Maria Shriver | |
|---|---|
 Shriver in 2018 | |
| First Lady of California | |
| In role November 17, 2003 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Governor | Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| Preceded by | Sharon Davis |
| Succeeded by | Anne Gust Brown |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Maria Owings Shriver (1955-11-06)November 6, 1955 (age 70) |
| Party | Democratic (before 2011) Independent (2011–present) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4, includingKatherine andPatrick |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Shriver family Kennedy family Chris Pratt (son-in-law) Abby Champion (daughter-in-law) |
| Education | Manhattanville College Georgetown University (BA) |
| Signature |  |
Maria Owings Shriver (/ˈʃraɪvər/SHRY-vər; born November 6, 1955)[1]is an American journalist, author, a member of the prominentShriver andKennedy families, formerFirst Lady of California, and the founder of the non-profit organization The Women's Alzheimer's Movement.[2][3] She was married to actor and formerGovernor of California,Arnold Schwarzenegger, with whom she had four children, before separating in 2011 and divorcing in 2021.
Shriver began her journalism career atKYW-TV and briefly anchored theCBS Morning News before joiningNBC News in 1986. After anchoring weekend editions of theToday show and theNBC Nightly News, she became a correspondent forDateline NBC, also covering politics. After leaving NBC News in 2004 to focus on her role as First Lady of California, she returned in 2013 as a special anchor. For her reporting at NBC, Shriver received aPeabody Award in 1998 and was co-anchor for NBC's Emmy-winning coverage of the1988 Summer Olympics.[4]
As executive producer ofThe Alzheimer's Project, Shriver earned twoEmmy Awards and anAcademy of Television Arts & Sciences award for developing a "television show with a conscience".[5]
Shriver was born inChicago, Illinois, on November 6, 1955, the second child and only daughter of politicianSargent Shriver and activistEunice Kennedy. She is a niece of the late U.S. presidentJohn F. Kennedy,U.S. attorney general andU.S. senatorRobert F. Kennedy, U.S. senatorTed Kennedy, and six othersiblings. A Roman Catholic,[6] she is of mostlyIrish andGerman descent.
Shriver spent her middle school years living inParis[7] save for a brief period when Shriver's family moved temporarily toChicago in the summer of 1968 following Eunice Kennedy Shriver's work with theSpecial Olympics.[8]
Shriver returned permanently from France toBethesda, Maryland, in 1970,[8] where she attendedStone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart high school and graduated in 1973,[9][10] later attendingManhattanville College inPurchase, New York, for two years, then transferring for aBachelor of Arts degree inAmerican studies atGeorgetown University in Washington, D.C., graduating in June 1977.[11][12]
Shriver is a fourth cousin of tennis playerPam Shriver.[13]
In her bookTen Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Went Out Into The Real World (2000), Shriver says that she became passionate aboutbroadcast journalism after being sent to the back of the campaign plane with thepress corps while volunteering for her father's1972 U.S. vice presidential race, calling these orders "the best thing that ever happened to me". After her journalism career began withKYW-TV inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, she co-anchoredThe CBS Morning News withForrest Sawyer from August 1985 until August 1986, co-anchoredNBC News'sSunday Today from 1987 until 1990. Shriver also served as Saturday anchor 1989 & Sunday 1990 and contributing anchor 1996-1999 ofNBC Nightly News. She was a contributing anchor onDateline NBC from 1992 until 2004. In August 2003, Shriver took an unpaid leave of absence from NBC News when her husband became a candidate in the2003 California gubernatorial recall election.
Following her husband's November 17, 2003, inauguration as the 38th Governor of California, she became the First Lady of California. She then returned to reporting, making two more appearances forDateline NBC.
On February 3, 2004, Shriver asked to be "relieved of [her] duties at NBC News," citing concerns the network had over the conflict of interest between her role as a journalist and her status as the First Lady of California and her increasing role as an advocate of her husband's administration.[14]
She appeared as herself in the filmLast Action Hero (1993). She also played a minor role as herself in "Be Prepared", a 2006 episode of the television seriesThat's So Raven promoting a "Preparedness Plan". On March 23, 2007, Shriver returned to television news as substitute host of panel-discussion talk showLarry King Live on CNN with musicianSheryl Crow and other guests.
