Linda Hamilton
Linda Hamilton | |
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![]() Hamilton at the Big Apple Convention in Manhattan, October 17, 2009. | |
Born |
Linda Carroll Hamilton September 26, 1956 Salisbury, Maryland, U.S. |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1980–present |
Spouse(s) |
Bruce Abbott (1982–1989; divorced; 1 son) James Cameron (1997–1999; divorced; 1 daughter) |
Linda Carroll Hamilton (September 26, 1956) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Sarah Connor in The Terminator film series and Catherine Chandler in the 1987–1990 television series Beauty and the Beast, for which she was nominated for two Golden Globes and an Emmy. Hamilton had a recurring role as Mary Elizabeth Bartowski on NBC's Chuck.
Early life
Hamilton was born in Salisbury, Maryland. Her mother was a Mayflower descendant. Hamilton's father, Carroll Stanford Hamilton, a physician, died when she was five, and her mother remarried to a police chief.[1][2][3] Hamilton has an identical twin sister (Leslie Hamilton Gearren), one older sister and one younger brother. She has said that she was raised in a "very boring, white Anglo-Saxon" family, and “voraciously read books” during her spare time.[2] Hamilton went to Wicomico Junior High (now Wicomico Middle School) and Wicomico High School in Salisbury, with her twin sister, Leslie. She studied for two years at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, before moving on to acting studies in New York City. While attending Washington College, Hamilton states her acting professor told her she had no hope of earning a living as an actress. In New York, she attended acting workshops given by Lee Strasberg.[4]
Career
Hamilton's acting debut came first on television, followed by a major role as Lisa Rogers in the prime-time soap opera Secrets of Midland Heights (December 1980/January 1981). Her big-screen debut was in the thriller TAG: The Assassination Game (1982) and as a result, she was listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1982" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 34. She also shared a starring role in the CBS made for TV movie Country Gold, with Loni Anderson and Earl Holliman.
Hamilton played the lead role in Children of the Corn, based on the horror short story by Stephen King. The movie, which made $14 million at the box office,[5] was panned by critics.[6] Hamilton's next role was in The Terminator, opposite Michael Biehn, in 1984. The movie was an unexpectedly huge commercial and critical success.[7][8][9] Following The Terminator, Hamilton starred in Black Moon Rising, an action thriller with Tommy Lee Jones. She then returned to television as a guest-star in the mystery series Murder, She Wrote, scoring favorable reviews. Hamilton next starred opposite Ron Perlman in the TV series Beauty and the Beast. The series was critically acclaimed, and she received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Hamilton left the series in 1989 and it ended in 1990.
Hamilton returned to the big screen in 1990 with Michael Caine in Mr. Destiny and in 1991 with Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the sequel to The Terminator. The latter was a smash at the box office, grossing over $500 million, more than any other film of that year. Hamilton underwent intense physical training to emphasize the character's transformation from the first film.[10] Her identical twin sister Leslie Hamilton Gearren was Linda's double in Terminator 2. Hamilton received two MTV Movie Awards for her role in the film, one for Best Female Performance and the other for Most Desirable Female. She reprised the character, Sarah Connor, for the theme park attraction T2 3-D. In 1990, Hamilton was chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world. Following the success of the Terminator series, she hosted Saturday Night Live.
She returned to television in A Mother's Prayer (1995) playing a mother who lost her husband and is diagnosed with AIDS. For her performance in the film, which co-starred Kate Nelligan and Bruce Dern, Hamilton was awarded a CableACE Award for best dramatic performance and nominated for another Golden Globe in 1996. That same year, Hamilton filmed two motion pictures that were released one week apart in 1997: Shadow Conspiracy with Charlie Sheen and Dante's Peak with Pierce Brosnan. Shadow Conspiracy flopped at the box office, but Dante's Peak grossed $180 million and was one of the biggest commercial hits of the year. She received a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for female performance in Dante's Peak.
Hamilton has since appeared on the television shows Frasier (season 4 episode "Odd Man Out" as Laura) and According to Jim 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. Hamilton and her Beauty and the Beast costar Ron Perlman reunited in the 2005 post-Vietnam war drama Missing in America.
