Rise to Fame
The 1984 Terminator made her a recognizable face. T2 made her a reference point. Between the two, Hamilton trained with Israeli soldiers, rebuilt her physique, and came back as a version of Sarah Connor nobody in Hollywood knew how to categorize: a female lead who actually looked dangerous. T2 grossed over $500 million and won her a Saturn Award. Most people forget she also pulled two Golden Globe nominations for Beauty and the Beast in the years between.
In the Spotlight
She turned down Terminator 3 in 2003. Dark Fate in 2019 brought her back, underperformed, and got quietly forgotten. What came after was stranger: she was considering retirement when the Duffer Brothers personally recruited her for Stranger Things Season 5 (2025), casting her as Dr. Kay, a villainous military researcher. After four decades, she's still the actor directors call when they need someone who doesn't look like she's performing toughness.
Side Notes
Her identical twin sister, Leslie Hamilton Freas, doubled for her in T2 in the scene where T-1000 impersonates Sarah. Leslie died in 2020. Hamilton's marriage to James Cameron ran from 1991 to 1999, ending when she discovered his affair with Suzy Amis on the set of Titanic. The settlement was reportedly close to $50 million. She's been public about bipolar disorder and cocaine addiction, crediting her children as the reason she got treatment.