Hamilton was born in Salisbury, Maryland. Hamilton\'s father, Carroll Stanford Hamilton, a physician, died when she was five, and her mother later married 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 family, and "voraciously read books" during her spare time. Hamilton went to Wicomico Junior High (now Wicomico Middle School) and Wicomico High School in Salisbury, with Leslie, her twin. She studied for two years at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, before moving on to acting studies in New York City. Hamilton has said that her acting professor at Washington College told her she had no hope of earning a living as an actress. In New York, she attended acting workshops given by Lee Strasberg.\n', '

Hamilton\'s acting debut came first on television, followed by a major role as Lisa Rogers in the prime-time soap opera Secrets of Midland Heights (December 1980/January 1981). Her big-screen debut was in the thriller TAG: The Assassination Game (1982) and as a result, she was listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1982" in John Willis\' Screen World, Vol. 34. She also shared a starring role in the CBS made-for-TV movie Country Gold, with Loni Anderson and Earl Holliman.\n', '

Hamilton played the lead role in Children of the Corn, based on the horror short story by Stephen King. The movie, which made $14 million at the box office, was panned by critics. Hamilton\'s next role was in The Terminator, opposite Michael Biehn, in 1984. The movie was an unexpectedly huge commercial and critical success. Following The Terminator, Hamilton starred in Black Moon Rising, an action thriller with Tommy Lee Jones. She then returned to television as a guest-star in the mystery series Murder, She Wrote, scoring favorable reviews. Hamilton next starred opposite Ron Perlman in the TV series Beauty and the Beast. The series was critically acclaimed, and she received Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations. Hamilton left the series in 1989 and it ended in 1990.\n', '

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