In 2009, she returned as Sarah Connor in Terminator Salvation, in voice-overs only. In 2010, she joined the cast of Chuck in the recurring guest role of Mary Elizabeth Bartowski, a CIA agent and long-missing mother of Chuck and Ellie.[11][12] She also appears as a guest star in the Showtime cable television show Weeds as the marijuana supplier for the show's main character (Mary-Louise Parker). In November 2011, she narrated the Chiller The Future of Fear horror documentary.[13][14]
Personal life
Hamilton has been married and divorced twice.[15] Her first marriage (1982-89) was to Bruce Abbott, who walked out on her when she was pregnant with their son Dalton.[16][17] In 1991, she moved in with film director James Cameron following his divorce from Kathryn Bigelow.[17] They had a daughter, Josephine, born in 1993.[16] She and Cameron married in 1997; but the marriage was short-lived, ending in a $50 million divorce settlement in 1999.[18]
Hamilton has described herself politically as a Democrat, but she voted for Republican candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger, her Terminator co-star, in the 2003 California gubernatorial election after his campaign convinced her he was suitable for the job.[19]
In an October 2005 appearance on Larry King Live, Hamilton told the audience that she has bipolar disorder, which she said destroyed her marriage to Abbott, whom she admitted having abused verbally and physically, and eventually sought treatment.[15]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1980 | Shirley | Gloria | Episode: "Teddy Roosevelt Slept Here" |
1980 | Reunion | Anne Samoorian | Television movie |
1980 | Rape and Marriage: The Rideout Case | Greta Rideout | Television movie |
1980–1981 | Secrets of Midland Heights | Lisa Rogers | 10 episodes |
1982 | King's Crossing | Lauren Hollister | 10 episodes |
1982 | Tag: The Assassination Game | Susan Swayze | |
1982 | Country Gold | Josie Greenwood | Television movie; Air date: November 23, 1982[20] |
1983 | Trading Places | cameo | |
1984 | Children of the Corn | Vicky | |
1984 | The Terminator | Sarah Connor | |
1984 | Hill Street Blues | Sandy Valpariso | 4 episodes |
1984 | The Stone Boy | Eva Crescent Moon | |
1985 | Secret Weapons | Elena Koslov | Television movie |
1986 | King Kong Lives | Dr. Amy Franklin | |
1986 | Black Moon Rising | Nina | |
1986 | Murder, She Wrote | Carol McDermott | Episode: "Menace, Anyone?" |
1987–1989 | Beauty and the Beast | Catherine Chandler | 46 episodes |
1988 | Go Toward the Light | Claire Madison | Television movie |
1990 | Mr. Destiny | Ellen Jane | |
1991 | Terminator 2: Judgment Day | Sarah Connor | |
1991 | Saturday Night Live | Host | Episode: "Linda Hamilton/Mariah Carey" |
1993 | Frasier | Laura | Episode: "Odd Man Out" |
1994 | Silent Fall | Karen Rainer | |
1995 | A Mother's Prayer | Rosemary Holstrom | |
1995 | Separate Lives | Lauren Porter/Lena | |
1996 | T2 3-D: Battle Across Time | Sarah Connor | Short film |
1997 | Dante's Peak | Mayor Rachel Wando | $180 million gross |
1997 | Shadow Conspiracy | Amanda Givens | |
1997 | Frasier | Laura | Episode: "Odd Man Out" |
1998 | On the Line | Det. Jean Martin | Television movie |
1998 | Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Couples | Marie Taquet | Television movie |
1998 | Point Last Seen | Rachel Harrison | Television movie |
1998 | The Color of Courage | Anna Sipes | Television movie |
1998–1999 | Hercules | Nemesis | Voice only in two episodes: "Hercules and the King for a Day" (1998) and "Hercules and the Romans" (1999) |
1999 | The Secret Life of Girls | Ruby Sanford | |
2000 | Skeletons in the Closet | Tina Conway | |
2000 | Sex & Mrs. X | Joanna Scott | Television movie |
2000 | Buzz Lightyear of Star Command | Dr. Furbanna | 3 episodes |
2001 | Bailey's Mistake | Liz Donovan | Television movie |
2001 | A Girl Thing | Rachel | Television movie |
2002 | Silent Night | Elisabeth Vincken | Television movie |
2003 | Wholey Moses | Valerie | Short film |
2004 | Jonah | June | Short film |
2005 | Smile | Bridget | |
2005 | According to Jim | Melissa Evans | Episode: "Lean on Me" |
2005 | Missing in America | Kate | |
2005 | The Kid & I | Susan Mandeville | |
2006 | Thief | Roselyn Moore | 2 episodes |
2006 | Home by Christmas | Julie Bedford | Television movie |
