‘Terminator’ Actress, 69, Says She Is Not ‘Chasing Beauty’
Linda Hamilton shared what she considers beauty in older age.
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Upon her return to the screen, Linda Hamilton opened up about rejecting Hollywood’s beauty standards.
“I do not spend a moment trying to look younger on any level, ever,” the 69-year-old actress told AARP in an interview promoting her new role as Dr. Kay in Netflix’s latest season of the hit series, Stranger Things.
Hamilton, whose performance as Sarah Connor in the Terminator franchise earned her the MTV ‘Most Desirable Female’ award, told the outlet that she has “surrendered” to the face she “earned.”
Linda Hamilton stars as Dr. Kay in Netflix’s latest season of the hit series, Stranger Things.
Rodin Eckenroth/Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Netflix
“I don’t chase beauty, and I don’t chase longevity particularly,” Hamilton, who became a grandmother in the past year, said, adding that her stance on aging is to “stay as fluid as possible.”
“I’m not rigid, which is a fantastic way to get older,” the actress said, revealing that she tries to stay healthy—but not in a way that keeps her from enjoying life, like treating herself to a jelly donut.
Her fitness routine follows the same approach, as she tries to listen to her body, considering that she has “a lot of damage and harm” from stunts she has performed over the years.
Since her debut at 23, the actress has been known for playing resilient women. When she was invited to star in Terminator 2 by her ex-husband director James Cameron, she had one request: that her character not be a damsel in distress.
Linda Hamilton portrayed Sarah Connor in the 'Terminator' franchise.
CBS Photo Archive/CBS via Getty Images
“To give myself permission to be that powerful, strong woman was necessary for my survival,” Hamilton told The New York Times about portraying her character in the franchise, amid her divorce from her first husband, Bruce Abbott, and after giving birth to their child, Dalton Abbott.
To prepare for her role in Stranger Things, the actress exercised three times a week, doing Pilates, yoga, free weights, machines, and cables, following the motto of moving her body according to its needs that day.
When asked whether she shares the same views as her Terminator co-star Arnold Schwarzenegger, 78, who said he enjoyed “nothing” about aging, the actress gave a very different response.
“I fully inhabit myself in a way that I never did when I was younger,” Hamilton said. “I’m not trying to please anyone or prove anything or show off,” she added.
Hamilton’s son, Dalton Abbott, recently had a child.
Gregg DeGuire/Gregg DeGuire/WireImage
Hamilton has previously opened up about struggling with bipolar disorder and depression, which went undiagnosed for around 20 years—a period she has called “my lost years.” In 2004, she told Today that her quality of life improved considerably following her diagnosis.
“There are those regrets. And I certainly have been making up for it,” the actress said about her past behaviors, adding that she appreciates where she’s landed in her older years.
Hamilton summed up her view on beauty in later life with an anecdote and advice from her daughter, Josephine Archer Cameron, whom she shares with James Cameron.
The actress recalled that when her daughter was about six, she told her she was beautiful because “her face is filled with joy.” Hamilton said she has adopted that as her definition of beauty: “I work on the joy,” she explained.