Maria Shriver
A journalist from American political royalty who carved her own path as a storyteller and a fierce advocate for women's brain health.
Born 1955 (age 71)·American journalist and author·Birthday: November 6·Baby Boomers
Biography
Born into the powerful Kennedy and Shriver families, Maria Shriver was destined for public life, but she defined its terms. She built a respected, decades-long career in broadcast journalism, earning Emmy Awards and a position as anchor of NBC's 'Sunday Today' show, where her interviews blended sharp inquiry with genuine empathy. Her marriage to Arnold Schwarzenegger made her First Lady of California, a role she used to launch initiatives like the annual Women's Conference. The personal upheaval of their very public divorce and her father's battle with Alzheimer's catalyzed her next act. Shriver founded The Women's Alzheimer's Movement, shifting the national conversation to focus on the disproportionate impact of the disease on women and funding critical research. She has continually reinvented herself, using her voice and platform to advocate, investigate, and inspire.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Maria was born in 1955, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Maria Was Born
The biggest hits of 1955
#1 Movie
Lady and the Tramp
Best Picture
Marty
#1 TV Show
The $64,000 Question
Maria's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1955Born
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1960Started school
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1968Became a teenager
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1971Could drive
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1973Could vote
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1976Turned 21
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1985Turned 30
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1995Turned 40
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
2005Turned 50
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
2015Turned 60
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
2025Turned 70
AI agents go mainstream
Gas: $3.10/galHome: $385,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"APT." — Rose & Bruno Mars
2026Age 71 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won multiple Emmy Awards and Peabody Awards for her work as an NBC News journalist and documentary producer.
- Founded The Women's Alzheimer's Movement, a non-profit dedicated to raising awareness and funding research for Alzheimer's as a women's health issue.
- Served as First Lady of California from 2003 to 2011, initiating and championing the annual California Governor's and First Lady's Conference on Women.
- Authored several best-selling books, including 'And One More Thing Before You Go...' and 'I've Been Thinking...'.
Did You Know?
She is the niece of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
She worked as a co-anchor for the CBS Morning News early in her career, before moving to NBC.
She produced the groundbreaking 2009 Alzheimer's project 'The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Takes on Alzheimer's.'
She is the mother of journalist and author Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt.
“You have to be willing to walk into a room and be the only one like you. That’s how you change the room.”
