Helen Hunt Biography
A pretty, effervescent blonde player, Helen Hunt is the daughter of acting coach and director Gordon Hunt. Born in Culver City, CA, she moved with her family to NYC for six years where she was exposed to theater. When her family returned to L.A., Hunt had decided she wanted to be an actress. Her first job was in the TV-movie “Pioneer Woman” (ABC, 1973), as the daughter of Joanna Pettet. Hunt landed her first spot as a series regular playing the daughter of a policewoman (Jessica Walter) on “Amy Prentiss” (NBC, 1974-75). She continued playing daughters (”Swiss Family Robinson”, ABC 1975-76; “It Takes Two” ABC, 1982-83) or girls-next-door (”The Fitzpatricks”, CBS 1977-78) in series TV, guest appearances (”Family”) and TV-movies (”Angel Dusted”, NBC 1981). Her lead performance in the CBS TV-movie “Quarterback Princess” (1983) earned her praise. One of Hunt’s first adult roles was as the girlfriend of Dr. Jack Morrison (David Morse) on the acclaimed NBC drama series “St. Elsewhere”. She played the title role in “Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Smart Story” (1991) about a school teacher arrested along with her 16-year-old lover for the murder of her husband. Hunt received some of her best notices to date (as well as several awards including two Emmys) as Jamie Buchman in the weekly comedy series “Mad About You” (NBC, 1992-99), co-starring with Paul Reiser as a couple facing the ups and downs of marriage.
On stage, Hunt appeared off-Broadway with Mary Stuart Masterson in “Been Taken” (1985) and co-starred opposite first Eric Stoltz and later Jason Gedrick on Broadway as Emily Webb in a revival of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” (1989). She has appeared in Los Angeles-area productions of “Vital Signs”, “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Value of Names”.
On the big screen, Hunt made her debut in “Rollercoaster” (1977), played Sarah Jessica Parker’s goofy friend in “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (1985) and Kathleen Turner’s teenaged daughter in Francis Ford Coppola’s “Peggy Sue Got Married” (1986). She brought spunk to her role as an animal trainer in “Project X” (1987), was wasted as Patrick Swayze’s wife in “Next of Kin” (1989) and delivered a delicately nuanced, richly observed portrayal of a married editor of a writer crippled in a climbing accident who becomes romantically involved with him in Neil Jimenez’s “The Waterdance” (1992). In 1992, her “Quarterback Princess” co-star Tim Robbins directed her in a cameo in his political satire “Bob Roberts” and she won praise as a smart-mouthed young agent of Buddy Young Jr (Billy Crystal) in “Mr. Saturday Night” (1992). After a turn as David Caruso’s wife in Barbet Schroeder’s “Kiss of Death” (1995), Hunt had her biggest screen hit with Jan De Bont’s “Twister” (1996). Hunt looked great in a tank top but also brought a strong presence and believable intelligence to her role as a scientist tracking tornadoes with her estranged husband (Bill Paxton). She earned glowing reviews and netted a Best Actress Oscar for her turn as a single mother and waitress who becomes involved with Jack Nicholson’s curmudgeon in “As Good As It Gets” (1997). On the strength of this performance, Hunt was cast as the leading lady in a slew of movies in 2000, playing opposite Kevin Spacey, Richard Gere, Mel Gibson and Tom Hanks. In 2001, she starred opposited Woody Allen in “Curse of the Jade Scorpion,” and in 2002 was busy developing several projects under her Hunt/Tavel Productions company, these with Hunt in a leading, rather than romantic supporting role.
- Also Credited As:
Helen Elizabeth Hunt - Born:
on 06/15/1963 in Culver City, California - Job Titles:
Actor, Director
Family
- Daughter: Makena lei Gordon Carnahan. born May 13, 2004; father is writer-producer Matthew Carnahan
- Father: Gordon Hunt. directed award-winning episode of “Mad About You”; divorced Hunt’s mother in 1981
- Grandmother: Dorothy Fries.
- Mother: Jane Hunt. divorced Hunt’s father in 1981
- Uncle: Peter Hunt.
Significant Others
- Husband: Hank Azaria. became engaged in 1997; married on July 17, 1999; separated c. May 2000; Hunt filed for divorce on December 18, 2000
- Companion: Matthew Broderick. born March 21, 1962; acted with Hunt in “Project X” (1987); no longer together
- Companion: Matthew Carnahan.
Education
- University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
Milestones
- 1966 Lived in New York with her family
- 1973 Made TV debut in the ABC movie “Pioneer Woman”
- 1977 Made feature debut in “Rollercoaster”
- 1982 Played recurring role of Dr Jack Morrison’s girlfriend on the NBC medical series “St. Elsewhere”
- 1989 Made Broadway debut replacing Penelope Ann Miller as Emily Webb in a revival of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town”
- 1996 Co-starred with Bill Paxton in Jan De Bont’s blockbuster “Twister”
- 1997 Had strong leading role in the comedy-drama “As Good As It Gets”; received Academy Award as Best Actress
- 1998 Made TV directorial debut with episodes of “Mad About You”
- 2000 Acted in Robert Altman’s “Dr. T and the Women”
- 2000 Co-starred opposite Tom Hanks in “Castaway”
- 2000 Had leading role opposite Mel Gibson in “What Women Want”
- 2000 Starred opposite Kevin Spacey in “Pay It Forward”
- 2001 Had leading role in Woody Allen’s “The Curse of the Jade Scorpion”
- 2005 Co-starred with Ed Harris and Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Empire Falls” a miniseries on HBO
- Cast as the next door neighbor on “The Fitzpatricks” (CBS)
- Cast member of the series “Swiss Family Robinson”
- Co-starred on the relationship sitcom, “Mad About You”; made a producer during the 1996-1997 season
- Co-starred with Patty Duke, Richard Crenna and Anthony Edwards in the ABC sitcom “It Takes Two”
- Debut as a TV series regular as title character’s daughter on NBC police drama “Amy Prentiss”
- Makes her directorial debut in the upcoming drama “Then She Found Me,” a drama adapted from Elinor Lipman’s novel of the same name (lensed 2005)
- Moved to NYC
- Returned to L.A.
- Signed on to star in Emilio Estevez’s ensemble project “Bobby,” which will blend fact and fiction around the night in 1968 when Senator Kennedy was shot (lensed 2006)
Next:Bonnie Hunt Biography
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