Arnold Schwarzenegger's mother-in-law Eunice Kennedy Shriver has died after a short stint in hospital. She was 88.
The former President John F. Kennedy's sister passed away on Tuesday morning after she was checked in to Cape Cod Hospital in Barnstable, Massachusetts in a critical condition.
Shriver, mother of Schwarzenegger's wife Maria Shriver, was surrounded by her family, including her husband Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr and the actor-turned-governor himself.
Schwarzenegger paid tribute to his late mother-in-law, calling her "the light of our family".
In a statement, Arnie notes the campaigning socialite's devotion to the Special Olympics was her greatest legacy.
He says, "Inspired by her faith in God... she was on a life-long mission to expand opportunities for those with intellectual challenges and to prove that they are capable of great achievements.
"Apart from her family, her greatest legacy is the Special Olympics, which started as a summer camp in her backyard in 1962, and has grown into a global movement and organisation that has transformed the lives of hundreds of millions of people."
Shriver is best known for her charity work raising awareness of the mentally disabled, after watching her sister Rosemary's struggle with mental illness. She also helped found the Special Olympics in the 1960s.
Shriver, the fifth of the nine Kennedy children, experienced poor health in recent years after suffering a series of strokes.
She is survived by her five children, Robert Sargent Shriver III, Maria Shriver, Timothy Perry Shriver, Mark Kennedy Shriver and Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver, as well as 19 grandchildren.
WENN.com