Linda Hamilton

Linda Carroll Hamilton

26 September 1956, Salisbury, Maryland, USA

5' 6"

Born in Salisbury, Maryland, USA, following high school, Linda studied for two years at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, before moving on to acting studies in New York. In New York, she attended acting workshops given by Lee Strasberg. Her first parts were small parts in TV series, with her biggest break coming with her role in The Terminator (1984). Most known to the public at large from her part in the TV series "Beauty and the Beast" (1987) (before Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), at least).

Steinar Bang

Bruce Abbott (I) (19 December 1982 - 1989) (divorced); 1 son
James Cameron (I) (26 July 1997 - 1999) (divorced); 1 child

Frequently portrays women who endure in spite of great hardship or tragedy.

Daughter, with James Cameron (I), Josephine Archer Cameron born 15 February 1993.
Son, with Bruce Abbott (I), Dalton Abbott was born 4 October 1989.
Linda is an LA Dodgers fan.
Linda went to Wicomico Junior High, Salisbury, Maryland, with her identical-twin sister, Leslie Hamilton Gearren.
She reprised her Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) character, Sarah Connor, for the theme-park attraction T2 3-D: Battle Across Time (1996), a short film shot in a new 3-D process that makes the film appear to jump out at you.
While Hamilton was attending Washington College, the acting professor told her that she had no hope of earning a living as an actress.
After her role in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), she learned that she made such an impression as the pumped and ferociously tough Sarah Connor that she was typecast into being offered only roles for similarly tough characters.
Turned down a chance to reprise the role of Sarah Connor in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003).
Her identical twin sister Leslie Hamilton Gearren was Linda's double in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Leslie is seen when Sarah is remembering playing with John at the park and when the T-1000 is impersonating her.
Sprained her ankle prior to filming the original The Terminator (1984) and it never quite healed right due to all the running she had to do in the film.
She divorced second husband James Cameron (I) after discovering he was having an affair with actress Suzy Amis during the making of the movie Titanic (1997). Her divorce from him was the second-most expensive divorce next to that of Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving. Hamilton stood to take half of Cameron's earnings - close to $50 million.
Auditioned for the role of Capt. Kathryn Janeway on "Star Trek: Voyager" (1995).
Good friends with former "Beauty and the Beast" (1987) co-star Ron Perlman. They reunited in the theater play Love Letters (1990), and in the post-Vietnam war drama Missing in America (2005).
Appeared on television and revealed that she suffered from bipolar disorder. She said that her condition had destroyed her marriage to her first husband, Bruce Abbott (I), abusing him verbally and physically, and that it also had ruined her marriage to second husband James Cameron (I). Linda said that it was her love for her two children that finally forced her to seek treatment, and she began taking medication. That was 10 years ago, and Linda says that she will always be grateful that she chose treatment and regrets the pain that her illness caused those she loves.
In the original screenplay of The Terminator (1984), the character she played, Sarah Connor, was 19 years old. It was decision of James Cameron (I) to make the character somewhat older to fit into Hamilton's age. In real life, Linda was 27 when filming started and turned 28 before the film was released.
Talked about 20 years of treatment for being bipolar on the October 14, 2005, show of "Larry King Live" (1985).
Has worked with both actors who were the main heroes of the Predator movies: Arnold Schwarzenegger in two Terminator movies (The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)), and Danny Glover in Missing in America (2005).

Is perhaps best known for her roles as Sarah Connor in The Terminator (1984), and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), and as Catherine Chandler in "Beauty and the Beast" (1987).
James Cameron (I) offered her the role of Molly Brown in Titanic (1997) (ultimately played by Kathy Bates (I)), but she declined.
Was considered for the role of Dr. Chase Meridian in Batman Forever (1995).
Read for the part of Joanne Galloway in A Few Good Men (1992). The part went to Demi Moore instead.
She was a method acting student at the Lee Strasberg Institute.
A former manager of hers embezzled $100,000 of her money.
At one stage in her life, she was addicted to cocaine.
Her father died in a car crash when she was young.

