Maria Shriver has been in the news lately in regards to her divorce from former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger. I remembered that she was a news anchor for NBC before becoming California’s First Lady when Arnold was elected Governor. I had forgotten, however, that she is a Kennedy.
Since I didn’t remember that Maria Shriver was part of the Kennedy family, I thought perhaps that other people may have, too. Politically, it is somewhat strange to think about. Members of the Kennedy family are Democrats, and her husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is a Republican. I thought it would be interesting to put together a “family tree” that starts with Maria Shriver.
Let’s start with the obvious. Maria Shriver was recently married to Arnold Schwarzenegger. They got married in 1986, and are divorcing this year, 2011. They had four children together: Katherine Eunice Schwarzenegger was born in 1990, Christian Aurelia Schwarzenegger was born in 1991, Patrick Schwarzenegger, who was born in 1993, and Christopher Sargent Schwarzenegger, who was born in 1997.
Maria’s father is Robert Sargent Shriver, who was born in 1915. This is where Maria gets her surname from, and where her son, Christopher, got his middle name from. Her mother was Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who was born in 1921, and who passed away in 2009. Clearly, this is where Maria’s daughter, Eunice, got her first name from. This is also Maria’s connection to the Kennedy family.
Maria Shriver’s middle name is Owings, and she was born in 1955. She has four siblings, all brothers. Robert Sargent Shriver III was born in 1954. From this clue, we can see that Maria’s father could, technically, be called Robert Sargent Shriver II. You cannot have a III without a II. Genealogists would note that this would mean that Maria’s grandfather, (her father’s father), would also be named Robert Sargent Shriver. He would technically be “the first”, but obviously his birth certificate would not say as such. You cannot be “the first” before there is a “second”.
Maria’s other brothers are: Timothy Perry Shriver, (born 1959), Mark Kennedy Shriver, (born 1964), and Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver, (born 1965). Two of these brothers have middle names that came from the surnames of their grandparents. The same naming conventions continued with Maria’s children.
Maria’s mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, has several famous siblings. Four are brothers. The eldest is Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (born 1915, died 1944). Again, if this person is a “Jr”, then we know that his father has the exact same name. We know that his father would be “the first”. Other brothers of Eunice include: John F. “Jack” Kennedy (born 1917, died 1963), Robert F. “Bobby” Kennedy, (born 1968), and Edward “Ted” Kennedy, (born 1932, died 2009). All of these men are uncles to Maria Shriver.
Eunice also had sisters: Rosemary Kennedy, (born 1918, died 2005), Patricia Kennedy (born 1924, died 1968), and Jean Kennedy (born 1928). These women are all Maria’s aunts.
Image by Freedom To Marry on Flickr