Shriver announced that she would not return to the news media after the excessive media coverage of the death ofAnna Nicole Smith.[15][16] Shriver subsequently returned to the news media.[17][18]
In 2003, Shriver's father Sargent Shriver was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and she became an advocate and fundraiser for Alzheimer's patient care andbiomedical research.[19] Shriver was the executive producer ofThe Alzheimer's Project, a four-part documentary series that premiered onHBO in May 2009[20] and later earned twoEmmy Awards.[21] It was described by theLos Angeles Times as "ambitious, disturbing, emotionally fraught and carefully optimistic".[22] The series took a close look at cutting-edge research being done in the country's leading Alzheimer's laboratories. The documentary also examined the effects of this disease on patients and families. One of the Emmy Award-winning films,Grandpa, Do you Know Who I Am? is based on Shriver's best-selling children's book dealing with Alzheimer's.[23]
In 2016, Shriver published the coloring bookColor Your Mind, a coloring book for people with Alzheimer's.[24]
Shriver has been a lifelong advocate for people with intellectual disabilities. She is a member of the International Board ofSpecial Olympics, the organization her mother founded in 1968.[25] She is also on the advisory board ofBest Buddies, a one-to-one friendship and jobs program for people with intellectual disabilities.[26] In addition, Shriver serves as Chair of the Audi Best Buddies Challenge: Hearst Castle, a bike ride that raises millions of dollars for programs supporting people with intellectual disabilities. As First Lady, Shriver has been instrumental in the hiring of individuals with intellectual disabilities in the capitol and in various state offices through her WE Include program.[27] In February 2008, Shriver launched an ice cream company calledLovin' Scoopful with her brother,Tim Shriver. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds from Lovin' Scoopful benefits theSpecial Olympics.[28]
In 2008, Shriver executive-producedAmerican Idealist: The Story of Sargent Shriver.[29] The documentary originally aired on PBS on January 21, 2008.[30] The film chronicled the life, accomplishments and vision of her father, Sargent Shriver. Shriver also serves on the advisory board of the Sargent Shriver Peace Institute, which raises public awareness of her father's legacy as a peacebuilder and offers educational and training programs grounded in the principles of public service that motivate the many programs he created, including thePeace Corps,Job Corps,Head Start, andLegal Services for the Poor.[31]
In 2018, she publishedI've Been Thinking...: Reflections Prayers and Meditations for a Meaningful Life, which became an instant No. 1New York Times bestseller.[32] Shriver released a companion journal,I've Been Thinking...The Journal: Reflections, Prayers and Inspirations for Your Meaningful Life, in January 2019.[33]
Shriver and her daughter, Christina Schwarzenegger, were co-executive producers ofTake Your Pills (2018), an hour-long documentary onpsychostimulant medications.[34]
In October 2009, Shriver launched "The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Changes Everything", a national study and comprehensive report conducted in partnership with theCenter for American Progress, USC's Annenberg Center on Communication, Leadership and Policy, and theRockefeller Foundation. The Shriver Report revealed that American women, for the first time, make up half of the United States workforce and studied how that fact is impacting major institutions like family, business, government and faith organizations.[35] The report was released in 2013 in partnership withTIME[36] andNBC News.[37] According toThe New York Times, the report "was modeled ona study undertaken almost 50 years ago during the administration ofJohn F. Kennedy, Shriver's uncle, and led byEleanor Roosevelt."[38] The report features, among other things, writings by public figures includingSuze Orman,Beyoncé,Tammy Duckworth,Billie Jean King,Heidi Hartmann,Susan J. Douglas,Stephanie Coontz,Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner,John Podesta, andOprah Winfrey.[39]
In 2010The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Takes on Alzheimer's was published.[40] It is a study by Maria Shriver and theAlzheimer's Association.[41] It features, among other things, writings by public figures includingBarbra Streisand,Laura Bush,Patti Davis,Soleil Moon Frye,Rosalynn Carter,Susan Collins,Kathleen Sebelius,Barbara Mikulski, andJoe Biden.[42]
In 2014,The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Pushes Back from the Brink was published; it is about women and their children in poverty.[43][44] It is by Maria Shriver, with editors Olivia Morgan, and Karen Skelton, and features, among other things, writings by public figures includingCarol Gilligan, Beyoncé,Joan Chittister,Ai-Jen Poo,Eva Longoria,Stephanie Coontz,Jennifer Garner,Kathleen Sebelius,Jada Pinkett Smith,Anne-Marie Slaughter,Tory Burch,Sheryl Sandberg,Kirsten Gillibrand,Barbara Ehrenreich,LeBron James, andHillary Clinton.[43][45]
