Berühmte Persönlichkeiten

Berühmte Persönlichkeiten

For this next post about Austrian celebrities I'm going to talk about the most famous modern-day Austrians that I know.

Let's start with one of the most well known Austrians: 

Arnold Schwarzenegger:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, born in 1947, is an Austrian-American actor, filmmaker, politician, and former professional bodybuilder and powerlifter. He started his career as a bodybuilder where he became a Mr. Olympia. Then he went into acting where he became famous for his roles in the Terminator series and the Predator. But that's wasn't enough for him as he then moved into the world of politics, to the point of becoming the governor of California from 2003 to 2011.

Chirstopher Waltz

Continuing with the theme of actors we have Christoper Waltz born in 1956. He began his career as a stage actor, performing in venues such as Schauspielhaus Zurich in Zurich and the Burgtheater in Vienna. He gained real international fame when he was cast in Quentin Tarantino's 2009 hit Inglorious Basterds, for which he gained an Oscar for best-supporting actor. Tarantino also cast him in Django Unchained. He also played the head of the nefarious organization SPECTRE in the James Bond film of the same name.

Conchita Wurst

Thomas Neuwirth is an Austrian singer, recording artist, and drag queen who is known for his stage persona Conchita Wurst. Conchita came to international attention after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 as Austria's entrant with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix. He is only the 2nd ever Austrian contestant to ever win a Eurovision contest, the time before that being in 1957.

Felix Baumgartner 

Felix Baumgartner, born in 1969, is a record-breaking Austrian skydiver, BASE jumper, stuntman, and racer. He became the first person in human history to break the sound barrier while skydiving, which means, he is the first person ever to freefall at a speed faster than the speed of sound. On October 14, 2012, Baumgartner skydived from a helium balloon hovering in the stratosphere at a height of 128,000 feet. With this feat, he created a world record for the greatest vertical freefall, covering a phenomenal altitude of 24 miles.

Dominic Thiem

Dominic Thiem, born in 1993, is an Austrian tennis player who entered the ATP circuit early in his career. Following an impressive start in the juniors’ circuit with a World No. 2 ranking, Thiem turned professional in 2011. He achieved his career-high ATP ranking by reaching number 3. This makes him the 2nd most successful Austrian tennis player ever, after Thomas Muster. He has clocked wins against all the big hitters on tour, including the Big Three.