Linda Hamilton

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Linda Hamilton

Hamilton as Sarah Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Birth name Linda Carroll Hamilton
Born 26 September 1956
Salesbury, Maryland, USA

Linda Carroll Hamilton (born September 26, 1956) is an American movie actress born in Salesbury, Maryland. She attended Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland.

Contents

[edit] Film Career

Born in Salesbury, 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. Linda Hamilton's acting debut came first with guest staring appearances on television. Linda's film debut was a lead role in the horror film Children of the Corn; the movie was panned by critics, but it made a profit at the box office, and had a strong cult following. Hamilton's next role was in The Terminator in 1984. The movie is currently listed at the IMDb Top 250 at number 196 with a score of 7.9, and it also was a huge commercial success with a budget of only 6 million it generated 78 million. Hamilton briefly returned to television, followed by Black Moon Rising, an action thriller starring Tommy Lee Jones. Hamilton again returned to television in the mystery comedy Murder, She Wrote, scoring favorable reviews. She then did a TV-movie called Going Toward the Light, scoring yet again favorable reviews. Hamilton then made her own TV debut opposite Ron Perlman in Beauty and the Beast. The TV-series was acclaimed and she received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. The series ended in 1990. Hamilton went back to the big screen with the follow-up to The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The film was a smash at the box office, grossing over 500 million, and becoming their highest grossing film of 1991. Hamilton's career skyrocketed following this. In 1991 she hosted Saturday Night Live. She returned to television in A Mother's Prayer playing a mother who lost her husband, and is diagnosed with AIDS, for which she earned another Golden Globe nomination. That same year Hamilton filmed two motion pictures, Shadow Conspiracy and Dante's Peak. Shadow Conspiracy flopped at the box office, but Dante's Peak opened in at number two with an opening gross of 18 million, going on to gross 180 million. Hamilton has since appeared on Frasier and has done more TV movies, including On the Line, Robots Rising, Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Couples, Point Last Seen, and The Color of Courage.

[edit] Personal Life

Hamilton went to Wicomico Junior High, Salesbury, Maryland, with her identical twin sister, Leslie Hamilton Gearren. Hamilton has been married and divorced twice. Her first marriage was to actor Bruce Abbott from 1982 to 1989; they had a son, Dalton Abbott, born on October 4, 1989. Her second marriage was to film director James Cameron from 1997 to 1999; they had a daughter, Josephine Archer Cameron, born on February 15, 1993. She stated in an interview with Larry King that, contrary to internet rumours, she was never married to Peter Horton.[1] Hamilton has bipolar disorder, which she says was a driving factor in undermining her relationships. She has spoken publicly about the disorder in order to raise awareness and to encourage others to seek treatment. She is an LA Dodgers fan.

[edit] Trivia

  • She reprised her Terminator 2 character, Sarah Connor, for the theme park attraction "T2-3D."
  • While attending Washington College, the acting professor told her she had no hope of earning a living as an actress.
  • After her role in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 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.
  • Her identical twin sister Leslie Hamilton Gearren was Linda's double in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. 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 and it never quite healed right due to all the running she had to do in the film.
  • She divorced her second husband James Cameron after discovering he was having an affair with actress Suzy Amis during the making of the movie Titanic.
  • Auditioned for the role of Capt. Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager.
  • Good friends with former Beauty and the Beast co-star Ron Perlman. They reunited in the post-Vietnam war drama Missing in America.
  • Appeared on television to reveal she suffered from bipolar disorder. She revealed that her condition destroyed her marriages to her first husband, Bruce Abbott, revealing that she abused him verbally and physically, and that it also ruined her marriage to second husband James Cameron. 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 she chose treatment and regrets the pain it caused those she loves.
  • In the original screenplay of The Terminator, her character, Sarah Connor, was 19 years old. 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 bi-polar on the October 14, 2005, episode of Larry King Live.

[edit] Awards

  • Awards for
  • Linda Hamilton (I)
  • Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
  • Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s)
  • 1992 Won Saturn Award Best Actress
  • for: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
  • Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
  • Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s)
  • 1998 Won Blockbuster Entertainment Award Favorite Actress - Action/Adventure
  • for: Dante's Peak (1997)
  • CableACE Awards
  • Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s)
  • 1995 Won CableACE Actress in a Movie or Miniseries
  • for: A Mother's Prayer (1995) (TV)


  • Satellite Awards
  • Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s)
  • 2000 Won Golden Satellite Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television
  • for: The Color of Courage (1999) (TV)

[edit] Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1979 Night-Flowers Wafer
1982 Tag: The Assassination Game Suzan Swayze
1984 The Terminator Sarah Connor
Children of the Corn Vicky
The Stone Boy Eva Crescent Moon Lady on Bus
1986 King Kong Lives Dr. Amy Franklin
Black Moon Rising Nina
1990 Mr. Destiny Ellen Jane
1991 Terminator 2: Judgment Day Sarah Connor
1994 Silent Fall Karen Rainer
1995 Separate Lives Lauren Porter
1996 T2 3-D: Battle Across Time Sarah Connor At Universal Studios, Orlando
1997 Dante's Peak Mayor Rachel Wando
Shadow Conspiracy Amanda Givens
1999 The Secret Life of Girls Ruby Sanford
2000 Skeletons in the Closet Tina Conway
2002 Silent Night Elisabeth Vincken
2003 Wholey Moses Valerie Short
2004 Jonah June Short
2005 Smile Bridget
Missing in America Kate
2006 Broken Karen Post-production
Thief Roselyn Moore

[edit] External links

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