Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger, who will take over as governor of California, was born in Thal, Austria on July 30, 1947 to Gustav and Aurelia. His father Gustav served as a Nazi police chief for some time and wanted to see his son become a soccer player.

After a year in the Austrian army when he drove a tank, Arnold Schwarzenegger won the Mr Junior Europe contest in 1966 and went on to become the youngest Mr Universe in 1967.

He was 21 when he moved to the US, where he earned a business degree and started a mail order bodybuilding equipment company. He went on to win the Mr Universe title four more times.

Then he tried his hand at acting. In 1970, he starred in the low-budget Hercules in New York, in which not only was his voice dubbed but his name was also changed to Arnold Strong.

His first hit was the 1977 documentary Pumping Iron, followed by Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer. Then came the Terminator series, which put him in the big league.

Though Schwarzenegger is a die-hard Republican, his wife Maria Shriver - they were married in 1986 and have four children - is a niece of former US president John F Kennedy, a democrat.

He continues to take an active interest in the bodybuilding business. In the early nineties, Arnold was chosen by then president George Bush to head The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. All along, the millionaire has been known to be a shrewd businessman and investor.

Among other things, Schwarzenegger was among the first civilians to own a Humvee, a vehicle used by the US military, and recently purchased a battle tank.