Linda Hamilton

Linda Hamilton was married twice. First, she married Bruce Abbott in 1982. The couple separated in 1989 while she was pregnant with their son Dalton. In 1991, she started living together with film director James Cameron. Their daughter, Josephine was born in 1993. The couple married in 1997 but within two years the marriage ended in a $50 million divorce settlement.

In October 2005 on ‘Larry King Live’, she admitted to having suffered from bipolar disorder, which she claimed was responsible for her failed marriage with Abbott.

During the shooting of ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’, she fired a gun inside an elevator without using her ear plugs and suffered permanent ear damage.

Linda Hamilton was born on 26 September 1956 in Salisbury, Maryland, U.S. Her father, Carroll Stanford Hamilton was a doctor. He died when she was only five years old and soon after, her mother remarried a police officer.

She has an identical twin sister named Leslie Hamilton. She also has an older sister and a younger brother.

Growing up, she studied at the Wicomico Junior High School in Salisbury. Later, she attended Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, for a couple of years.

Before long, she shifted to New York City to study acting and attended courses by Lee Strasberg.

Linda Hamilton began her career as a television actress and eventually moved on to films. Following some initial minor roles, she bagged a significant role in CBS’ night time soap opera ‘Secrets of Midland Heights’ which was aired from December 1980 to January 1981.

In 1982, she made her debut in films with the thriller ‘TAG: The Assassination Game’. She also appeared in CBS tele-film ‘Country Gold’.

In 1984, she played the lead role in the American horror film, ‘Children of the Corn’. Although slammed by critics, the film made huge profits at the box office.

The same year, she also appeared opposite Michael Biehn in the most important role of her career so far, ‘The Terminator’ (1984). The film was critically acclaimed and a huge box office success.

In 1986, she appeared with Tommy Lee Jones in the action film, ‘Black Moon Rising’. Soon after, she made a guest-star appearance in the crime drama television series, ‘Murder, She Wrote’.

Linda Hamilton's major Hollywood break happened in 1984 when she played the character of Sarah Connor opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in ‘The Terminator’. Apart from being a huge commercial and critical hit, the film launched her image as a female action hero.

In 1991, she reprised the role of Sarah Connor in the Terminator sequel, ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’. She did extreme physical exercises for her role in the film and her toned body structure earned her the title of ‘Body of the Nineties’.