So she chose New Orleans despite not having an established social network there.
She bought a house and started over.
Years later, that spontaneous decision appears to have become one of the defining choices of her later life.
In a 2026 interview with PEOPLE, Hamilton spoke warmly about the city and the life she has created there.
The pace gives her something Hollywood often could not.
Community.
Solitude when she wants it.
Connection when she needs it.
Simplicity.
She even described having a local morning coffee group, while acknowledging that she remains deeply introverted and needs substantial time alone.
Books, animals, family and familiar faces appear to matter more than being at the center of celebrity culture.
Becoming “Grandy”
Another major source of happiness has entered Hamilton’s life.
She is now a grandmother.
Her son Dalton has a young child who lives nearby, giving Hamilton the opportunity to participate closely in her grandson's life.
She has chosen the grandmother name “Grandy.”
Speaking with both AARP and PEOPLE, Hamilton described the connection with her grandson as deeply meaningful.
What makes her comments especially interesting is that she does not frame grandparenthood primarily in terms of legacy.
She has already created a substantial professional legacy.
Sarah Connor will likely remain part of cinema history long after Hamilton stops acting.
But her relationship with her grandson is immediate rather than historical.
It belongs to the present.
And being present has become one of the central themes of Hamilton's outlook.
Grief Also Changed Her Perspective
The peace Hamilton describes did not emerge from an easy life.
One especially profound loss came with the death of her identical twin sister, Leslie.
Hamilton told AARP that losing her twin forced her to reckon more seriously with life and mortality.
It also inspired action.
She began pursuing experiences she had postponed.
One was horseback riding.
More specifically, she returned to jumping horses after approximately four decades away.
Hamilton described the experience as both ridiculous and fun.
That detail says something significant about her attitude toward aging.
She is not trying to become younger.
But she also refuses to interpret getting older as a command to stop living.
There is an enormous difference between the two.
Health Without Obsession
Hamilton's philosophy also offers a useful counterpoint to modern wellness culture.
Today, longevity itself has become an industry.
People track sleep, supplements, calories, heart rates, blood sugar, biological age and countless other metrics.
Hamilton's approach appears considerably less rigid.
She exercises.
She works with physical therapists.
She takes her physical condition seriously.
But she also allows room for pleasure.
In her AARP interview, she joked that sometimes the appropriate choice is simply a jelly doughnut.
The point wasn't that health doesn't matter.
It was that health does not have to become another form of imprisonment.
Hamilton spoke about the importance of remaining flexible—not merely physically but psychologically.
Rigidity, in her view, can become its own limitation.