Maria Shriver

Maria Shriver first met actor Arnold Schwarzenegger during the early years of her journalism career. Shortly the two started dating and they finally got married in April 1986. The marriage took place at St Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The couple has four children named Katherine, Christina, Patrick and Christopher.

The couple announced their separation in May 2011. She left the marriage after learning of Schwarzenegger’s secret relationship with their housekeeper with who he had fathered a child as well. Their divorce was finalized in 2017.

Since 2013, Shriver has been dating Matthew Dowd, a political consultant.

Maria Owings Shriver was born on 6th November 1955 in Chicago, Illinois. Her father Sargent Shriver was an American politician and diplomat, while her mother Eunice Kennedy Shriver is a sister of former US President John F Kennedy.

Shriver studied at Westland Middle School in Bethesda, Maryland, and later went to Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart from where she graduated in 1973. She then attended Georgetown University and got her BA in American studies in 1977.

After completing her studies, Maria Shriver started working as a news writer and producer for KYW-TV, a TV station based in Philadelphia. Later, she started working at WJZ-TV where she wrote as well as produced the show ‘Evening Magazine’. She eventually moved on to work for CBS news as a co-anchor of the popular show ‘CBS Morning News’.

She joined NBC News in 1986 as a correspondent. Soon, she started anchoring shows such as ‘Main Street’, and ‘Sunday Today’. A few years later, she started hosting a show titled ‘First Person with Maria Shriver’. She conducted interviews of several well-known personalities such as Fidel Castro, Sarah Ferguson, and Magic Johnson.

From 1992 to 2004, she was a contributing anchor to the weekly show ‘Dateline NBC’. She also portrayed herself in the 1993 film ‘Last Action Hero’. Shortly after her husband became the Governor of California in November 2003, she resigned from NBC.

In 2008, she served as an executive producer of the show ‘American Idealist: The Story of Sargent Shriver’. The show revolved around her father and his vision and accomplishments.

Shriver also served as an executive producer of the documentary series ‘The Alzheimer’s Project’. The show earned a lot of appreciation for its detailed look at this brain disorder affecting millions of people worldwide. It won her two Emmy Awards.

Maria Shriver became the First Lady of California when her husband Arnold Schwarzenegger became the Governor of California. During this time, she advocated for many important social causes.

She helped ‘The Women’s Conference’ grow and become the nation’s premier forum for women. Her initiatives helped to bring focus on the needs of women, the poor as well as the disabled. She launched the Minerva Awards in 2004, in order to reward those women of California who have worked hard to bring a change to society.

She is also known for her commitment towards the intellectually disabled. She has been involved with several charitable organizations such as ‘Best Buddies’ and ‘Special Olympics’. She started the ‘WE Connect Program’ in order to bring together community organizations as well as government agencies and state leads to help struggling individuals and families in need.

Shriver promoted service and volunteerism as the chairperson of CaliforniaVolunteers. In order to help women start or grow their businesses, she also started the ‘WE Invest Program’. Later, she also started a project to plant the first edible garden at a state capitol.