Helen Hunt

Biography

Helen Elizabeth Hunt was born June 15, 1963, in Culver City, California. The daughter of Gordon, a director and acting coach, and Jane, a photographer, Helen knew from the age of 6 that she wanted to pursue an acting career.

The Hunt family moved to New York when Helen was three years old, and by the time they returned to Los Angeles, Helen had already had an agent and studied acting; her perseverance and hard work ethic were evident at a very early age. She made her acting debut at the age of 8 years old, on the television series Ark II, and appeared in a recurring role on the The Mary Tyler Moore Show the following year.

Before making her film debut in 1977's Rollercoaster, Helen went through the requisite television roles, with appearances in Made-for-TV movies such as All Together Now, Death Scream, Having Babies, and The Spell.

The Providence High School graduate appeared in shows such as The Bionic Woman, Knots Landing, Family Ties, The Facts of Life, and Gimme A Break!, but it was her role in the series It Takes Two and the Made-for-TV movie The Quarterback Princess that led to her recurring role on the highly popular television show, St. Elsewhere.

By the time she was cast in Peggy Sue Got Married, as the daughter of Nicolas Cage and Kathleen Turner, Helen had already starred in theatre productions of The Taming of the Shrew and Our Town, danced with Sarah Jessica Parker in the teenybopper flick, Girls Just Want to Have Fun, and appeared as Tracy in the film Waiting to Act.

Helen was not really waiting to act -- television movie roles were flowing her way -- but she was waiting for her big, breakthrough role. After her role in 1987's Project X, where she co-starred with Matthew Broderick (whom she dated off-screen for a couple of years), she was cast in the film Next of Kin, Only You, and the Made-for-TV movies Murder in New Hampshire and Into the Badlands.

Finally in 1992, Helen was given the chance to show her remarkable acting skills in the 1992 film, The Waterdance. Considered her best film work to date, Helen had made the leap from low-budget Made-for-TV movies to the big leagues.

1992 was also the year Helen starred in Mr. Saturday Night and Bob Roberts, but most importantly, it was the year she was cast as Jamie Buchman, wife of Paul Reiser in the NBC sitcom, Mad About You. Although she was plagued with the title of a "television actress" for years, it was in Mad About You that Helen's charm and comedic talent were showcased. The role garnered the actress 6 Emmy nominations, 3 Emmy wins and 3 Golden Globe Awards.

In 1996, Helen entered the realm of box-office bonanza, with the summer film Twister while the following year she co-starred with Jack Nicholson for her Oscar-winning performance in As Good As it Gets. Her Best Actress Oscar win made Helen the first actress to win an Emmy and an Academy Award the same year.

After 25 million people watched the birth of her and Paul Reiser's baby in the 1997 season of Mad About You, the series drew to a close in 1999.

But that didn't mean that Helen would no longer be busy. She and long-time companion Hank Azaria exchanged wedding vows in the summer of 1999, and separated a year later.

As for her movie career, Helen can be considered one of the most in-demand actresses today, with a string of movies in 2000. She appeared in Dr. T. and the Women, along with a bevy of actresses, and starred alongside Kevin Spacey in Pay it Forward. She will next be co-starring with Mel Gibson in the romantic comedy, What Women Want and co-starring with Tom Hanks in the much anticipated Cast Away.

Next up for Helen: the film From Alice to Ocean; the hush-hush Woody Allen film, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, co-starring Charlize Theron; and the comedy Timepiece.

Named one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World", the actress/director/producer has successfully made her way from the boob tube to the silver screen, and is probably one of Hollywood's busiest ladies.