Linda Hamilton

Linda Carroll Hamilton (born September 26, 1956) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Sarah Connor in The Terminator and its sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Catherine Chandler in the television series Beauty and the Beast, for which she was nominated for two Golden Globes and an Emmy. Currently, Hamilton has a recurring role as Mary Elizabeth Bartowski on NBC's Chuck.

Linda Hamilton invites Ray Lewis to Marine Corps Ball



Linda Hamilton - What would you do?


Linda Hamilton Interview



Linda Hamilton scenes from Terminator 2


Sexy Linda Hamilton - Separate Lives





Early life

Hamilton was born in Salisbury, Maryland to a physician father who died in a car accident when she was five. Hamilton has an identical twin sister (Leslie Hamilton), 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.[2] Hamilton went to Wicomico Junior High (now Wicomico Middle School) and Wicomico High School in Salisbury, with her twin sister, Leslie. 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.
[edit]Career

Hamilton's acting debut came first on television, followed by a major role as Lisa Rogers in the prime-time soap opera Secrets of Midland Heights (1980). Her theatrical debut was in the thriller TAG: The Assassination Game (1982) and as a result, she was listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1982" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol 34.
Hamilton played the lead in Children of the Corn, based on the horror story by Stephen King. The movie 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, co-starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, in 1984. The movie was an unexpectedly huge commercial and critical success. Following The Terminator, Hamilton starred in Black Moon Rising, an action thriller with Tommy Lee Jones. She then returned to television as a guest-star in the mystery series Murder, She Wrote, scoring favorable reviews. Hamilton next 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.
Hamilton returned to the big screen in 1990 with Michael Caine in Mr. Destiny and in 1991 with Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the sequel to The Terminator. The latter was a smash at the box office, grossing over $500 million, more than any other film of that year. Hamilton underwent intense 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. She reprised the character, Sarah Connor, for the theme park attraction T2 3-D.
In 1990, Hamilton was chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world. Following the success of the Terminator series, she hosted Saturday Night Live.
She returned to television in A Mother's Prayer (1995) playing a mother who lost her husband and is diagnosed with AIDS. For her performance in the film, which co-starred Kate Nelligan and Bruce Dern, Hamilton was awarded a CableACE Award for best dramatic performance and nominated for another Golden Globe in 1996.
That same year, Hamilton filmed two motion pictures that were released one week apart in 1997: Shadow Conspiracy with Charlie Sheen and Dante's Peak with Pierce Brosnan. Shadow Conspiracy flopped at the box office, but Dante's Peak grossed $180 million and was one of the biggest commercial hits of the year. She received a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for female performance in Dante's Peak.
Hamilton has since appeared on the television shows Frasier (season 4 episode "Odd Man Out" as Laura) and According to Jim and has done more TV movies, including On the Line, Robots Rising, Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Couples, Point Last Seen, and The Color of Courage.
Hamilton and her Beauty and the Beast costar Ron Perlman reunited in the 2005 post-Vietnam war drama Missing in America.
In 2009, she returned as Sarah Connor in Terminator Salvation, in voice-overs only.
In 2010, she joined the cast of Chuck in the recurring guest role of Mary Elizabeth Bartowski, a CIA agent and long-missing mother of Chuck and Ellie.[3][4] She also appears as a guest star in the Showtime cable television show Weeds as the marijuana supplier for the show's main character (Mary Louise Parker).
[edit]Personal life

Hamilton has been married twice.[5]
She married her first husband, actor Bruce Abbott, on December 18, 1982. In 1989, Abbott and Hamilton separated while she was pregnant with their first child.[5][6] Hamilton gave birth to her son Dalton on October 4, 1989, and the couple divorced before the year's end.
While filming Terminator 2 in 1991, Hamilton began a relationship with director James Cameron, whom she had met seven years earlier when he directed her in the first Terminator film. They had a daughter, Josephine, born in 1993. She and Cameron eventually married in 1997, but the marriage was short-lived, ending in a $50 million divorce settlement in 1999.[7]
Hamilton has described herself politically as a Democrat, but she voted for Republican candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger, her Terminator co-star, in the 2003 California gubernatorial election after his campaign convinced her he was suitable for the job.[8]
In an October 2005 appearance on Larry King Live, Hamilton revealed she has bipolar disorder, which she said destroyed her marriage to first husband Bruce Abbott, whom she admitted having abused verbally and physically, and eventually sought treatment. She also has stated that despite internet rumors to the contrary, she was never married to Peter Horton.[5]
[edit]Awards

Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
1992 – Won Saturn Award Best Actress for Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
1998 – Won Blockbuster Entertainment Award Favorite Actress—Action/Adventure for Dante's Peak (1997)
CableACE Awards
1995 – Won CableACE Actress in a Movie or Miniseries for A Mother's Prayer (1995) (TV)
DVD Exclusive Awards
2001 – Won Video Premiere Award Best Supporting Actress for: Skeletons in the Closet (2001)
Golden Globe Awards
1988 – Nominated Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series - Drama for Beauty and the Beast
1989 – Nominated Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series - Drama for Beauty and the Beast
1996 – Nominated Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV for A Mother's Prayer (1995)
MTV Movie Awards
1992 – Won MTV Movie Award Best Female Performance for Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
1992 – Won MTV Movie Award Most Desirable Female
Satellite Awards
2000 – Won Golden Satellite Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television for The Color of Courage (1999) (TV)
[edit]Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1982 Tag: The Assassination Game Susan Swayze
1984 Children of the Corn Vicky
The Terminator Sarah Connor
The Stone Boy Eva Crescent Moon (lady on bus)
1985 Secret Weapons
1986 King Kong Lives Dr. Amy Franklin
Black Moon Rising Nina
Murder, She Wrote Carol McDermott TV Series
1987 Beauty and the Beast Catherine Chandler TV Series (1987–89)
1988 Go Toward The Light Claire Madison
1990 Mr. Destiny Ellen Jane
1991 Terminator 2: Judgment Day Sarah Connor
1994 Silent Fall Karen Rainer
1995 Separate Lives Lauren Porter/Lena
1996 T2 3-D: Battle Across Time Sarah Connor At Universal Studios, Orlando. Narrator
1997 Dante's Peak Mayor Rachel Wando
Shadow Conspiracy Amanda Givens
Frasier Laura TV series (guest star season 4 Ep 24)
1998 On the Line Det. Jean Martin TV Movie
Point Last Seen Rachel Harrison TV Movie
1999 The Secret Life of Girls Ruby Sanford
2000 Skeletons in the Closet Tina Conway
Sex & Mrs. X Joanna Scott TV Movie
2001 Bailey's Mistake Liz Donovan TV Movie
2002 Silent Night Elisabeth Vincken TV Movie
2003 Wholey Moses Valerie Short
2004 Jonah June Short
2004 A Girl Thing Rachel
2005 Smile Bridget
Missing in America Kate
The Kid & I Susan Mandeville
2006 Thief Roselyn Moore TV series (guest-star in two episodes)
Home by Christmas Julie Bedford TV movie
2007 Broken Karen
2009 Holy Water Cory
The Line Carol TV series (guest-star in two episodes)
Terminator Salvation Sarah Connor Voice role
2010 Weeds Linda
DC Showcase: Jonah Hex Madame Lorraine Voice role
Chuck Mary Elizabeth Bartowski

References from Wikipedia.com