31 Unknown Facts About Linda Hamilton You Should Know

Linda Hamilton is a three-time Golden Globe nominee, known for her remarkable roles in epic movies, who has been in the spotlight for decades. She recently turned heads while reprising her role as Sarah Connor in the “Terminator” film series. But did you know that her acting professor at Washington College told her there was no hope of her earning a living as an actress? Here are a few interesting facts about the veteran actress:

1. Hamilton is considered one of the first female action heroes of Hollywood and has earned the title of ‘Body of the Nineties’ with her toned muscles.
2. She was born Linda Carroll Hamilton on September 26, 1956, Salisbury, Maryland, U.S. to Barbara and Carroll Stanford Hamilton. Apart from her twin sister, Leslie Hamilton Gearren, she has an older sister, Laura Hamilton and a younger brother, Ford Hamilton.
3. Hamilton attended Wicomico Junior High and Wicomico High School in Salisbury. After her graduation from school, she spent two years at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, before moving to New York City to study acting.
4. She grew up in ‘a very boring, white Anglo-Saxon’ Maryland home, struggling to differentiate herself from her identical twin sister Leslie, a cheerleader. She became voracious reader and got fat. She cut off her hair and eyelashes, wanting to look ugly.
5. She lost her father, Carroll Stanford Hamilton, in an automobile accident when she was five. At one stage in her life, she was addicted to cocaine.
6. Hamilton played Ethel Rosenberg in the play ‘Lou Shaw’s ‘Worse Than Murder: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg,’ for which she studied Yiddish-language. Ethel along with her husband was strapped into the electric chair in 1953 and executed for passing atomic secrets to soviet.
7. Hamilton made her debut as a television artist in ‘Shirley,’ ‘Reunion,’ and ‘Rape and Marriage: The Rideout Case,’ before bagging the role of Lisa Roger, in the prime-time soap opera, ‘Secret of Midland Heights,’ aired by CBS.
8. She made her feature film debut with 1982 film ‘Tag: The Assassination Game,’ directed by Nick Castle. She was named as one of the twelve promising new actors of 1982 in John Willis’ Screen World.
9. She met her first husband Bruce Abbott in the set of ‘Tag: The Assassination Game,’ and were married for seven years before separating in 1989, when she was pregnant with their son, Dalton.
10. Hamilton was the lead cast in the 1984 supernatural folk horror film ‘Children of the Corn,’ as Vicky Baxter. Although the film was slammed by critics, the film made huge profits at the box office.
11. The 1984 iconic film ‘The Terminator,’ which was critically acclaimed with a huge box office success, launched her career. The character of Sarah Connor, who is small with delicate feature and aged 19 in original screenplay, was made somewhat older to fit Hamilton’s age of 27.
12. She was a method acting student at the ‘Lee Strasberg Institute’ in New York, wanting to be a Shakespearean actress, and with ‘Terminator,’ it all took a left turn. All this happened despite her Washington College acting professor’s prediction that she had no hope of earning a living as an actress.
13. Though she is a registered Democrat, Hamilton voted for Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Republican candidate, to the state governor in the California’s 2003 recall election.
14. Despite having reservation working with Tommy Lee Jones, who was struggling with alcoholism at the time, Hamilton starred with him in the ‘Black Moon Rising,’ in 1986 and followed it up with couple of TV appearances including ‘Murder, She Wrote,’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast.’
15. In 1989, Hamilton wanted to move out of the show, ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ due to her pregnancy and therefore her character was killed at the end of season 2. Though the series received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, it abruptly dropped in rating after Hamilton left and the show was cancelled.
16. She reprised her character Sarah Connor in the ‘Terminator 2: Judgement Day,’ which turned out to be a huge success. Her twin sister, Leslie Hamilton, was used as a double in scenes involving two Sarah Connors.
17. Hamilton underwent an extensive thirteen weeks training regimen involving three hours a day for six days a week and in the process lost 12 pounds. A former Israeli commando Uzi Gal was roped in for action scene and she undertook judo and heavy-duty military training.
18. Hamilton won ‘Saturn Best Actress Award,’ and ‘MTV Movie – Best Female Performance, and Most Desirable Female Awards,’ for her performance in the ‘Terminator 2.’
19. While filming ‘The Terminator,’ she sprained her ankle and it never quite healed on account of all the running she had to do in the film.
20. Similarly, she suffered permanent hearing loss in one ear during the filming of elevator shootout in the Terminator 2, because she did not replace her ear plugs after removing them between takes.
21. She turned down ‘Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,’ in 2003 as she felt her character was negligible and disposable in comparison to first two parts. Also her character dies halfway through and there was no time to mourn her.
22. In 1990, the People Magazine chose Hamilton as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world and with her popularity she went on to host ‘Saturday Night Live.’
23. Hamilton won ‘1996 CableACE-Best Dramatic Performance Award,’ for her portrayal of AIDS victim in the TV drama ‘A Mother’s Prayer,’ aired by USA Network. She was also nominated for Golden Globe Award for her performance.
24. Her significant role was in the film ‘Dante’s Peak,’ starring with Pierce Brosnan, which was huge commercial success. She received a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for her performance.
25. She followed this with number of Television appearances like ‘Frasier,’ and tele-movie such as ‘On the Line,’ ‘The Color of Courage,’ ‘Point Last Seen,’ and ‘Sex & Mrs. X.’
26. In 2009, Hamilton did a voice-over for the character Sarah Connor in the science fiction Terminator sequel, ‘Terminator: Salvation.’ She voiced the lines herself in an uncredited role.
27. She reprised her character Sarah Connor in 2019 film ‘Terminator: Dark Fate, her first starring role since 1991 and also her first movie where she gets top billing ahead of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
28. In 2011, she did the narration for ‘The Future of Fear,’ for Chiller channel and played a cameo in the Canadian supernatural drama TV series, ‘Lost Girl.’ She subsequently appeared in a recurring role in the science fiction TV series ‘Defiance.’
29. Hamilton was married twice. First she married Bruce Abbott in 1982 and then she then moved in with James Cameron, in 1991 before marrying him in 1997, only to end in a $50 million divorce settlement couple of years later.
30. In October 2005, while appearing in the ‘Larry King Live,’ she admitted to having suffered from bipolar disorder, which she claims was the reason for failed marriage with Abbott.
31. Linda Hamilton Net Worth: $70 Million