Maria Shriver
Maria Shriver
Maria Owings Shriver is an American journalist, activist, author of six best-selling books, and former First Lady of California as the estranged wife of former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. She has received a Peabody Award and was co-anchor for NBC's Emmy-winning coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics. As executive producer of The Alzheimer's Project, Shriver earned two Emmy Awards and an Academy of Television Arts & Sciences award for developing a "television show with a conscience". She is a member...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTV Show Host
Date of Birth6 November 1955
CityChicago, IL
CountryUnited States of America
One of my greatest joys is poetry. I read it almost every day, and I've even taken a stab at writing some of my own. A poem I wrote for my mother when she was dying really helped me get through that hard time.
I decided that I was going to be the Kennedy who makes her own name and finds her own job and works like a dog. My comeuppance was when Arnold got elected - I became the Kennedy who was married to the governor.
You can spend the rest of your life trying to figure out what other people expect from you, or you can make a decision to let that all go.
I feel very blessed to have four brothers. My brothers always say, 'Oh, you know, we prepared you for the world of journalism. We prepared you for Arnold. We prepared you for everything.' And in a way they're right. Because you know, they take no prisoners. They were very tough.
The gift my mother gave me was the gift of possibility. From an early age, she instilled in me a belief that I could do anything I wanted to do. It wasn't a matter of, 'Can I?' or 'Should I?' It was just, 'You can, you must, you will!' She wanted me to believe that anything was possible.
At work, you're replaceable... but as a parent, you're irreplaceable.
My father never was and isn't a mean man. You know, he never was ruthless. And he succeeded in life without sticking it to anybody. And that's a great example for a man, a strong man, a man's man, to give to his children. You can succeed, you can be successful, without walking over somebody.
You don't wanna walk around and say, 'I'm somebody's niece, I'm somebody's cousin, I'm somebody's daughter. Who are you?' And I think that's always the challenge when you grow up in a well-known family, is ultimately, you have to face yourself in the mirror and say, 'Who are you? What have you done?'
My mother's death brought me to my knees. She was my hero, my role model, my very best friend. I spoke to her every single day of my life. I really tried hard when I grew up to make her proud of me.
It's always inspiring to me to meet people who feel that they can make a difference in the world. That's their motive, that's their passion... I think that's what makes your life meaningful, that's what fills your own heart and that's what gives you purpose.
I think that public service is tough on a family - no ifs, ands, buts about it. And I have my own personal wishes, but they're not always front and center.
I think that public service is tough on a family -- no ifs, ands, buts about it. And I have my own personal wishes, but they're not always front and center.
I thought a lot about what I could say here today. I also thought a lot about what I couldn't or shouldn't say for one reason or the other, ... We all know what happens to first ladies who shoot their mouths off they get sent to first ladies' dungeon, and you wouldn't want that to happen to me.
He has come home, and he is sharing what he has learned and all the great things that have happened to him.