Helen Hunt

Helen Hunt is an Academy Award-winning actress, director and writer known for her roles in As Good as It Gets and the hit TV series Mad About You. Hunt was born in Culver City, California, raised in a show business family, with her father working as a director and acting coach. She began acting as a child and attended Providence High School in Burbank. She later studied briefly at the University of California, Los Angeles, while continuing to pursue an acting career.

Hunt began her career as a child actress, appearing in television series like Amy Prentiss and Swiss Family Robinson throughout the 1970s and 1980s before gaining wider attention in sitcoms and TV movies. Her breakthrough came with Mad About You in 1992, where she starred opposite Paul Reiser, earning multiple awards and becoming a household name. The show aired until 1999 and was later revived for one season in 2019.

Hunt went on to star in several beloved films, including Twister (1996), As Good as It Gets (1997) and Cast Away (2000). Hunt earned the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in As Good as It Gets and has also received multiple Emmys, Golden Globes and SAG Awards. She has also directed various projects, including Then She Found Me (2007) and Ride (2017).

Hunt was married to Hank Azaria from 1999 to 2000. She later had a long-term relationship with producer Matthew Carnahan, and they share daughter Makena (born in 2004). In 2022, she rekindled her romance with Jeffrey Nordling, whom she briefly dated in the ’80s.