Bio: 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 public at large from her part in the TV series Beauty and the Beast (1987) (before Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), at least).
Tivia: 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.Has 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, abusing him verbally and physically, and that it also had 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 that she chose treatment and regrets the pain that her illness caused those she loves.Sprained her ankle prior to filming The Terminator (1984) and it never quite healed right on account of all the running she had to do in the film. While filming Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), she suffered permanent hearing damage in one ear while she fired a gun inside an elevator without using her earplugs.She divorced second husband James Cameron 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.James Cameron offered her the role of Molly Brown in Titanic (1997) (ultimately played by Kathy Bates), but she declined.While Hamilton was attending Washington College, the acting professor told her that she had no hope of earning a living as an actress.No longer receives residuals for Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), due to Carolco, the film's studio, filing for bankruptcy. In a 2020 interview with WGN Radio, she claimed her friends pay her $1 every time they tell her they've seen the film on TV.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.She is the daughter of Barbara Kyle (Holt) and Carroll Stanford Hamilton, a physician. Her father died in an automobile accident when she was five.She turned down a chance to reprise the role of Sarah Connor in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003).Is a registered Democrat, but admitted to voting for Republican candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 2003 California gubernatorial election.Talked about 20 years of treatment for bipolar disorder on the October 14, 2005 show of Larry King Live (1985).At one stage in her life, she was addicted to cocaine.In the original screenplay of The Terminator (1984), the character she played, Sarah Connor, was 19 years old. It was decision of James Cameron 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.Has a daughter with James Cameron: Josephine Cameron (born February 15, 1993).Good friends with 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).A former manager of hers embezzled $100,000 of her money.Has an identical-twin sister (Leslie Hamilton Gearren deceased 8/22/20), an older sister (Laura Hamilton) and a younger brother (Ford Hamilton).Auditioned for the role of Captain Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager (1995), which went to Kate Mulgrew.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.She appeared with then-husband Bruce Abbott in two episodes of Beauty and the Beast (1987).She read for the role of Joanne Galloway in A Few Good Men (1992), which went to Demi Moore instead.Is perhaps best known for her roles as Sarah Connor in The Terminator (1984), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and Terminator: Dark Fate (2019), and as Catherine Chandler in Beauty and the Beast (1987).Has a son with Bruce Abbott: Dalton Abbott (born October 4, 1989).She was considered for the role of Dr. Chase Meridian in Batman Forever (1995), which went to Nicole Kidman.Was considered for the role of Captain Katherine Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager (1995).Attended Wicomico Junior High School in Salisbury, Maryland, with her identical-twin sister, Leslie Hamilton Gearren.She was a method acting student at the Lee Strasberg Institute.She was awarded the Best Featured Actress in a Comedy Award for Shoot Me Nicely (2017) at the 2016 Williamsburg Independent Film Festival.Has worked with both actors who were the main heroes of the Predator movies: Arnold Schwarzenegger in three Terminator movies (The Terminator (1984), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)), and Danny Glover in Missing in America (2005).Her maternal grandfather, Richard Huckstep Holt, was born in Sombrerete, Zacatecas, Mexico, to American parents.Ex-sister-in-law of Mike Cameron and John David Cameron.