Maria Shriver

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, whose advocacy for the mentally disabled helped bring people with special needs into the mainstream of American life, has died. She was 88. Shriver, the sister of President Kennedy and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and the mother of California First Lady Maria Shriver, died early today at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Mass., her family said in a statement. In a speech last year at the Women's Conference in Long Beach, Maria Shriver said her mother had had several strokes.

California's First Lady Maria Shriver comes from a political family with a long interest in women's issues. Her uncle -- you might remember him, President John F. Kennedy -- appointed Eleanor Roosevelt to head a commission on the status of women. A lot has changed over the last half-century, and now Shriver is teaming with the Center for American Progress, USC and Time magazine to explore the current condition of U.S. women with a particular emphasis on the economic downturn's impact.

California First Lady Maria Shriver delivered a surprise endorsement of Barack Obama on Sunday, overcoming qualms about going public because, she said, the Illinois senator was the presidential candidate able to unify the country across racial, ethnic and other lines of division. "He's not about himself," she told a cheering crowd at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. "He's about the power of us and what we can do if we come together. . . .

In the three years after she left her post at "Dateline NBC," Maria Shriver collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from the network as part of an exit deal, even as she pondered whether she could continue her journalism career while her husband was governor of California.

A new book by California's first lady, Maria Shriver, reveals a personal crisis when her husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger, was elected governor. In "Just Who Will You Be?: Big Question, Little Book, Answer Within" (Hyperion), Shriver talks about the difficulty she had adjusting to ending her successful career as a TV news correspondent when her husband became governor of the nation's most populous state.

The Arnold in Ojai? California's governor is staying mum about it for now, but this artsy little town 90 miles north of Los Angeles in Ventura County is abuzz with talk that Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, are house hunting here. "I think we should welcome him with open arms, just like we do everybody," said Councilman Joe DeVito. Added Mayor Carol Smith: "If he likes horses and small towns, it's a swell place to live." Not everyone, however, was thrilled. "Ugh.

It seems so retro: An ambitious man works hard, gets a terrific job, and as a result, his wife loses her terrific job. That's what happened to Maria Shriver when Arnold Schwarzenegger became governor of California. Let's face it: Being first lady is a weird gig. Shriver, however, is giving the position a serious makeover. One of her duties has been to organize the annual California Conference on Women, and on her watch it has exploded into the largest meeting of women in the nation.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the sister of the late President Kennedy, who founded the Special Olympics and championed the rights of the mentally retarded, has been hospitalized in Boston. Shriver, 86, was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital on Nov. 18 and was in fair condition, said a hospital official who did not release further information. Shriver is also the sister of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and the mother of California First Lady Maria Shriver. In June, Gov.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Clint Eastwood movies. Surfing TV late at night, if I click on an old "Dirty Harry" flick, I'm hooked. "Well, punk...." But Eastwood doesn't belong on the inaugural list of new California Hall of Fame members any more than, say, Alice Walker or Frank Gehry. In case you missed it, First Lady Maria Shriver and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week established a new California Hall of Fame in the state history museum.

Everything changed for Maria Shriver in the summer of 2003. Her husband announced he was running for governor and later won. She lost her job as an NBC News anchor as a result. Her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, had a stroke. Finally, her father, Sargent Shriver, the founding director of the Peace Corps, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. "It was one of those periods where I was like, 'Whoa, what's going on?' " Shriver said, shifting on the plush sofa of a Beverly Hills hotel suite.