While it was this television series that made Helen Hunt a household name, she has never struggled for jobs. Hunt has worked steadily almost the entirety of her life, enjoying minor hits such as the 1985 comedy Girls Just Want to Have Fun, with costar Sarah Jessica Parker of Sex and the City fame. (In an interesting love connection, Parker’s husband Matthew Broderick briefly dated Hunt.)
Undoubtedly, Mad About You was the vehicle which jettisoned Hunt and costar Paul Reiser from working actors into celebrities. It just seemed a matter of time before the blond beauty found silver screen stardom. Also, in 1998, Hunt found her way onto the highly coveted pages of People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People in the World issue.
But don’t be fooled by the movie star looks and blond hair. There is incredible substance behind all that glamour. With her performance in the 1992 film Waterdance, Hunt proved this in a big way. In this film, she stars opposite Eric Stoltz, the indie flick king known from Pulp Fiction and Killing Zoe. Hunt plays the love interest of a man who finds himself paralyzed after a hiking accident.
Hunt earned much acclaim for this emotionally charged role, and she was rewarded four years later by winning the lead in 1996's Twister. This was her first true, blockbuster hit. The following year, she was cast in As Good As It Gets, with Jack Nicholson, Greg Kinnear, and Cuba Gooding Jr. For her standout performance as a struggling waitress and single mom, Hunt won the Oscar for Best Actress.
The year 1999 brought the end of the well-loved series Mad About You, but it most certainly did not bring the end of Hunt’s career. Without even pausing to take a break, Hunt barreled forward. By the close of 2000, she released an astounding four films—an acting feat pretty much unheard of. Doctor T and the Women, Pay It Forward, Cast Away, and What Women Want all went to screen in 2000. All four films did well, but it was Cast Away that emerged best in the box office. Perhaps it had something to do with her adrift costar Tom Hanks—a human magnet for successful films.
Hunt has had, and continues to have, an amazing career. She and Liza Minnelli are the only two actresses to ever win a Golden Globe, Oscar, and Emmy in the same calendar year. But statuettes and awards are not Hunt’s main concern. It is her daughter Makena’Lei Gordon Carnahan who is truly her pride and joy. She was born May 13, 2004, with Hunt’s boyfriend Matthew Carnahan. Hunt has only been married once to fellow actor Hank Azaria, a voice artist on The Simpsons. Although the two were long time companions, the actual marriage only lasted from July 1999 to December 2000.
YUDDY
