Katherine Schwarzenegger

Katherine Eunice Schwarzenegger Pratt (born December 13, 1989) is an American author. She has written three self-help books, on subjects like self-image, forgiveness and finding direction after college; she has also written a children’s book about adopting her dog. Schwarzenegger is the oldest child of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver.

Early life and family

Katherine Eunice Schwarzenegger was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She is the eldest child of Austrian-born actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger and journalist and author Maria Shriver. She is of Irish and German descent through her maternal grandparents Eunice and Sargent Shriver. Her grandmother was a younger sister to President John F. Kennedy while her grandfather was a U.S. Ambassador to France and the Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States in the 1972 election.

She has a younger sister, Christina, and two younger brothers, Patrick and Christopher Schwarzenegger. Through her father, she also has a half-brother, Joseph Baena.

Career and advocacy

In 2010, Schwarzenegger wrote a book entitled Rock What You've Got: Secrets to Loving Your Inner and Outer Beauty from Someone Who's Been There and Back. In it, Schwarzenegger describes her personal journey and encourages other young women to achieve confidence and a positive self-image. She had body image issues between fourth and seventh grade, but now controls her physical and mental health with walking exercises and yoga.

After graduating from the University of Southern California in 2012 she was unsure of her next steps. Schwarzenegger sought career advice from a variety of people, including athletes, singers, entrepreneurs and actors. She compiled their wisdom into her second book— I Just Graduated . . . Now What?—which was released in 2014 as a "survival guide" for recent college grads.

In 2017, Schwarzenegger authored a children's book, Maverick and Me. The book tells the story of her rescue and subsequent adoption of her dog, Maverick. Using her own experience as a "foster fail" (when a foster home turns into a "furever" home), the book touts the benefits of pet adoption and rescue. In 2019, she partnered up with Pedigree to host a limited-series podcast discussing the importance of adopting dogs.

The Gift of Forgiveness: Inspiring Stories from Those Who Have Overcome the Unforgivable is Schwarzenegger's latest book, which is a compilation of stories of forgiveness. The book features the stories of 22 people including Elizabeth Smart and Tanya Brown (sister of Nicole Brown-Simpson).

Schwarzenegger is an American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ambassador and supports the Best Friends Animal Society.

Personal life

She started dating actor Chris Pratt in June 2018. Schwarzenegger and Pratt announced their engagement on January 13, 2019. On June 8, 2019, they were married in Montecito, California. In April 2020, they announced that Katherine was expecting her first child, the second for Pratt, and on August 2020, she gave birth to a daughter.

Bibliography

• Katherine Schwarzenegger (September 14, 2010). Rock What You've Got: Secrets to Loving Your Inner and Outer Beauty from Someone Who's Been There and Back. Hachette Books. ISBN 978-1-4013-4143-5.
• Katherine Schwarzenegger (April 1, 2014). I Just Graduated ... Now What?: Honest Answers from Those Who Have Been There. Crown Publishing. ISBN 978-0385347204.
• Katherine Schwarzenegger (September 5, 2017). Maverick and Me. Worthy Publishing. ISBN 978-0824956875.
• Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt (March 10, 2020). The Gift of Forgiveness: Inspiring Stories from Those Who Have Overcome the Unforgivable. Pamela Dorman Books. ISBN 978-1984878250.