2007 | Broken | Karen | |
2008–2009 | The Line | Carol | 11 episodes |
2009 | Hard Times | Cory | |
2009 | Terminator Salvation | Sarah Connor | (Voice only) Uncredited |
2010 | Weeds | Linda | 3 episodes |
2010 | DC Showcase: Jonah Hex | Madame Lorraine | |
2010–2012 | Chuck | Mary Elizabeth Bartowski | 12 episodes |
2013 | Bad Behavior | ||
2013 | Lost Girl | Acacia | 2 Episodes |
2014 | Bermuda Tentacles | Admiral Hansen | Television movie |
2014 | Defiance | Pilar McCawley | 3 episodes |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1992 | Saturn Award | Best Actress | Terminator 2: Judgment Day | Won[21] |
1998 | Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | Favorite Actress—Action/Adventure | Dante's Peak | Won[21] |
1995 | CableACE Awards | Actress in a Movie or Miniseries | A Mother's Prayer | Won[21] |
2001 | DVD Exclusive Awards | Video Premiere Award Best Supporting Actress | Skeletons in the Closet | Won[21] |
1988 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series—Drama | Beauty and the Beast | Nominated[21] |
1989 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series—Drama | Beauty and the Beast | Nominated[21] |
1996 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV | A Mother's Prayer | Nominated[21] |
1992 | MTV Movie Awards | MTV Movie Award Best Female Performance | Terminator 2: Judgment Day | Won[21] |
1992 | MTV Movie Awards | MTV Movie Award Most Desirable Female | Terminator 2: Judgment Day | Won[21] |
2000 | Satellite Awards | Golden Satellite Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture | The Color of Courage | Won[21] |
References
- ↑ "Linda Hamilton Biography (1956–)". Film Reference. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pfefferman, Naomi (May 16, 2002). "The ‘Jewish’ Side of Linda Hamilton". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles.
- ↑
- ↑ "Linda Hamilton biography". biography.com. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
- ↑ " Children of the Corn (1984)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ↑ "Children of the Corn (1984)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ↑ "The Terminator – Box Office Data". The Numbers. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
- ↑ "The Top Movies, Weekend of November 9, 1984". The Numbers. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
- ↑ "'The Terminator' surprises the critics; is a top grosser". Tri City Herald. November 30, 1984. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
- ↑ "Making of Terminator 2". Empire Magazine. September 1991. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
- ↑ Ausiello, Michael "'Chuck' scoop: Mama Bartowski to be played by... Sarah freakin' Connor!". Entertainment Weekly. July 24, 2010. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
- ↑ Hibberd, James "Linda Hamilton joins ‘Chuck’". The Hollywood Reporter. July 24, 2010. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
- ↑ "The Future of Fear". Chiller TV. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
- ↑ Zimmerman, Samuel. "Chiller contemplates 'THE FUTURE OF FEAR'". Fangoria. November 23, 2011
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "CNN Larry King Live Interview with Linda Hamilton (transcript)". CNN.com. 2005-10-14. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Linda Hamilton Biography - Yahoo! Movies
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Sewards, Lisa (February 5, 2011). "My Rollercoaster Marriage To The Crazy Genius Behind Avatar". Daily Mail.
- ↑ "Forbes: Michael Jordan's Divorce Most Costly Ever". Fox News. 2007-04-16. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ↑ "Linda Hamilton: 'I Voted for Scwarzenegger'". starpulse.com. 2007-07-24. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
- ↑ "Garage Sale Finds: What was on TV November 20th through 26th, 1982 (TV Guide Magazine reproduction)". GarageSalin. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 21.7 21.8 21.9 "Awards for Linda Hamilton". imdb. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Linda Hamilton. |
- Linda Hamilton at the Internet Movie Database
- 2006 Linda Hamilton Interview on Sidewalks Entertainment
- Linda Hamilton interview with Larry King
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