The Conversation with Amanda de Cadenet

A Conversation with Katherine Schwarzenegger and Her Family

When asked to do a Q&A with someone who inspires me for this website, I thought of the people in my life who inspire me daily to be the best person I can be — people who have similar values to me, who challenge me, who make me want to achieve my dreams, and who push me to the be the best person I can be, no matter how irritating that can sometimes be.

I thought of a few people who could be a good match, but most of them have already been interviewed and you have already heard from them. I wanted to think of someone not many people have heard from, but would also still fall under the category of inspirational.

Anyone who visits my website or knows anything about me knows that family is the most important thing in my life and I take pride in each of my relationships with my family members. I am always learning from my family; I look up to my parents, my uncles, aunts, and cousins, and try to learn everything I can from them, and even as the oldest in my family, I appreciate how much I learn from my three younger siblings.

Thinking all of this over led me to the conclusion that the people that I would interview for this section would be the three people I interact with on a daily basis, have grown up with, learn from, and who irritate me and make me laugh almost every day—my siblings, Christina, Patrick and Christopher.

I had so much fun interviewing my brothers and sister, and the truth is, by asking my siblings these simple questions, I ended up learning a lot of fun facts about them, which, in the end definitely brought us closer together.

I really encourage you to ask your own family members these questions and report back the responses they give you or something cool and interesting that you learned about them in the process.

1. What scares you?

Christina: Ghosts, thinking about the way I will die and the ocean.

Patrick: Sharks.

Christopher: Getting hurt and not being able to do the things I love. And quicksand.

2. What inspires you?

Patrick: Watching people succeed and watching people using their powers and influence for good.

Christopher: Fun. To always have fun, the more I have fun the more I am inspired. When I am doing something for someone or for a certain reason that also inspires me.

Christina: My grandparents and parents inspire me the most. They inspire me to lead a happy and fulfilling life and to have a good character and strong work ethic. Art also inspires me to create and allows for my mind to explore and dream.

3. What is your favorite thing about yourself?

Christopher: My favorite thing about myself is the fact that I am able to laugh at myself and not feel self-conscious. I am also happy being with myself, meaning I don’t need other people around me to make me happy.

Christina: My ability to laugh at myself and at life in general. I am also a very deep person, which is a quality I have grown to appreciate about myself.

Patrick: I love my determination and my drive to make a name for my self.

4. What’s one quality in your brother or sisters that you wish you had?

Christina: I admire my sister’s social skills when placed in unfamiliar settings, my brother, Patrick’s, business skills and my youngest brother, Christopher’s, confidence.

Patrick: Probably Christopher’s patience, I could use some more patience.

Christopher: I guess I wish I had your (Katherine’s) ability to not procrastinate.

5. What is the most important thing to you in life?

Patrick: The most important thing in life to me is my family. Family comes before everything.

Christopher: The most important thing to me in my life is my family and my friends, and making sure I enjoy every day.

Christina: Aside from my family, I would say that spirituality and faith are incredibly important to me

6. Who do you admire most and why?

Christopher: I really admire anyone who likes what they do and has fun doing it. I also admire anyone who doesn’t like what they do and is able to still do it because it helps other people.

Christina: Beside my parents, my grandmother Eunice because of her strength, courage, determination, and her will to fight for what she believed in.

Patrick: I admire my parents most in life. They do everything to their ability to make sure my siblings and I have the best life’s we could possibly have and they do everything to make sure that our family is happy as a whole.

7. What is one word you would use to describe each member of the family?

Christina:

Mommy: Warm

Daddy: Leo

Katherine: Determined

Patrick: Sensitive

Christopher: Buddha

Patrick:

Mom- Altruistic

Dad- Determined

Katherine- Selfless

Christina- Audacious

Christopher- Gregarious

Christopher:

Mommy: Loving

Daddy: Strong willed

Katherine: Protective

Christina: Dramatic

Patrick: Goal oriented

Have questions you’d like to ask Katherine? Leave them in the comments below.

Katherine Schwarzenegger speaks to and speaks for her generation of young women. She is a bestselling author, activist, the “big sister” every girl wishes she had, and a recent graduate from the University of Southern California where she majored in communication at the Annenberg School and minored in gender studies. You can find her at her website: KatherineSchwarzenegger.com. In the best-selling book she wrote in college, “Rock What You’ve Got: Secrets to Loving Your Inner and Outer Beauty from Someone Who’s Been There and Back,” Katherine guides young girls through their turbulent teens to womanhood while encouraging them to love their bodies, love themselves, and stay healthy. With her engaging and fun “secrets,” Katherine shares stories and tips to break the cycle of an unhealthy body image. Katherine speaks candidly, openly, and honestly about the struggle to develop a healthy body image in today’s body-conscious society and the confidence it takes for young women to celebrate who they truly are. While interning for Dove’s “Campaign For Real Beauty” at the age of 18, Katherine became aware of, and interested in, how prevalent the issue of body image is for young girls in America. She was appointed by the Girl Scouts of the USA as the youngest member of their Blue Ribbon Commission on Healthy Media for Youth. Katherine was also awarded Seventeen Magazine’s Body Peace award and appointed to their Body Peace Council, challenging everyone to love their inner and outer beauty. She is also the Global Youth Ambassador for the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, which creates a world where beauty is a source of confidence not anxiety. Pursuing her passion for broadcast journalism, Katherine has appeared as a guest correspondent for Entertainment Tonight, conducting several on-air interviews over the past year. In the spring, Katherine interviewed First Lady Michelle Obama at her “Let’s Move” event in Florida. She also covered a press junket for the movie “This Means War” and interviewed the cast. Most recently, Katherine was sent to cover the 2012 Presidential Debate in Boca Raton where she reported on the debate and interviewed people from the political area to draw attention to the youth perspective on the campaign. In the fall of 2012, Katherine co-hosted the Anderson Cooper talk show with Anderson, discussing hot topics and introducing various segments. Now 23 years old and living in Los Angeles, Katherine is at the forefront of a movement to inspire and grab the attention of women her age to recognize their true self-worth. Over the past few years, Katherine has also been traveling around the country speaking on various issues that are important to young women. Katherine is also in the midst of writing her second book, which will consist of a series of interviews with well-known people about their post-college challenges and experiences. The book is set to be released in April of 2014. While writing her book and taking various opportunities as they come, Katherine is on the brink of starting her career. She is eager to connect with both men and women of her generation, to inform and entertain them in a positive way. She has created a lifestyle website, KatherineSchwarzenegger.com, where she posts on fashion, style, advice, current issues, beauty, and much more. The website also features “Taste Makers”, men and women who speak about their passion in an open and candid way. Katherine wants to create a positive place in the media for people her age who are searching: for information about work, for their way in life, and for their passion and purpose in the world. Currently, Katherine serves on the board of Best Buddies, an organization that is dedicated to establishing one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, and leadership opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In addition, Katherine has been active in raising awareness of maternal mortality. At nineteen, she created the fashionable VIDA bags to increase awareness for global maternal mortality and partnered with the White Ribbon Alliance and CARE to diminish the staggering number of mothers worldwide dying during pregnancy and at childbirth. Mission Statement: “Through my reporting, speaking, writing, and community service, I believe I can make a difference. People my age have an important role to play across the board in our society and I want to use my voice for positive change.”