Joseph Baena has a lot more in common with his famous father. He is the son of the prominent bodybuilder legend Arnold Schwarzenegger. Reportedly, Joseph Baena came under the limelight when Arnold’s affair with his housemaid became public.
The 7X Mr. Olympia winner had fathered a child with his longtime housemaid, Mildred Baena, in 1996. That child is none other than Joseph Baena, or, as we say, Joseph Schwarzenegger. As per reports, this was the reason why Arnold’s wife, Maria Shriver, filed for divorce.
Even though Arnold Schwarzenegger is extremely guilty about his infidelity, he doesn’t want his son, Joseph, to feel unwelcome. “I love him, and he has turned out to be an extraordinary young man,” said Arnold in the 2023 Netflix documentary series. Joseph, on many levels, made his father proud, and Arnold never shies away from showing that.
Joseph Baena’s Journey as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Son
The youngest son of Arnold, Joseph Baena, was born on October 2, 1997, following the affair with his housemaid that started in 1996. Earlier, Arnold didn’t know Joseph was his son, but as he grew older, he started resembling him. Baena himself didn’t know about his father until 2011. His mother raised him on her own, struggling for two decades until 2010 when she finally retired.
Before knowing his father, Joseph had a very ordinary life where struggled with many things such as bullying. He told PEOPLE, “I was bullied when I was a kid, in elementary, middle school and not really in high school, but I just felt like an outsider in high school at the beginning”.
Joseph shares a very close relationship with his mother and often posts pictures with her on social media, appreciating her. Building a relationship with his father, Arnold, took him a little while, but as they developed that bond, he became very close to his father and often joked around with him about everything.
During an interview with the Stallone sisters, Joseph shared why he doesn’t use his father’s name. He said, “I have a last name already. I’m already doing so much and succeeding and moving forward with my goals. That’s the last thing on my mind“.
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Joseph graduated from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California in 2019. As he wanted to pursue acting, he was cast in Dancing with the Stars, Season 31, where he charmed everyone with his amazing dancing skills, alongside co-partner Daniella Karagach.
The duo earned some of the best scores in the show before being eliminated in week 5’s episode two. After that, following in the footsteps of his father, Joseph got a big break in the role of Eddie in Bully High (2022), which is a story about a Pakistani high school exchange student who deals with bullies at an American high school.
Joseph also learned about bodybuilding from his father and often shared look-alike shots of some of his father’s iconic poses. The father-son duo also exercise regularly outside of the gym and ride bicycles together.