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' .
Has a daughter with James Cameron : Josephine Cameron (born February 15, 1993).
Has a son with Bruce Abbott : Dalton Abbott (born October 4, 1989).
Has an identical-twin sister (Leslie Hamilton Gearren ), a younger brother and an older sister.
Attended Wicomico Junior High School in Salisbury, Maryland, with her identical-twin sister, Leslie Hamilton Gearren.
She reprised her Terminator 2: Judgment Day character, Sarah Connor, for the theme-park attraction T2 3-D: Battle Across Time , a short film shot in a new 3-D process that makes the film appear to jump out at you.
While Hamilton was attending Washington College, the acting professor told her that she had no hope of earning a living as an actress.
After her role in Terminator 2: Judgment Day , 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 turned down a chance to reprise the role of Sarah Connor in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines .
Her identical twin sister Leslie Hamilton Gearren was Lindas double in Terminator 2: Judgment Day . Leslie is seen when Sarah is remembering playing with John at the park and when the T-1000 is impersonating her.
Sprained her ankle prior to filming The Terminator 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 , 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 . 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 Camerons earnings - close to $50 million.
Auditioned for the role of Captain Kathryn Janeway on "Star Trek: Voyager" , which went to Kate Mulgrew.
Good friends with "Beauty and the Beast" co-star Ron Perlman. They reunited in the theater play "Love Letters" , and in the post-Vietnam war drama Missing in America .
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.
In the original screenplay of The Terminator , 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 Hamiltons age. In real life, Linda was 27 when filming started and turned 28 before the film was released.
Talked about 20 years of treatment for bipolar disorder on the October 14, 2005 show of "Larry King Live" .
Has worked with both actors who were the main heroes of the Predator movies: Arnold Schwarzenegger in two Terminator movies ( The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day ), and Danny Glover in Missing in America .
Is perhaps best known for her roles as Sarah Connor in The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day , and as Catherine Chandler in "Beauty and the Beast" .
James Cameron offered her the role of Molly Brown in Titanic (ultimately played by Kathy Bates ), but she declined.
She was considered for the role of Dr. Chase Meridian in Batman Forever , which went to Nicole Kidman.
She read for the role of Joanne Galloway in A Few Good Men , which went to Demi Moore instead.
She was a method acting student at the Lee Strasberg Institute.
A former manager of hers embezzled $100,000 of her money.
At one stage in her life, she was addicted to cocaine.
Her father, Carroll Stanford Hamilton, died in an automobile accident when she was five.
Ex-sister-in-law of Mike Cameron and John David Cameron.
She was awarded the 1992 Saturn Award for Best Actress as Sarah Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day .
Is a registered Democrat, but admitted to voting for Republican candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 2003 California gubernatorial election.
She was awarded the Best Featured Actress in a Comedy Award for Shoot Me Nicely at the 2016 Williamsburg Independent Film Festival.
She appeared with then-husband Bruce Abbott in two episodes of "Beauty and the Beast" .
Shes a huge fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
She voraciously reads books during her spare time.
Winner of the 2011 International Whistling Entertainer of the Year at the International Whistlers Convention.
Inducted into the International Whistlers Hall of Fame in 2013 for her contributions to the art of musical whistling.
[on the development of the character Sarah Connor from the Terminator,films] A woman who grows and transforms on screen is always a wonderful,thing to play. Sarah went from a vulnerable, normal girl to someone who,finds all of her deep reservoirs of strength and comes through it all.
[why she turned down Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) ],They offered me a part. I read it and knew my character arc was so,complete after the first two, but in the third one it was negligible.
She died halfway through and there was no time to mourn her. It was all,so disposable so I said no thank you.