(June 2002): Plays Ethel Rosenberg in "Worse Than Murder: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg" play by Lou Shaw (Ventura Court Theater, Studio City, California, USA).
Gave interviews for the one hour documentary "Making of Dante's Peak" which is included on the Collector's Edition DVD of Dante's Peak (1997).

My heart is so light that it's amazing. I get to play all this grief, all this loss, all this disaster and chaos. It's hysterically funny. I am very light. I keep saying I'm Lucy Ricardo trapped in somebody else's body.
At the 1997 Oscars, about then-husband James Cameron (I): "My husband is the sexiest man in the world."
Talking about the development of the Sarah Connor character from the Terminator films: "A woman who grows and transforms on screen is always a wonderful thing to play. Sarah went from a vulnerable, normal girl to someone who finds all of her deep reservoirs of strength and comes through it all."
About her reaction to Arnold Schwarzenegger being cast as the Terminator in the original film: "I didn't take Schwarzenegger very seriously as an actor at that time. I said, 'Oh Lord, why cast a man who looks like a machine as a machine? Cast somebody who's very thin to do these superhuman acts.' And I was wrong. He was used tremendously effectively, and he was served very well by that film."
[talking about James Cameron after their divorce]: I love him as much as I ever did. But that doesn't mean that the heartache wasn't huge and I haven't suffered. I knew how Jim was when I married him and I love him still.

"Empire" (UK), 1997, Iss. 94, pg. 54-55, by: Jeff Dawson, "One Mean Mutha Turns"
"TV Guide" (USA), 29 July 1995, Vol. 43, Iss. 30, pg. 20-23, by: Ann Oldenburg, "This Hamilton Woman"
"Starburst" (England), December 1991, by: Alan Jones, "Linda Hamilton A Starburst Interview "
"Prevue" (USA), October 1991, Vol. 2, Iss. 45, pg. 26-29, by: Joe Gillis, "The Transformation of Linda Hamilton"
"The Official Terminator 2:Judgment Day Movie Magazine" (USA), 1991, pg. 48-53, by: John Sayers, "SARAH CONNOR - Linda Hamilton"
"People" (USA), 19 January 1987, pg. 88-90, by: John Stark, "Maybe King Kong Lives isn't the greatest movie ever made, but don't try to palm it off on Linda Hamilton."

"TV Guide" (USA), 28 November 2005, Vol. 53, Iss. 48, pg. 68, by: staff, "Guest Stars We Love: Linda Hamilton"
"Correio da Manhã, TV" (Portugal), 17 July 1998, pg. 14-15, "Apaixonada pelo trabalho"
"TV Guia" (Portugal), 1997, Iss. 970, pg. 84
"Entertainment Weekly" (USA), 12 July 1991, by: Margot Dougherty, "A new body of work Linda Hamilton gets tough in Terminator 2."
"Premiere" (USA), July 1991, by: Rachel Abramovitz , "A Kinder, Gentler Cyborg"
"Good Housekeeping" (USA), August 1988, Vol. 207, Iss. 2, pg. 68-71, by: Vernon Scott, "TV's Most Romantic Couple"
"New York Times" (USA), 25 September 1987, by: John J. O'Connor, "Beauty and the Beast on CBS"

"Celebrity Sleuth" (USA), 1998, Vol. 11, Iss. 9, pg. 38-39, by: staff, "Anatomy Awards: Her Heart Went Elsewhere"
"Celebrity Sleuth" (USA), 1996, Vol. 9, Iss. 9, pg. 32-33, by: staff, "Worth Waiting For"
"Celebrity Sleuth" (USA), 1990, Vol. 4, Iss. 2, pg. 58-59, by: staff, "Cult Figures: Catherine Chandler - Linda Hamilton"
"Celebrity Sleuth" (USA), 1988, Vol. 2, Iss. 2, pg. 76-77, by: staff, "Beauty & The Beast's Linda Hamilton"
"High Society" (USA), August 1985, "Celebrity Skin"

"Longevity" (USA), April 1992, Vol. 4, Iss. 5
"Working Mother" (USA), October 1991, Vol. 14, Iss. 10
"Veronica" (Netherlands), 29 October 1988, Iss. 44
"Good Housekeeping" (USA), August 1988, Vol. 207, Iss. 2