QUOTE:


"I have not yet decided that acting is the best way to contribute to this world, and I'm a big contributor." - Linda Hamilton


BIOGRAPHY:


On September 26, 1956, Linda Carroll Hamilton and her identical twin sister, Leslie, were born in Salisbury, Maryland. The twins and their two siblings endured the death of their father in a car crash in 1961, and though he died at a young age, he had already planted the seed of passion for the arts in his children.


During high school, Linda strove to distance herself from her twin in order to find her own identity, and along the way she became interested in acting. She appeared in many school theatrical productions, and after high school, took acting classes at Washington College.


Hamilton took a risk and decided to move to New York City. She enrolled in classes at the renowned Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, where she studied method acting. After many a stage production, Hamilton won a small professional role on the daytime TV drama, Search for Tomorrow. Around this time, Hamilton's talent agency suggested that LA might be a more lucrative place for her and her burgeoning career.


FRUSTRATION & TERMINATION:


Linda Hamilton's early career progress was slow but steady. She continued to win small roles on daytime dramas and TV films like 1980's Rape and Marriage: The Rideout Case and 1982's Country Gold. While working on the low-budget thriller T.A.G.: The Assassination Game, she met Bruce Abbott, whom she married in December 1982. That same year, she discovered that her business manager had embezzled about $100,000 from her. The personal and professional frustration lured her into a cocaine habit.


An unexpected break came in 1984 when Linda was cast as Sarah Connor in The Terminator, a sci-fi thriller starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and directed by James Cameron. The movie was a surprise hit and brought Linda to a much wider audience. Her strength in the role led to similar roles -- typecasting, even -- in thrillers Black Moon Rising and King Kong Lives.


THE BEAUTIFUL SIDE:


Hamilton's other most famous role is that of A.D.A. Catherine Chandler from the television series Beauty and the Beast. Her two-year stay on the show -- from 1987 to 1989 -- even garnered her two Golden Globe nominations. In October 1989, she gave birth to a son, and unfortunately divorced Bruce Abbott shortly afterwards. A single mother, she bought a house in Hawaii to avoid the hysteria of Hollywood.


But she returned to Hollywood in 1990, when she was invited to revive the role of Sarah Connor for Terminator 2: Judgment Day. For the high-action sequel, she underwent considerable military and physical training, work that paid off in the admiration and fame it won her. As the film's tough chick, her sexy fight and gun-firing sequences made her the most popular actress of 1991 (and one of the sexiest women of the decade). In 1992, she took home MTV Movie Awards for Best Female Performance and Most Desirable Female.


A TITANIC MARRIAGE:


After T2, Linda became involved with the film's director, James Cameron. In February 1993, she gave birth to their daughter, Josephine Archer, and, since then, their relationship could be characterized as on-again, off-again. They were separated in 1994, reconciled soon after, and finally married in 1997 during Cameron's shooting of Titanic. They filed for divorce in 1998.


Meanwhile, Hamilton continued acting successfully, though never quite in a leading role (or high scale) like that of T2. Her movies since then have included 1994's Silent Fall, 1995's Separate Lives, and 1997's Shadow Conspiracy and Dante's Peak. She has been slightly more lauded for her efforts in TV movies like 1998's On the Line and 1999's The Color of Courage, which won her a Golden Satellite Award.


HER CAREER ISN'T TERMINATED YET:


In 2002, Hamilton appeared in the TV movie Silent Night, followed by 2003's short film Wholey Moses, also starring Shannyn Sossamon. She has also made her return to theater, where she continues to focus much of her attention. Despite the success the Terminator series afforded her, Hamilton turned down an offer to star in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. She still lives in Hawaii and Hollywood, and enjoys literature, fly-fishing and still continues to have a successful acting career.


ROOTS:


Linda is a direct descendant of William Brewster who came to America with the Mayflower and of Presidents John Adams and John Tyler. And she's a distant cousin of actress Brooke Adams. (read less)

QUOTE:


"I have not yet decided that acting is the best way to contribute to this world, and I'm a big contributor." - Linda Hamilton


BIOGRAPHY:


On September 26, 1956, Linda Carroll Hamilton and her identical twin sister, Leslie, were born in Salisbury, Maryland. The twins and their two siblings endured the death of their father in a car crash in 1961, and though he died at a young age, he had already planted the seed of passion for the arts in his children.


During high school, Linda... (read more)