Being the niece of JFK is pretty sweet.
But divorcing the governor of California, winning two Emmys, and creating your own wellness
brand is even sweeter.
This is Maria Shriver's gorgeous transformation.
On November 6, 1955, Maria Shriver was born to Robert Sargent Shriver and Eunice Kennedy Shriver.
Growing up in a well-known political family, she was the only girl amongst four brothers.
Her father played a major role in the founding of the Peace Corps, and Shriver's mother,
sister to John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy, instituted the
In a 2008 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Shriver discussed what it was like growing up in her household.
She stated,
"When you grow up in a political family, you're trotted out a lot, and you're never exactly
clear what you're doing.
[...] I was conscious of being in a large family with a hierarchy."
"I felt lost growing up a lot of the time because I was always a Kennedy without a first name."
When it came time for her own career, however, Shriver didn't follow in her family's footsteps
by going into politics.
Instead, she carved out her own path with a successful career as a journalist.
She once told Oprah Winfrey that she wanted to do her own thing and not just be known
for being a Kennedy.
Shriver disclosed to Oprah:
"I thought [as] I grew up and everybody would say, 'Which one are you?
Which Kennedy are you?'
I was determined that I would go out and become successful on my own."
Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger met while attending the Robert F. Kennedy Tennis
Tournament in 1977.
After dating for nine years, the couple tied the knot in a ceremony on April 26, 1986.
In 1989, Shriver gave birth to their first child, Katherine Schwarzenegger, and then
two years later, the pair expanded their family again when Shriver gave birth to another girl, Christina.
Their oldest son, Patrick, was born in September 1993, and then four years later, they welcomed
the youngest of the brood, another son named Christopher.
Shriver penned a personal essay in 2018 about being a mother and celebrating Mother's Day
that was published by Today.
In a section in which she reflected about being a mom, Shriver wrote,
"Once you commit to motherhood, you are always in mother-mode.
You are always on the line and always on-call.
And, that's fine with me, as I find motherhood endlessly fascinating, endlessly challenging,
endlessly fun, and endlessly fulfilling."
After graduating from Georgetown University in 1977, Maria Shriver began her career in
journalism as a writer and reporter for local news station KYW in Philadelphia.
Shriver's work for KYW led to her producing the news in nearby Baltimore, Maryland, for
the television show Evening Magazine in 1978.
Working her way up the broadcasting ranks, Shriver went on to CBS, becoming a correspondent
for CBS News in 1983 and later co-anchored on CBS's morning news.
Shriver would end up leaving CBS for NBC News, becoming not only one of their correspondents
but a contributor to Dateline, interviewing everyone from kings, presidents, CEOs, and humanitarians.
In a Facebook post, Shriver revealed that her interview with Cuban leader Fidel Castro
was "one of the most challenging" of her career.
While the Peabody and Emmy award-winning journalist was let go from the network after becoming
the first lady of California, she did return after her duties ended.
Today, Shriver still has a home at NBC but has gone on to celebrate, educate, and inspire
the world through journalism and her many other endeavors.
While Maria Shriver did her best to stay away from the world of politics, it seemed she
just couldn't escape it, as her husband Arnold Schwarzenegger ran for governor of California
in the gubernatorial recall election.
"Give me your vote.
I guarantee you things will change."
On October 7, 2003, Schwarzenegger was elected as the Governor of California and Shriver
became the first lady.
She took on various official projects, including revamping the California Museum in downtown Sacramento.
Throughout her tenure as the first lady from 2003 to 2011, Shriver threw herself into countless
cultures, including encouraging the state to volunteer, and being an inspiration and
a champion for women everywhere.
During an interview with The Daily Beast, Shriver reminisced about her time as the first
lady and shared that her role had utterly changed her life.
Shriver told the outlet:
"I thought I was defined by my family and growing up as a Kennedy.
As a journalist, I was a messenger of other people's truths.
As first lady, I had to define my own."
Shriver went on to say that being the first lady allowed her to finally find her own voice.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver were married for 25 years before Shriver filed for divorce.
Schwarzenegger revealed to Shriver that he fathered a child with a member of their household
staff, which caused the marriage's end.
