Linda Hamilton

Linda Carroll Hamilton (born September 26, 1956) is an American actress. Known for portraying tough, resilient characters, she made her film debut in 1979 before coming to prominence with her starring role as Sarah Connor in The Terminator (1984) and two of its sequels, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and Terminator: Dark Fate (2019). Hamilton is the recipient of various accolades, including two Saturn Awards, two MTV Movie Awards, one Satellite Award and one Romy Award, as well as nominations for three Golden Globes and a Primetime Emmy. Hamilton's other film credits include Children of the Corn (1984), Black Moon Rising, King Kong Lives (both 1986), Mr. Destiny (1990), Dante's Peak (1997), and The Kid & I (2005). On television, she played Catherine Chandler in Beauty and the Beast (1987–1989) and the recurring role of Mary Elizabeth Bartowski on NBC's Chuck (2010–2012). Her theatre work includes Laura (Tiffany Theater, 2000) and The Night of the Iguana (Berkshire Theatre, 2006). Divorced from actor Bruce Abbott and director James Cameron, Hamilton has a child from each marriage. Early life Hamilton was born in Salisbury, Maryland, on September 26, 1956. Hamilton's father died when she was five, and her mother later married a police chief. Hamilton had an identical twin sister, Leslie Hamilton Freas (1956–2020), as well as one older sister, a younger brother and a stepbrother. She has said that she was raised in a "very boring, white Anglo-Saxon" household, and that she "voraciously read books" in her spare time. Hamilton went to Wicomico Junior High and Wicomico High School in Salisbury. She studied for two years at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, before moving on to acting studies in New York City. Hamilton has said that her acting professor at Washington College told her she had no hope of earning a living as an actress. In New York, she attended acting workshops given by Lee Strasberg.