Who Is Joseph Baena? All About Arnold Schwarzenegger's Son (2024)

The world was introduced to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s youngest child, Joseph Baena, in 2011 following reports that the actor fathered a son with his family’s housekeeper, Mildred Baena, in 1996.

While Schwarzenegger called his infidelity in his marriage to Maria Shriver a “major failure,” his son was the silver lining of the difficult situation.

"It was wrong what I did. But I don’t want to make Joseph feel that he is not welcomed in this world — because he is very much welcomed in this world," the former California governor shared in the 2023 Netflix docuseries Arnold. "I love him, and he has turned out to be an extraordinary young man.

Joseph and his dad share a love for fitness — even dabbling in bodybuilding — but he doesn’t feel pressure to follow in his footsteps.

"I don't have to get into acting or bodybuilding. I'm very motivated and driven,” he told Men’s Health in 2022. “I'm happy about my relationship with my dad, but I'm more happy that I am finding joy in what I'm doing and that I'm doing exactly what I've always dreamed about."

Joseph has said he doesn’t struggle with “trying to get out of [his] dad’s shadow,” and he appreciates all of the support he gets from the Terminator star. "A lot of guys struggle with trying to make their dad proud … but as long as you're doing what you want to do, then that all comes. Of course, maybe those guys don't have such nice dads,” he added.

It’s clear that Schwarzenegger is proud of his son no matter what, but Joseph has still given him a lot to brag about. He gushed about Joseph’s accomplishments on his birthday in 2021.

"Happy birthday Joseph! I am so proud of you and I love you!” he wrote on Twitter. “You are crushing it in the gym, in your real estate career, and in acting. I know this will be another fantastic year."

So who is Joseph Baena? Read on for everything to know about Arnold Schwarzenegger's youngest son.

He was born in October 1997

Mildred welcomed her son Joseph Baena on Oct. 2, 1997, following an affair with Schwarzenegger that began in 1996. The actor did not realize Joseph was his son until he got older and began to resemble him.

While Mildred raised Joseph on her own, she occasionally brought him to the Schwarzenegger household, where she worked for two decades until she retired in 2010. Mildred also has a son and a daughter from her previous marriage.

He was bullied growing up

Long before he knew he had a famous father, Joseph lived a normal life that came with its own struggles — like bullying. "I was bullied when I was a kid, elementary, middle school, and not really in high school, but I just felt like an outsider in high school at the beginning," he told PEOPLE while discussing his film Bully High. “I was really overweight from the end of elementary school into the beginning of high school."

Joseph went on to explain that his bullies weren’t strangers or the “popular kids" at his school. “It was my closest friends that were the ones that bullied me the most and made fun of me for being overweight and all these kind of things,” he explained.

While the experience was difficult, it motivated Joseph to pursue his passion for bodybuilding. "That was really a big struggle for me in finding myself and figuring out and creating that ambition to change my weight and my physique and all these kind of things," he said.

He’s very close with his mother

Joseph has a very close relationship with his mom, and he used her birthday in 2022 as an opportunity to show his appreciation.

“Happy birthday to the most beautiful and important woman in my life!” he wrote on Instagram. “Mom, you inspire, motivate and push me every day to be successful and chase my dreams. Love you always and forever!”

On Mother’s Day in 2020, he described Mildred as his “best friend, protector and teacher.”

Joseph “vividly” remembers when news broke of his parents’ affair

Joseph was in middle school when the news broke that Schwarzenegger was his father. He told Men's Health he remembered the day "very vividly.”

"I was in the eighth grade. Fifth or sixth period. And I get called out of class to leave," he shared. "My mom's there, and she's like, 'We gotta go — everyone is finding out about you and who your father is.' ”

Joseph was 13 when the life-changing news became public. “Your body's transforming; your mind is transforming. And now my life transformed before my eyes,” he said.

It took some time for Joseph to build a close relationship with Schwarzenegger

The scandal was difficult for Joseph to overcome — a fact that isn’t lost on his father.

"Everyone had to suffer. Maria had to suffer. The kids had to suffer. Joseph. His mother. Everyone," Schwarzenegger said in his docuseries Arnold. "I am going to have to live with it the rest of my life. … I had failures in the past in my career, but this is a whole different ball game, dimension of failure."

Still, the former politician has worked to improve his relationships with everyone involved, and he’s made huge progress with his youngest son. "I also have to point out that with my relationship with my dad it took a little while for me and him to get really close and just [feel] like I can joke around with him and talk about anything," Joseph told Sophia and Sistine Stallone on their podcast Unwaxed in January 2022.

"I grew up with my mom and I was always nervous and I didn't want him to think bad of me and be like, 'What the heck is this guy doing? He's just partying all the time,' " he said. "Now it's like awesome. I'm so close to my dad and we joke about everything."

