Maria Shriver Biography

Maria Owings Shriver Schwarzenegger (born November 6, 1955), better known as Maria Shriver, is an American journalist for NBC.

Maria Shriver was born in Chicago, Illinois. Raised a Roman Catholic she was the second child and only daughter of the politician Sargent Shriver and his wife Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and a niece of the assassinated American President John F. Kennedy. Shriver received a B.A. degree in American Studies from Georgetown University. She was introduced to her husband Arnold Schwarzenegger by NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw. They married on April 26, 1986 and have four children:
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She was a TV news reporter for NBC's Dateline NBC from 1989 until 2004. In August of 2003, Shriver took an unpaid leave of absence from NBC News when her husband became a candidate in the 2003 California recall. Upon her husband's inauguration as the 38th Governor of California, she became the First Lady of California on November 17, 2003. She then returned to reporting, making two more appearances as an anchor for Dateline NBC. Her broadcast journalism career started with KYW-TV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

On February 3, 2004, Shriver told NBC she wished to be "relieved of [her] duties at NBC News," citing 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. NBC News president Neal Shapiro did not refer to Shriver's decision as a resignation, however, and issued a statement calling Shriver's departure "an extended leave of absence."

Prior to her work at NBC, Shriver had co-anchored the CBS Morning News. She has won Peabody and Emmy awards and is the author of two best-selling books: What's Heaven and Ten Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Went Out Into The Real World.

MARIA SHRIVER PICTURES

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MARIA SHRIVER BIOGRAPHY