With all this talk in regards to the upcoming Terminator movie due to hit theaters on July 1, I thought it was more poignant than ever to do an update on the leading lady of the franchise – Linda Hamilton. She was born in Maryland in 1956 and, while studying acting during her college years, she was told she’d never make a living as an actress. Now she’s an Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Award Winner, an MTV Movie Award Winner, an Emmy Award Nominee, a Fangoria Chainsaw Nominee and a 3X Golden Globe Nominee. Needless to say, she proved that person wrong and has starred in one of the most popular film franchises to date.
Her career as an actress started in the late 1970s, but – after roles in various movies and television shows of unrecognition – she landed the recurring role of Lisa Rogers on “Secrets of Midland Heights” from 1980-1981 followed by another recurring role as Lauren Hollister on “King’s Crossing” in 1982. Fresh off this success, she appeared in scifi’s Wishman (1983) before making it to the big leagues of Hollywood. In 1984 she played the lead role of Vicky in the cult classic Children of the Corn, which she followed up by playing iconic Sarah Conner in The Terminator. The Terminator is often considered one of the top 200 movies of all time and has since become historic in all sense of the word. Hamilton quickly became attached to Terminator 2: Judgement Day in 1991 after appearing in scifi’s Black Moon Rising, King Kong Lives and “Beauty and the Beast,” and Judgement Day was met with even more success; becoming a 4X Oscar Winner and grossing over $204,000,000 at the box office.
Things started to slow down for Linda after her days battling robots. She continued to act, but her only credits fitting to this write up include mystery’s Silent Fall (1994) and thriller Dante’s Peak (1997). Trying something new, she started doing voice over work near the end of the 1990s with spots in “Batman Beyond,” “Hercules” and “Buzz Lightyear Star Command.” She appeared in another mystery, Skeleton’s in the Closet, in 2001 and even returned to the franchise that made her famous with an uncredited vocal performance in Terminator: Salvation (2009).
So, where is Linda Hamilton now?
She started off the 2010s decade with recurring roles on “Weeds” and “Chuck,” the latter of the two lasting for two years. Most recently she’s found a home on the SyFy Network with recurring roles on “Lost Girl” in 2013 and “Defiance” in 2014. She also starred in the CGI mockbuster Bermuda Tentacles in 2014 and she has a family themed feature due out later this year. Although, I think it’s safe to say she is one of the queens of science fiction!