After Arnold took office, Shriver took on several key initiatives as First Lady, which included raising awareness of the contributions of women to the state, working on practical solutions to endcycles of poverty, and encouraging all Californians to engage in acts of service to their communities. Once Schwarzenegger was elected, Shriver had to cut back on her news reporting to avoid conflicts of interest.[46]
Shriver began leading theCalifornia Governor & First Lady's Conference on Women when Schwarzenegger took office in 2003. Under her leadership, The Women's Conference event grew into the nation's premier forum for women and, in 2010, attracted more than 30,000 attendees and 150 world opinion leaders over three full days. Each year, the event is held at theLong Beach Convention Center in October.[47] Luminaries have spoken at the conference including Oprah Winfrey, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme CourtSandra Day O'Connor, U.S. Secretaries of StateCondoleezza Rice andMadeleine Albright,Barbara Walters,Warren Buffett, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former British Prime MinisterTony Blair,Richard Branson,Bono, Billie Jean King,Gloria Steinem, and theDalai Lama.[48][49]
In 2004, Shriver created The Minerva Awards to honor and reward "remarkable California women" who have changed their communities, their state, their country and the world with their courage, wisdom and strength.[50] The Minerva Awards are named afterMinerva, theRoman goddess who adorns theCalifornia State Seal and "who symbolizes the dual nature of women as warriors and peacemakers".[51] The Minerva Awards are presented annually atThe Women's Conference inLong Beach during a special ceremony. Recipients of the award also receive a grant to continue their work.[52] Past Minerva Awards recipients include former first ladyBetty Ford,Nancy Pelosi,Gloria Steinem, Billie Jean King,astronautSally Ride and the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Shriver's mother. The achievements of The Minerva Award winners are chronicled in a permanent exhibit atThe California Museum for History, Women and the Arts inSacramento and have become part of California's official state archive.[53]
In 2004, Shriver was in attendance at boththe Democratic National Convention andthe Republican National Convention, attending the first to watch her uncle Ted Kennedy speak, and the latter to watch her husband speak.[54][55]
In 2005, Shriver launched her WE Connect Program, which connects working families in need with money-saving programs and support services. WE Connect brings together community organizations and businesses, government agencies and state leaders, congregations and schools as partners in responding to the needs of the millions of individuals and families who are struggling to make ends meet. Through a partnership withLa Opinión, the nation's largest Spanish-language newspaper, WE Connect has developed three editions of a 24-page, full-color, bilingual supplement that has been circulated to over 20 million Californians in need. In December 2009, Shriver, in partnership with The Women's Conference, created the WE Connect–Million Meals Initiative.[56] Through this initiative, The Women's Conference made a donation to The California Association of Food Banks to provide more than one million meals to California families in need.[57] The donation was allocated to the food bank's 44 member organizations who then distributed the food to California families through its more than 5,000 community-based organizations.[58] In March 2010, Shriver held a three-day Community Resources Fair in Fresno and Los Angeles through WE Connect. The fairs provided vital programs and free support services such as tax preparation, housing and home foreclosure assistance, job assistance, flu shots, healthy food distribution and more.[59] Event organizers estimated that over 40,000 individuals took advantage of free services during the course of the two weekends, and hundreds of thousands pounds of food were distributed.[60]
As First Lady, Shriver worked to promote service and volunteerism. As Honorary Chair ofCaliforniaVolunteers, Shriver conceived of and launched the largest statewide volunteer matching network at CaliforniaVolunteers.org. Shriver was instrumental in inspiring Governor Schwarzenegger to establish the nation's first state cabinet-level Department of Service and Volunteering.[61] She also pioneered and promoted a statewide disaster preparedness program called WE Prepare that encourages and educates Californians to be ready for an emergency or natural disaster. In addition, Shriver established WE Build and WE Garden, a children's playground and community garden-building initiative. "Try growing Tomatoes, I' beans don't grow," she exclaimed. Through CaliforniaVolunteers, Shriver has built 31 playgrounds with gardens in lower-income communities around the state in partnership withKaBOOM!.[62]
In 2008, Shriver launched her WE Invest Program, which provides training, mentoring, support networks, microloans and other resources to help women launch or grow their businesses. In June 2009, she expanded WE Invest nationally through a partnership withKiva, creating the first-ever online peer-to-peer microlending program in the U.S.[63] Shriver is credited with coming up with the idea to bring Kiva's internationalmicro-lending model to the United States.[63][64]
