Arnold Schwarzenegger is proud to be an American!
The actor celebrated his 40 years of American citizenship by sharing a collection of photos from his journey from boyhood in Austria to becoming a US citizen in a post on his Instagram on Saturday.
“40 years ago today, I became an American citizen. This is one of the proudest days of my life. I owe everything to America. Born in Austria, made in America!” wrote the 76-year-old former governor of California as he marked the milestone.
Arnold Schwarzenegger became an American citizen in 1983.
Bill Nation/Sygma via Getty
The Terminator the star’s post included photos documenting his life before and after he came to America, including shots of him taking the oath of American citizenship in 1983, wearing an American flag T-shirt and an Uncle Sam hat while holding two American flags and posing in front of the iconic Hollywood sign.
He set a slideshow of photos to audio from a speech he gave at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York.
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“My fellow Americans, this is an incredible moment for me. “To think that a once skinny boy from Austria could grow up to be the governor of the state of California is an immigrant’s dream,” Schwarzenegger said in the video.
He continued: “At school, when the teacher would talk about America, I would dream about coming here. I would dream about living here.”
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Arnold Schwarzenegger shows his US citizenship certificate.
AP
“As long as I live, I will not forget the day I raised my hand for the citizenship oath. You know how proud I was? I was so proud that I walked around all day with an American flag wrapped around my shoulders,” said seven-time bodybuilding champion Mr. Olympia.
“I finally got here in 1968. What a special day that was. I remembered that I arrived here with empty pockets, but full of dreams, full of determination and desire,” Total recall said the star. “Everything about America seemed so big, so open, so possible,” he continued.
“To my fellow immigrants listening tonight, I want you to know how welcome you are. We encourage your dreams. We believe in your future”, he added.
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Schwarzenegger was married to television journalist Maria Shriver for 25 years before they divorced in 2021. They have four children: daughters Katherine, 33, and Christina, 31, and sons Patrick, 29, and Christopher, 25.
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The action star recently opened up about the complications he experienced after his third open-heart surgery. In a video posted on YouTube on September 5, he shared that he had a difficult recovery from the procedure, which took place just months before the shoot Terminator 6 in 2019. He called the situation a “disaster” and said he managed to regain his health by maintaining a positive attitude.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger celebrates his American citizenship on September 17, 1983.
Michael Ochs/Getty Archive
“The bottom line is that you can’t turn back the clock. It was a disaster. I was in the middle of a disaster. So how do I get out of it? You have to shift gears,” he recalled. “Pull yourself together, shift gears and say, ‘OK, what I have to do now is get out of this hospital.'”
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Source: HIS Education