James Cameron was born in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada, on August 16, 1954. He moved to the US in 1971. The son of an engineer, he majored in physics at California State University but, after graduating, drove a truck to support his screen-writing ambition. He landed his first professional film job as art director, miniature-set builder, and process-projection supervisor on Roger Corman's Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) and debuted as a director with Piranha Part Two: The Spawning (1981) the following year.
In 1984, he wrote and directed The Terminator (1984), a futuristic action-thriller starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. It was a huge success. After this came a string of successful science-fiction action films such as Aliens (1986) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Cameron also created another futuristic production, this one a television series, called Dark Angel. Cameron is now one of the most sought-after directors in Hollywood.
Personal life[edit | edit source]
James was formerly married to producer Gale Anne Hurd, who produced several of his films. He married Kathryn Bigelow in 1989, and they divorced in 1991.
He married his Terminator actress star Linda Hamilton in 1997, six years after she starred in Terminator 2. They had one daughter together, and divorced in 1999.
James has been married five times: Sharon Williams (1978-1984), Gale Anne Hurd (1985-1989), Kathryn Bigelow (1989-1991), Linda Hamilton (1997-1999, one daughter), and Suzy Amis (2000-, one son, two daughters).