Shriver is co-chair of The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts[65] and she has been credited with revitalizing the state museum during her tenure. Shriver created theCalifornia Hall of Fame in 2006[66] at the Museum to honor legendary Californians such asCesar Chavez,Clint Eastwood,Walt Disney,Amelia Earhart,Ronald Reagan,John Steinbeck,Rita Moreno,Earl Warren,Julia Morgan,Leland Stanford,Dorothea Lange and others.[67] In November 2008, Shriver launched the California Legacy Trails, a first-of-its-kind web-based multimedia learning tool designed to help students learn California history.[68][69]
On February 3, 2008, Shriver endorsed SenatorBarack Obama for the2008 Democratic presidential nomination. The endorsement was given at aUCLA rally featuringCaroline Kennedy (Shriver's cousin), Oprah Winfrey,Stevie Wonder, and Obama's wifeMichelle Obama.[70][71] Governor Schwarzenegger had endorsed SenatorJohn McCain for theRepublican presidential nomination a few days earlier on January 31, 2008.[70] Later that year, as in 2004, Shriver was in attendance atthe Democratic National Convention when her uncle Ted Kennedy spoke.[72]
In May 2009, Shriver planted the first edible garden at a state capitol in what once was a flower bed. She teamed up withAlice Waters on the project.[73] The food grown in the organic garden is distributed to local food banks.[74] Shriver has been an advocate for edible gardens and chairs the California School Garden Network that has doubled the number of gardens in state schools from 3,000 to 6,000 since 2004.[75]
On April 30, 2013, NBC announced that Shriver would join the network again as a specialanchor working on issues surrounding the shifting roles of women in American life.[17]
On October 18, 2013, Shriver returned to the anchor desk onToday, filling-in forSavannah Guthrie for the first time since 1998 as co-anchor withMatt Lauer.[18]
In May 2022, Shriver was reported to be an early investor inDave's Hot Chicken, an American fast food chain, alongside a number of celebrities includingDrake andSamuel L. Jackson.[76]
In 1977,Tom Brokaw introduced Maria toAustrian bodybuilder and actorArnold Schwarzenegger at a charity tennis tournament being held at her mother's home. She married Schwarzenegger on April 26, 1986, inHyannis, Massachusetts, at St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church.[77] They have four children; two boys and two girls, includingKatherine andPatrick.[78][79][80]
On May 9, 2011, Schwarzenegger and Shriver announced their separation after 25 years of marriage, and Shriver moved out of the couple'sBrentwood mansion.[81][82][83] In a message for her Twitter followers posted on May 13, 2011, Shriver said: "Thank you all for the kindness, support and compassion. I am humbled by the love. Thank you."[84]
On May 17, 2011, Schwarzenegger publicly admitted to fatheringJoseph Baena with longtime household staff member Mildred "Patty" Baena. Baena became pregnant in 1997, before his election asGovernor of California.[85] He confessed to Shriver only after she confronted him with the information, and after Shriver had confirmed her long-held suspicions in a conversation with Patty Baena.[86] Shriver described Schwarzenegger's admission as "painful and heartbreaking". She declined to speak further on the issue, saying: "As a mother, my concern is for the children. I ask for compassion, respect and privacy as my children and I try to rebuild our lives and heal."[87] Shriver filed for divorce on July 1, 2011, citing "irreconcilable differences".[88] Due to various legal disputes, the divorce was not finalized until December 2021.[89]
In an interview with theCommonwealth Club of California in 2018, Shriver revealed that she had changed her registration fromDemocrat toindependent, stating that there are good people and bad people in both parties.[90][91]
As executive producer ofThe Alzheimer's Project, Shriver earned two Emmy Awards and an Academy of Television Arts & Sciences award for developing a "television show with a conscience".[92] She has additionally wonPeabody Awards for her television journalism.[93]
In 2009, Shriver was honored with the Shinnyo-en Foundation's 2009 Pathfinders to Peace Award, which is bestowed annually to a person who exemplifies the ideals of compassion, harmony, and peace.[94] At the presentation ceremony honoring Shriver, the foundation's chief executive said, "Maria Shriver sees the best in other people – their innate goodness – and inspires them to become their own 'Architects of Change'. In a world that glorifies ambition at any cost, Maria instead teaches character. She is a woman of quiet strength who role-models kindness and charity, and has used her celebrity to help create peace in the world."[95]
TheSaint John's Health Center has a nursery named after Shriver.[96]
Ahybrid rose was named after Shriver in October 2004. The Maria Shriver rose contains starchy-white blooms and a powerful citrus fragrance.[97]
In 2017, theAlzheimer's Association awarded Shriver with its first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award.[98]
But Shriver, a descendent of the Kennedy family who announced her move to become an independent voter years ago...
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| Preceded by | First Lady of California 2003–2011 | Succeeded by |
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