In her role on The Terminator, Linda Hamilton was known as the cyborg assassin slayer, the determined defender of her son, who in the future, would lead the human resistance against menacing robots.
Hamilton was only 28 when the world was introduced to the formidable Sarah Connor and now at 67, fans are still gushing over the stunning star, saying she “used to be young and beautiful. Now, she’s just beautiful.”
Keep reading to learn more about the actor who turns 68 on September 26!
In 1984, the same year she starred in Stephen King’s horror flick Children of the Corn, Linda Hamilton appeared in the box office hit, The Terminator, where she starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The sci-fi film, written and directed by her now ex-husband James Cameron, introduced audiences to Sarah Connor, the warrior mother protecting the future of her son, who in turn saves mankind from the brink of extinction.
“I truly feel like, and felt like, Sarah Connor is not an icon. She’s a woman in hell. She makes some really bad choices. She’s not a good mother, she’s a good fighter!” she tells People about her role. “So you sort of try to parse the details out and go ‘Well, they respect her strength and her power, and I did create a warrior, but she’s very imperfect. She’s an imperfect person.’”
In 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Hamilton doubled her “strength and power” with the inclusion of her identical twin sister Leslie Hamilton Freas, who appeared as her stunt double.
Freas died in 2020 at 63 and no cause of death has been released.
Twice divorced
Before returning for T2, Hamilton showed fans her softer side as Catherine Chandler in the fantasy drama Beauty and the Beast, the TV series she starred with Ron Perlman (Hellboy) that ran from 1987 to 1990.
In 1989, the actor had her first son with ex-husband Bruce Abbott and after divorcing him the same year Dalton was born, Hamilton became involved with Cameron, who she worked closely with on The Terminator.
“I think what happened there is that he really fell in love with Sarah Connor,” Hamilton tells the New York Times of her relationship with the director, who she married in 1997, four years after having daughter Josephine. She adds, “And I did, too.”
But in 1999, The Terminator films continued and the power couple ended their marriage.
“That relationship was a mystery to all of us – even Jim and myself – because we are terribly mismatched,” Hamilton says later in the interview. “I used to say we fit together like a puzzle: Everywhere he’s convex, I’m concave.”
‘Tired of being tough’
After, the Dante’s Peak star then starred in Terminator: Dark Fate (2019), and now she says she’s “done” with action roles.
In an April 2024 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hamilton, who turns 68 on September 26, said, “I was actually talking about retirement, not because there isn’t enough to do, but just I’m tired of being tough.”
She continues, “My hip was hurting for a couple of years and I was like, ‘I’m just so tired of being tough, and I just want to be able to make plans and make sure I can be there,’ because actors never, ever can be there when they say they’re going to be there,” she continued.
But, she’ll be back.
‘Stranger Things’
After being a fan girl of the Netflix hit series Stranger Things, she was offered the opportunity to be a part of it.
“I’ve watched every season with relish. I just love it,” Hamilton tells US Weekly, joking that her addition on the show “ruined it” for her. “So it’s kind of like imposter syndrome where I don’t [feel that I] fit in there. That’s a whole world set in the ’80s.”
Being part of the show made Hamilton view it differently. “When you really buy into something, you don’t see yourself in it,” she admitted. “So, I think in a way, it kind of ruined the show for me.”
Still, she loved the experience and adds, “I’m thrilled to be part of it. But I just never, ever saw that one coming. It is different when you’re a fan of the show to sort of go, ‘Well, how do I fit?’ But we’re working on it.”
‘Brilliant casting move’
While her character is under lock, fans are eager for season five to air.
One fan proclaims, “Yes please! Now just let’s hope they give her an interesting character,” while a second writes, “Well, that was a brilliant casting move.”
A third shares, “When you need to get rid a paranormal terminator from the underworld, you call her.”
Meanwhile, other netizens commented on how incredible the Resident Alien star looks at 67.
“An absolute knockout. Aging gracefully on her terms. Love the actress and the person,” shares one.
“She used to be young and beautiful. Now, she’s just beautiful,” gushes a second. And a third adds, “I had a massive crush on Linda come to think about it, I still do [love] this lady.”
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