Maria Shriver's Emotional Birthday Tribute to Son Christopher Sparks Buzz
Maria Shriver gushed about son Christopher and shared rare photos in a sweet 29th birthday tribute.
“Today is @c1lotsoffun‘s birthday,” Shriver, 70, wrote via Instagram on Monday, September 28, alongside a carousel of snaps with her youngest child. “Happy birthday to this wonderful, kind, loving, caring, fun, funny, wise young man!”
The former first lady of California continued, “You may be my baby, but I will always look up to you. I admire the way you walk in the world. I admire the way you make people feel. I admire the way you look for the good in everyone. God blessed me when he made me your mother, and you bless everybody’s life that you walk into. Have a wonderful day on your birthday! Know you are loved, and I love you! Love, mommy. ♥️����.”
In her post, Shriver included a black-and-white throwback photo of herself snuggling up to Christopher when he was a child. The I Am Maria author also shared more recent pics, including snaps at a University of Michigan football game, on a boat and in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Shriver shares Christopher, as well as daughters Katherine, 36, and Christina, 35, and son Patrick, 33, with ex-husband Arnold Schwarzenegger. (The Terminator star, 79, is also a dad to son Joseph, 28, with Mildred Patricia Baena.)
Katherine also shared a tribute to her brother, featuring several throwback snaps.
“Happy birthday to the greatest of all baby brother Christopher!” she wrote. “You’re the best. I love you tons.”
Unlike his parents and siblings Katherine and Patrick, Christopher has chosen to live his life mostly out of the spotlight. However, last year, he publicly opened up about his 30-pound weight loss journey.
“It was a big process,” he shared while speaking on a panel at the inaugural Beacher Vitality Happy & Healthy Summit in Los Angeles in May 2025. “I started in 2019 when I was living in Australia. I was on this big trip. I made it a big [deal] like, ‘Oh, I’m going to go out and do all this stuff, be in Australia,’ and I just saw how much my weight was prohibiting me from doing the everyday activities.”
Christopher noted that he “tried everything” to lose weight over the years, but nothing worked for him long-term.
“I was doing meal delivery things in high school, and I remember feeling like a weirdo when I was bringing weird lunches to school,” he admitted. “It’s not an overnight thing, but it took a lot of trial and error. And even still to this day … when you’re saying, ‘Oh, before-and-after photos’ … I don’t feel like I’m an ‘after’ yet. I don’t feel like I’m at the point.”
Christopher revealed that giving up bread during the Catholic holiday Lent last year gave him the push he needed.
“I was like, ‘Well, if I’m giving up bread, I might as well just take the opportunity,' and I’m a good Catholic boy, so I’m not going to break it,” he explained. “And that was my one rule. I was like, ‘I’m not going to break Lent.’ And so, I lost 30 pounds just through that.”