In the Hollywood actor's memoir, Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story, he wrote,
"The minute we sat down, the therapist turned to me and said, 'Maria wanted to come here
today and to ask about a child — whether you fathered a child with your housekeeper Mildred Baena.'"
After denying it for so long, Schwarzenegger came clean that day and told Shriver and their
therapist it was true.
In 1996, Shriver and Baena were pregnant at the same time, and both gave birth to their
sons in 1997.
Shriver moved out of the home she and Schwarzenegger shared before the news broke that he had fathered
a son: Joseph.
"And I hope that down the line she will be able to forgive me for that."
Since Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver didn't have a prenup when Shriver filed for
divorce in 2011, it took years for their divorce to be finalized.
Even before Shriver's marriage was terminated, she and Schwarzenegger were both able to move
on and start the next phase of their relationships as friends.
Despite everything, they've been able to even spend time together as a family and have maintained
to support one another during birthdays and holidays.
Back in 2020, Maria Shriver took to Instagram on Father's Day to celebrate her father, the
father of her children, and all fathers in the world.
Shriver wrote in the caption:
"Happy Father's Day to all the dads here on earth who father day in and day out, and to
you, Arnold.
We all wish you the happiest Father's Day!"
Maria Shriver eventually returned to her journalism career and became a special anchor for NBC in 2013.
Her new role was to report on women's issues in America.
Shriver, who is a two-time Emmy winner and a recipient of the distinguished Peabody Award, announced,
"I'm excited to be reporting along with all of you about women's evolving experiences
in the United States as parents, caregivers, care takers.
There is so much going on."
And like her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Maria Shriver is a champion of the people
and a trailblazer of equality.
Shriver told Elle in 2014:
"I'm a person who is interested in the empowerment of men and women.
[...] I'm interested in elevating all of us."
In 2019, in conjunction with the Center for American Progress, she produced "The Shriver
Report: A Woman's Nation Changed Everything," a groundbreaking report that took a comprehensive
look into gender equality.
Book imprint and wellness brand
Maria Shriver first had the idea for a book imprint when she was still the First Lady of California.
In January 2021, she announced that she was partnering with publishing company Penguin
Life to bring her idea to fruition.
During an interview with Oprah Daily, the author discussed her imprint, "The Open Field," and shared,
"[My book imprint will] publish books that seek to inform, ignite, inspire, and move
humanity forward one person at a time."
Since its inception, two books have been published and set to be released is a collection of
essays from the former model-author Paulina Porizkova.
In addition to her book imprint, Shriver and her son Patrick Schwarzenegger launched the
company MOSH in September 2021.
On the company's website, MOSH is described as a "mission-driven brain health and wellness brand."
MOSH, which is an abbreviation for Maria Owings Shriver Health, holds a special place in Shriver's
heart, as her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2003.
During Brain Health Awareness Month in June of 2022 Shriver and Schwarzenegger chatted
with CNN via a zoom call about the company.
She told the network that her dad had passed away in 2011 and revealed that her father's
mind had deteriorated so much throughout the course of his illness that he couldn't even
feed himself at one point.
"And that's what's so amazing about this disease is that it robs your brain."
The former First Lady of California wanted to figure out a way to prevent this from happening
to others, so MOSH was born.
Shriver told the network:
"We're really trying to kind of do a whole holistic approach to helping people think
about their brain and their body [...] That's why we always say, you know, our bar is not
a one all be all fix.
We have ways [on our site] for you to learn about different tactics."
Shriver and her son are donating a portion of the proceeds to help Women's Alzheimer's Movement research.
In February 2022, Maria Shriver sat down to speak with Prevention magazine about getting
older, and said that she wanted readers to know she has embraced her age fully.
She also added that recognizing her age allowed her to look at things from a different perspective.
Shriver told the publication,
"It helps me see that in fact, the opportunities available to me now are way better than the
ones I had when I was in my 20s.
It allows me to embrace that while age may just be a number, there is no time to waste."
Shriver added that nobody should dread getting older.
She also said that everyone should believe that the best days aren't behind them but
in front of them.
Shriver went on to add that she's not into looking young forever — she just wants to
"feel and look" her most vibrant.
Shriver told the outlet:
"[M]y mission is to age with curiosity about the process — and do it in a way that inspires me."