Maria Shriver - Biography

Who is Maria Shriver?

Maria Shriver is a journalist. Her parents are politician Sargent Shriver and activist Eunice Kennedy Shriver.  Her maternal uncle is the late United States President John F. Kennedy.

Maria Shriver – Age, Parents, Siblings

Maria Shriver was born on November 6, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. Her full name/ birth name is Maria Owings Shriver. Her parents are Sargent Shriver, a politician, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, an activist. She is not the only child of her parents and has four siblings- brothers Anthony Shriver, Timothy Shriver, Mark Kennedy Shriver, and Bobby Shriver.

Shriver has other famous names in her family. John F. Kennedy, former late United States President, Robert F. Kennedy, U.S. Attorney General, and U.S. Senator, and Ted Kennedy, U.S. Senator are her uncles.

Source: Today (young Maria Shriver with her mother)

Education, Ethnicity

For education, Maria Shriver attended Westland Middle School and Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart. She graduated from the latter in 1973. For further studies, Shriver enrolled at Manhattanville College. She studied there for two years before transferring to Georgetown University. From there she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American studies in June 1977.

Her ethnicity includes German, Irish, Scottish, English, Dutch, and French.

Also read: Tamron Hall - Journalist, Host, Reporter 

Maria Shriver – Boyfriend, Husband, Children, Divorce

Shriver was introduced to her future husband Arnold Schwarzenegger, by Tom Brokaw in 1977. The couple dated and she finally married her boyfriend turned fiancé on April 26, 1986, in Hyannis, Massachusetts. She has four children with her husband.

Their first child, a daughter was born on December 13, 1989. They named her Katherine Schwarzenegger. The couple then welcomed daughter Christina Schwarzenegger on July 23, 1991, son Patrick Schwarzenegger on September 18, 1993, and Christopher Schwarzenegger on September 27, 1997.

Source: Town & Country Magazine (Maria Shriver with her children)

Katherine Schwarzenegger got engaged to actor Chris Pratt in January 2019 and married him in June 2019. They are now parents to two children - daughter Lylas Marie Schwarzenegger Pratt and Eloise Christina Schwarzenegger Pratt.

After 25 years of marriage, Shriver and her husband Schwarzenegger announced their separation on May 13, 2011. Days later Arnold Schwarzenegger publicly confessed to fathering a child named Joseph Baena with Mildred Patricia, a longtime household staff, 14 years earlier. 

After hearing rumors, Maria Shriver confronted Patricia about the suspected child and then her soon-to-be ex-husband Schwarzenegger. She filed for divorce on July 1, 2011, citing "irreconcilable differences". They soon separated in 2011 and their marriage legally ended in divorce in 2021.

She is in a relationship with political consultant Matthew Dowd since 2013.

Also read: Dylan Dreyer - Anchor, Meteorologist, News Correspondent 

Maria Shriver – Career

Early Days

Shriver began her career with KYW-TV, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her beginning job was as a co-host for The CBS Morning News along with Forrest Sawyer. She worked there from August 1985 to August 1986. This was followed by anchoring at NBC Nightly News from 1989 to 1990, a Dateline NBC from 1992 to 2004.

TV Host

Maria Shriver made a comeback in 2007 but no more as a journalist. She worked as a substitute host for CNN’s talk show Larry King Live. She was the executive producer of American Idealist: The Story of Sargent Shriver, The Alzheimer's Project. 

Other works of hers include The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Changes Everything (2009), The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Takes on Alzheimer's (2010), and The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Pushes Back from the Brink (2014).

Maria Shriver returned to the public eye as a special anchor on October 18, 2013. She co-anchored NBC’s Today alongside Matt Lauer.

Also read: Robin Roberts - Anchor of Good Morning America 

Source: Today Show (Maria Shriver with her co-host)

The Shriver Report

In The Shriver Report series, many influential and famous names had been featured. A few includes - Tory Burch, Sheryl Sandberg, Jennifer Garner, Kathleen Sebelius, LeBron James

In Films

Maria Shriver has ventured into the world of acting and Hollywood. In 1993, she appeared as herself in Last Action Hero. Other minor roles of hers include in That's So Raven (2006),

Maria Shriver – First Lady of California

When her husband was inaugurated as the 38th Governor of California on November 17, 2003, she took was titled First Lady of California. 

She had even taken an unpaid leave from NBC in 2003 to support her husband during the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election. Alongside her husband, Shriver worked as an advocate from 2003 to 2011. 

Also read: Julie Banderas - Anchor 

Source: The Infidelity Recovery Institute (Maria Shriver and ex-husband Arnold Schwarzenegger)

Maria Shriver – Books, Awards

Maria Shriver has written more than half a dozen books. Names of her books are Ten Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Went Out Into The Real World (2004), What's Wrong With Timmy? (2001), What's Happening to Grandpa? (2004), And One More Thing Before You Go... (2005), What's Heaven? (2007), Just Who Will You Be?: Big Question, Little Book, Answer Within (2008), I've Been Thinking...: Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life (2018).

She has won two Emmy Awards, an Academy of Television Arts & Sciences award, a  Peabody award,  Pathfinders to Peace Award (2009).

Also read: Ashley Liao - Actress of Fuller House, Bad Teacher 

Maria Shriver – Net Worth, Salary

Her net worth is estimated at around $200 Million while the figures on her annual salary are not shared with the public.

Maria Shriver – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

On social media, Maria Shriver is active on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram with thousands of followers. She also has an official website - mariashriver.com.

Also read: Shepard Smith - Journalist, Anchor, Host of Shepard Smith Reporting