The name Tom Arnold is known for two things in particular – he plays alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in True Lies and is a former husband of Roseanne Barr. But although the man has had no other project that has overshadowed the importance of the above in his life, he is a man of many interests and has a varied resume that includes screenwriting, comedy, and politics.
Tom Arnold Biography
We often look at actors and celebrities and think their lives are perfect, without any reason to be sad or in pain. Often we forget that before they became stars that the world gazed upon, they were simply people with their own past and history. To say that Tom had a difficult past would be to put his story nicely.
Tom Arnold is from Iowa and was born in Ottumwa as the son of Jack Arnold and Linda Kay. Things seemed to go well for the Arnold family until his mother left the family when Tom was a child and left Tom and his siblings to their father. Raising six children is hard work for two people, not to mention leaving this responsibility to just one person. If you had to combine the responsibility of caring for their needs and being with them, you would have to make compromises. Unfortunately, in the case of Tom, these compromises meant that he was sexually harassed by his babysitter at the age of 4 to 7 years.
Maintaining a large family of six was difficult for his father, so Tom and his siblings took to the streets to help in any way they could to supplement the family’s income. Tom looked for work in various places but eventually found work in a meatpacking plant. Tom combined his work in the company with high school. After high school, Tom went to college, where he majored in business administration and writing. He graduated from the University of Iowa.
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Maybe it was a case of humor to hide the emotional problems he had struggled with in his youth, but whatever it was, he would give up his business degree in favor of a career as a stand-up comedian. Fortunately for Tom, it wasn’t a bad decision, because he was discovered by Roseanne Barr, a sitcom star of the 80s/90s, and she signed him as a writer for her show.
Through working together, the two developed an affection for each other, and they married shortly after. The attention of being married to one of the most successful TV actresses brought Arnold a media commercial that helped him to create his own TV show, The Jackie Thomas Show. Unfortunately, she did not share the same success with the show that put him in the spotlight.
Tom Arnold’s career made progress despite the setback of The Jackie Thomas Show. In 1994 he was given the unique opportunity to play his humorous sidekick alongside one of the greatest action stars in film history, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in True Lies, a film by superstar director James Cameron.
In addition to his leading roles in feature films, Tom also hosted shows such as The Best Damn Sports Show Period, My Big Redneck Wedding. He has also participated in reality shows like I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
His filmography includes films like Nine Months, Mr. Magoo, Judge Dredd, Happy Endings, and Homo Erectus. Since the beginning of his career in the 80’s he has been involved in over 50 film/TV projects. Throughout his career, he has fought against alcoholism and drug addiction, but he overcame it and now he is sober.
Tom Arnold Net Worth
Tom Arnold is worth 30 million dollars. His wealth despite a lack of filmography with commercially successful projects comes from his marriage to Roseanne Barr. The divorce from the TV star proved to be a lucrative move for him because the conditions of the marriage contract earned him up to 20 million dollars. His income from comedy and royalties from previous projects helped him to preserve his fortune.
Is He Married? Wife/Spouse
Tom was married four times, first to Roseanne Barr. The couple married in 1990, but after four years of turbulent marriage, they were divorced. He remarried Julie Lynn Champnella in 1995, but after another four years, the two were separated and eventually divorced. Tom, no man giving up on love, tried Shelby Roos again in 2002, and the marriage lasted longer than his first two, but after 6 years the two went separate ways. In what he hopes will be his last marriage, he is now married to Ashley Groussman. The couple got married in 2009 and are still in good shape. They currently have two children and four dogs.
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Other Facts To Know About Tom Arnold
Arnold is a practicing Judaist
Although Arnold had grown up as a Methodist and was to remain so, he was converted to Judaism through his marriage to Roseanne Barr and has remained so ever since.
He started out as a prop comedian
Tom began his career as a comedian at age 23 in the early 1980s. He had a props-based routine that he called Tom Arnold and the Goldfish Review.
Arnold is a vocal political commentator
Since the rise of Donald Trump into the White to President of the United States, Arnold has joined a number of Hollywood stars as a vocal critic of the American President.
His marriage to Roseanne Barr was weird
The relationship between the two attracted a lot of attention, not only because of the impact the relationship had on his career but also because of their behavior when they were together. Tom had a tattoo of Roseanne’s face on his chest, while Roseanne had his name tattooed on her butt.
Although he is better known as Tom Arnold, his birth certificate says Thomas Duane Arnold.
