Short Biography

Linda Carroll Hamilton (born September 26, 1956) is a Golden Globe- and Emmy Award-nominated American actress, best known for her roles as Sarah Connor in The Terminator and its sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day and as Catherine Chandler in Beauty and the Beast.

Early life

Hamilton was born in Salisbury, MD to a physician father who died in a car accident when she was five. Linda has an identical twin sister, 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. Hamilton went to Wicomico Junior High (now Wicomico Middle School) and Wicomico High School in Salisbury, Maryland, with her twin sister, Leslie Hamilton Gearren. 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, 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.

Career

Hamilton`s acting debut came first with guest starring appearances on television, followed by a major role as Lisa Rogers in the prime-time soap opera Secrets of Midland Heights (1980).

Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1982" in John Willis` Screen World, Vol 34. Hamilton`s film debut was a lead role in the horror film Children of the Corn, even though this very article`s Filmography lists her as a cast member in the 1982 film Tag: The Assassination Game. The movie, Children of the Corn, was panned by critics, but it made a profit at the box office, and had a strong cult following. Hamilton`s next role was in The Terminator, costarring Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1984. The movie was an unexpectedly huge commercial as well as critical success. Following The Terminator, Hamilton starred in Black Moon Rising, an action thriller starring Tommy Lee Jones. She then returned to television in the mystery comedy Murder, She Wrote, scoring favorable reviews. Hamilton then 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.
in Terminator 2: Judgement DayHamilton went back to the big screen with the sequel to The Terminator titled Terminator 2: Judgment Day in 1991. The film was a smash at the box office, grossing over $500 million, and becoming the highest grossing film of the year. Hamilton underwent immense physical training to emphasize the character`s transformation from the first film. 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. Hamilton reprised this character, Sarah Connor, for the theme park attraction T2 3-D.

In 1990, she was chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world. Following the success of the Terminator series, Hamilton hosted Saturday Night Live. She then returned to television in A Mother`s Prayer (1997) playing a mother who lost her husband and is diagnosed with AIDS. She earned yet another Golden Globe nomination. In 1996, Hamilton filmed two motion pictures that were released one week apart in 1997: Shadow Conspiracy with Charlie Sheen and Dante`s Peak with Pi

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