Maria Shriver

Maria Shriver
Shriver in 2018
35th First Lady of California
In role
November 17, 2003 – January 3, 2011
GovernorArnold Schwarzenegger
Preceded bySharon Davis
Succeeded byAnne Gust Brown
Personal details
Born
Maria Owings Shriver

(1955-11-06) November 6, 1955
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic (before 2011)
Independent (2011–present)
Spouse
(m. 1986; div. 2021)
Domestic partnerMatthew Dowd (2011–present)
Children4, including Katherine and Patrick
Parents
RelativesShriver family
Kennedy family
Gustav Schwarzenegger (father-in-law)
Chris Pratt (son-in-law)
Abby Champion (daughter-in-law)
EducationManhattanville College
Georgetown University (BA)
Signature

Maria Owings Shriver (/ˈʃrvər/ SHRY-vər; born November 6, 1955)[1] is an American journalist, author, a member of the prominent Shriver and Kennedy families, former First 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 former Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, whom she had four children with, before separating in 2011 and divorcing in 2021.

Shriver began her journalism career at KYW-TV and briefly anchored the CBS Morning News before joining NBC News in 1986. After anchoring weekend editions of the Today show and the NBC Nightly News, she became a correspondent for Dateline 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 a Peabody Award in 1998 and was co-anchor for NBC's Emmy-winning coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics.[4]

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.".[5]

  1. ^ Shriver known for her political bloodlines Archived June 12, 2018, at the Wayback Machine (October 9, 2003) Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  2. ^ "Yaffe tells Senate committee continued NIH funding is 'critical' for Alzheimer's research". UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. April 3, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  3. ^ "About Us". The Women's Alzheimer's Movement. Archived from the original on May 13, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  4. ^ "Maria Shriver". NBC News. January 13, 2004.
  5. ^ "TV academy honors 'television with a conscience'". Los Angeles Times. May 6, 2010. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 8, 2014.