On This Day

Birthday of Arnold Schwarzenegger

July 30th 1947

11:26 30 July 2024

Hollywood superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger was born on this day in 1947. Schwarzenegger's ascent to fame began when he emigrated from Austria to the United States in 1968. From a young age he had shown a keen interest in bodybuilding, competing in some minor contests in Europe but it was in America that the "Austrian Oak" dominated the sport throughout the 1970s, winning five Mr. Universe and seven Mr. Olympia titles. His film debut came with the low budget 'Hercules in New York' (1970) but it was the bodybuilding documentary 'Pumping Iron' (1977) that turned him into a major sporting icon and brought him to a global audience.

His breakthrough acting role in 'Conan the Barbarian' (1982) and its sequel 'Conan the Destroyer' (1984) established Arnie as a Hollywood leading man and shortly after he played the iconic lead role in James Cameron's 'The Terminator' (1984). Throughout the 80s and 90s only Stallone rivalled him as the worlds biggest action star as Arnold starred in box office smash hits including Commando' (1985), 'Raw Deal' (1986), 'Predator' (1987), 'The Running Man' (1987), 'Total Recall' (1990), 'Terminator 2: Judgement Day' (1991), 'True Lies' (1994) and 'Eraser' (1996). He has also shown his versatility with comedy roles in 'Twins' (1988), 'Kindergarten Cop' (1990) and 'Junior' (1994).

Schwarzenegger entered politics serving as Governor of California from 2003 to 2011. He has since  successfully revived his acting career appearing in both the 'Terminator' and 'Expendables' franchises as well as the Netflix TV series 'FUBAR' (2023). Happy Birthday Arnold.