  linda carroll hamilton (september 26, 1956) is an american actress best known for her portrayal of sarah connor in the terminator and its sequel terminator 2: judgment day and catherine chandler in the 1987â1990 television series beauty and the beast, for which she was nominated for two golden globes and an emmy. hamilton had a recurring role as mary elizabeth bartowski on nbc's chuck. == early life == hamilton was born in salisbury, maryland. her mother was a mayflower descendant. hamilton's father, carroll stanford hamilton, a physician, died when she was five, and her mother remarried to a police chief. hamilton has an identical twin sister (leslie hamilton gearren), one older sister and one younger brother. she has said that she was raised in a "very boring, white anglo-saxon" family, and âvoraciously read booksâ during her spare time. hamilton went to wicomico junior high (now wicomico middle school) and wicomico high school in salisbury, with her twin sister, leslie. she studied for two years at washington college in chestertown, maryland, before moving on to acting studies in new york city. while attending washington college, hamilton states her acting professor told her she had no hope of earning a living as an actress. in new york, she attended acting workshops given by lee strasberg. == career == hamilton's acting 
1956_births 20th-century_American_actresses 21st-century_American_actresses Actresses_from_Maryland American_film_actresses American_people_of_English_descent American_television_actresses American_voice_actresses Identical_twin_actresses Living_people Maryland_Democrats People_from_Salisbury,_Maryland People_with_bipolar_disorder Twin_people_from_the_United_States Washington_College_alumni