The Austrian-born former bodybuilder, who was first elected to lead the richest and most populous US state in a historic 2003 recall vote, proved the win was no fluke by routing Phil Angelides in a lopsided win.
It highlighted once again that the shrewd instincts which served Schwarzenegger so well during a successful movie career have helped him come out on top in the bruising world of politics.
Living proof of the American dream, Schwarzenegger turned himself from a poor Austrian country boy into leader of the world's fifth biggest economy.
"I came here with absolutely nothing ... And California has given me absolutely everything," Schwarzenegger said.
The son of a one-time Nazi police chief, Schwarzenegger was born in the Austrian town of Graz on July 30, 1947 in an ancient house that had no plumbing, no phone, no carpets and just a few lights.
His father Gustav wanted him to be a soccer player, but the teenager went his own way -- with spectacular results.
While beefing up in a bid to get on his local soccer team, Schwarzenegger became infatuated by body-building, set up a gym in his parent's basement and his sights on the Mr Universe prize.
After a stint as a tank driver in the Austrian Army, the 1.88-meter (6 foot, 2 inch) youth won the Mr Junior Europe contest. The victory inspired Schwarzenegger to aim for the top.
He went on to win one title after another, until he became the youngest-ever winner of the Mr. Universe competition.
In 1968, after winning a string of contests, the penniless 21-year-old came to the United States to pursue his passion.
He earned a business and economics degree from the University of Wisconsin, and showed early business acumen by investing his contest winnings in real estate and a mail-order bodybuilding equipment company, quickly becoming a millionaire while winning the Mr Universe title four more times.
Shrugging off barbs about his thick Austrian accent and brawn, he then turned to acting.
He made it big in 1982's "Conan the Barbarian" and its sequel, "Conan the Destroyer" (1984), movies which established him as a major action star.
In 1984 he won the role of a killer android in "The Terminator," a role that would shape the remainder of his acting career and spawn two sequels.
A staunch but moderate Republican, he married Maria Shriver -- the niece of former president John F. Kennedy -- in 1987, ironically becoming part of America's Democratic royal family.
Shriver has been a rock in his life. The couple have four children and she also came to his defence as allegations that he sexually harassed and "groped" 16 women surfaced during his bid for governor in 2003.
In office, Schwarzenegger has had a bumpy ride.
A lurch to the right in 2005, when he favoured a combative approach, attempting to force through a raft of unpopular initiatives, turned off voters and Schwarzenegger trailed Angelides in polls a year ago.
But Schwarzenegger has since engineered a remarkable turnaround, deftly spiking Democratic guns by shifting to the centre and distancing himself from the Republican mainstream on a range of social issues, such as abortion, gay marriage and gun control.