People get so caught up with labels."
Shriver's tolerance for the GOP doesn't go as far as supporting Donald Trump, though,
as she's tweeted her condemnation for him on more than one occasion.
It took Maria Shriver a long time to stop comparing herself to her famous relatives,
but she finally accepted that it is enough simply to be, and that she is worthy, telling
O, The Oprah Magazine -
"I'm very proud of my family and what it stands for.
But I'm also trying to create a legacy as a mother, a wife, and a woman, and as Maria,
separate from all those things."
Shriver added that she is happy with herself even if she never accomplishes anything else
in life.
It's an attitude she now helps others to embrace, wanting them to join her on the path to self-love,
writing in her newsletter, Maria Shriver's Sunday Paper -
"No doubt you have many in your life who tell you what you could or should be doing more
of.
But I've come to discover that there isn't anything you should be doing for someone else.
You are lovable as you are."
Maria Shriver has gone from one career high to the next.
While it may look like she's too goal-oriented to find time to unwind, she does make a point
of prioritizing her mental health, telling Parade -
"Having practices that support your mental, emotional, and physical well-being is critical."
In her downtime, Shriver likes to spend time with her family — which, although famous,
is just a family like any other, with her explaining -
"I go for walks or hikes with my kids.
I play Uno.
I have family night on Sunday night.
I like pickleball.
I love playing games, charades, watching rom-coms, dancing, being in nature, and walking."
It's the simple things in life that matter the most to Shriver.
She may have been in the limelight for her entire life, but she's more interested in
quality time with those she loves, saying -
"I'm at my happiest when I'm with friends and family at a table with lots of laughter
and great conversation."
Getting old can be a frightening concept for many people, but Maria Shriver is leaning
into the aging process — and even embracing it.
In a 2022 article for Prevention written not long after her 66th birthday, she wrote about
society's obsession with stopping the signs of aging, writing -
"Getting older is not only a fact of life, it's a gift!
You're lucky if you get to age, and even luckier if you get to age with good health.
Why do we talk about it like it's something we shouldn't want to do or something we should
fear?"
As far as Shriver is concerned, life is a journey and she's having fun on the ride,
no matter what comes her way.
Instead of fearing getting older, she's working on doing things out of her comfort zone and
staying grounded with meditation and spending quality time with friends and family.
Shriver still has a lot to accomplish, and she's not going to let age stop her.
As she told Parade -
"People always say you get to your 60s, you retire and it's over.
But that's not what I'm experiencing at all."