Even though they’ve since bonded, Joseph still doesn’t use his dad’s last name. "I never had the Schwarzenegger name. I think really the thing is that I haven't focused on changing it," he told the Stallone sisters. "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."

He’s also not interested in using his father’s connections to get ahead, saying that he’s “very prideful” and wants to make a name for himself. “My dad is old-school; he doesn't believe in handouts. He believes hard work pays off, and so do I,” Joseph told Men’s Health. “If I use my dad's contacts or ask him for favors, I wonder what honor is that gonna bring me? When I go to auditions, they don't know who I am because we don't have the same last name.”

He graduated from college in 2019

Joseph is a graduate of Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, where he got his bachelor’s degree in business. He graduated from the prestigious college in 2019, and his actor dad couldn’t have been more excited to celebrate the achievement.

“Congratulations Joseph! Four years of hard work studying business at Pepperdine and today is your big day!” Schwarzenegger captioned an Instagram photo of him shaking hands with the graduate. “You have earned all of the celebration and I’m so proud of you. I love you!”

He showed off his dance moves on Dancing with the Stars

Joseph was cast on season 31 of Dancing with the Stars, where he showed off his dance skills alongside pro dancer partner Daniella Karagach. He made it halfway through the competition before being eliminated in week 5’s two-episode event.

The pair received some of their best scores all season after dancing a cha cha to Walk the Moon’s “Shut Up and Dance” — so they were “bummed” to be eliminated.

"It's hard not to be shocked when you really put your heart out on the ballroom floor," he told PEOPLE at the time. "I had my best scores last night. I had my second-best scores tonight and it was like, these were my two favorite dances, my best dances so far or well, they were my best dances."

Joseph said he was “emotional” saying goodbye because he had a “blast” on the show. “I’m just really happy that I had this experience in the first place,” he added.

He’s a budding actor

Schwarzenegger's youngest son is following his father’s footsteps into the film industry. He got his big break in Bully High (2022), which follows a Pakistani high school exchange student as she deals with bullies at her American high school. Joseph played Eddie, the class president.

In 2021, he teased a film project called Lava with a shirtless photo on Instagram. The movie was filmed on location in Hawaii.

Deadline reported in April 2023 that Joseph had joined the cast of the upcoming action film Gunner. He’ll play a deputy sheriff named Wally alongside names like Morgan Freeman and Luke Hemsworth.

Naturally, Joseph has turned to his Jingle All the Way actor dad for advice in his acting career, but he said those requests were “very minimal” because he wants to “figure it out” on his own.

"The main thing is just the work, putting in the work, putting in the reps," he told PEOPLE. "That's the No. 1 thing that we always discuss. And for me, it's just been me figuring it out myself. … There's no shortcuts in acting, and in really anything.”

He’s a bodybuilder

Joseph also shares his dad’s passion for fitness, and they often hit the gym together.

“This selfie was taken moments before my dad suggested I do ‘forced reps’ for the rest of the workout,” he shared on Instagram beside a photo of the pair at the gym. “You have to go all out and absolutely NO cheating when you train with him, so you know I’m going to be hurting tomorrow.” Joseph added his dad helped him “get every last rep.”

He’s also learned a thing or two about bodybuilding from his dad, having posted several look-alike shots in his dad’s iconic poses.

They exercise outside of the gym, too, and they have been seen riding bikes together.

He’s not a fan of dating apps

Joseph’s last public relationship was with ex-girlfriend Nicky Dodaj. In February 2020, he posted a heartfelt message to her on their first anniversary. “One year with my partner in crime!!!” he wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post. “Can’t wait for more … adventures, laughs and celebrations to come!”

The couple have since broken up, and Joseph would be happy to find a girlfriend — although his distaste for dating apps and his busy lifestyle tend to get in the way.

"The apps, I tried them. I tried some of them," he told Access Hollywood. "I couldn't do the apps. I just like talking in person. … I am a big personality you know, I talk a lot, I'm loud, I move around a lot. So it's hard to get that across over messaging. So it just didn't work out for me in the apps.”

With a schedule full of film roles, bodybuilding and a new real estate career, he doesn’t have much time left over to date. "I know having a girlfriend takes a lot of time, it's a lot of effort," he said. "Even though I'm willing to do that, my lifestyle doesn't make it easy. I would love a relationship. I like to date … but at the same time I haven't met that one person that I would like to keep it going."

He’s a licensed real estate agent

Joseph’s latest pursuit is real estate. He announced the career move in 2021, sharing a photo on Instagram with a caption saying he’s “not your average realtor.”

"Super excited to start a new career in residential real estate," he wrote. "Looking forward to growing and learning from my amazing team @aria_properties, but more so looking forward to putting you guys in a new home!"

He made his first big sale in 2022 and announced the news on Instagram. “SOLD!!!” he wrote. “Congratulations to my clients for trusting myself and @aria_properties to sell their beautiful Santa Monica Property!”