Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Katherine Schwarzenegger reveals why she used to be ‘mortified’ when father Arnold brought her to school

Author says former bodybuilder was popular among her male classmates when she was growing up

Chelsea Ritschel
New York
Friday 23 June 2023 20:58 BST
Comments
Related: Why Katherine Schwarzenegger and Chris Pratt won’t share photos of their daughter on social media

Katherine Schwarzenegger has spoken candidly about what it was like growing up with her famous father Arnold Schwarzenegger, and why she was “mortified” every timeThe Terminator star used to drop her off at school.

Katherine, 33, opened up about her childhood as the eldest child of the actor and Maria Shriver during an appearance on SiriusXM’s The Nikki and Brie Show, where she was asked by host Nikki Garcia about growing up with “the most bada** dad ever”.

“How was it for you growing up and, like, you had the most bada** dad ever, to have someone so buff and strong and then, like, literally the Terminator! Did that faze you at all as a kid?” Garcia asked.

In response to the question, Katherine revealed that there was really only one thing that made her think: “Okay, this is different,” and it took place when her father would drop her off at school.

“I remember the only time really realising like: ‘Okay, this is different,’ because my dad would drop us off at school in a Hummer that had no windows, no doors and no roof, and I was mortified,” the self-help author revealed.

According to Katherine, each time her father pulled up to the carpool she’d ask him to instead drop her off down the street, as she recalled being “so embarrassed” by the ostentatious car.

“He would pull up to carpool and I was: ‘Can you please drop me off down the street? Please, I’m so embarrassed. Can we please just take the minivan? Like, this is not my vibe. I just don’t like this at all,’” she continued. “That was really like the only time that I felt like: ‘Okay, something here is different.’”

Although Katherine said her father’s fame didn’t impact her life much when she was younger, she revealed that things changed as she got older and her male classmates became “much more interested” in the former professional bodybuilder.

“As I got older, the boys in my grade became much more interested in my dad. That was the time where I was like: ‘Okay, this is different for me,’” she said.

In addition to Katherine, Arnold and Shriver are also parents to daughter Christina and sons Patrick and Christopher. The former politician also has a 25-year-old son, Joseph Baena, with his former housekeeper, Mildred Baena.

Katherine, who shares two daughters, Eloise, one, and Lyla, two, with husband Chris Pratt, recently celebrated her father on Father’s Day, when she shared a photo of the former governor of California and the Guardians of the Galaxy star smoking cigars together.

“Happy Father’s Day to these guys! We love you a big one!” Katherine captioned the photo.

The sweet tribute came after Arnold recently opened up about the pride he feels watching his eldest child parent her own children.

“It’s nice to see your kids having kids themselves and to watch this new dimension,” the Predator star told People of Katherine. “You see them growing up and you see them going to school and getting smart and getting their degrees, getting their jobs and all this, but now seeing them be a parent? It’s fantastic. It’s really great.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in