Who is Joseph Baena's mom? Housekeeper gave birth to Arnold Schwarzenegger's 5th child
Life for Joseph Baena seemed pretty ordinary until one day in 2011. While at school, he learned he was the illegitimate son of 'Terminator' star Arnold Schwarzenegger. Today, he and Arnold work out together, and the 24-year-old has also chosen to pursue acting like his dad. But the road to get here has been a long one.
In all, the former Governor of California has five children. He shares four of them with his wife Maria Shriver, including daughter Katherine, Christina, Patrick, and Christopher. Katherine, who is a published author, is perhaps best known for marrying 'Jurassic World' star Chris Pratt. Patrick, like his dad, is also pursuing a career in acting. It's a decision that Joseph has also taken, after earlier following dad's decision to be a bodybuilder.
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In the past, both Joseph and Arnold have spoken about their closeness for each other, despite the circumstances surrounding his birth. Unlike his other kids, Joseph was not born to Maria. Instead, his mother was actually the housekeeper for the Schwarzenegger family.
Who is Joseph Baena's mother?
Joseph was born in 1997 after Mildred Patricia Baena had an affair with Arnold, while the actor was still married to Maria. Mildred worked at the Schwarzenegger residence in Brentwood, California for 20 years, starting in the early 90s. Of Guatemalan descent, Mildred was earlier married to Rogelio de Jesus Baena, and even shares a daughter (Jackie Rozo) with him. She was forced to separate from him after Joseph was born.
Even after Joseph was born, Mildred and Arnold managed to hide their affair from his family and the wider world for years. Eventually, however, the truth came out, as Mildred reportedly "broke down in tears" in front of Maria and revealed the truth. The news led Maria to divorce Arnold in 2011. As for Mildred, she retired into obscurity and was last known to be living in Bakersfield with her boyfriend Alex Aguilar, in a house that Arnold paid for. In a 2017 Instagram post, Joseph revealed his mother had graduated from culinary school.
The dramatic revelation of Joseph didn't just affect Mildred and Arnold but also turned Joesph's life upside down. "I remember the day very vividly. I was in the eighth grade. Fifth or sixth period. And I get called out of class to leave," he recalled in an interview with Men's Health for their March 2022 issue. "My mom's there, and she's like, "We gotta go—everyone is finding out about you and who your father is"," he added.
"I'm 13. Your body's transforming; your mind is transforming. And now my life transformed before my eyes," he said about that day. However, things have since greatly improved for Joseph. "A lot of guys struggle with trying to make their dad proud or trying to get out of their dad's shadow. 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, "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."
