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. Her first parts where small parts in TV series, with her biggest break coming with her role in The Terminator. Most known to the public at large from her part in the TV series Beauty and the Beast (before Terminator 2: Judgment Day, at least).
Daughter, with James Cameron, Josephine Archer Cameron born 15 February 1993. Son, with Bruce Abbott, Dalton Abbott was born 4 October 1989. Linda is an LA Dodgers fan. Linda went to Wicomico Junior High, 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. 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 Linda's 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 original The Terminator and it never quite healed right due to all the running she had to do in the film. 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 Spielbergand Amy Irving. Hamilton stood to take half of Cameron's earnings--close to $50 million. Auditioned for the role of Capt. Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager. Good friends with former Beauty and the Beast co-star Ron Perlman. They reunited in the theater play Love Letters (1990), and in the post-Vietnam war drama Missing in America. 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, her character, Sarah Connor, was 19 years old. In real life, Linda was 27 when filming started and turned 28 before the film was released. Talked about 20 years of treatment for being bipolar 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. Was considered for the role of Dr. Chase Meridian in Batman Forever.