Bonnie Lynne Hunt (born September 22, 1961) is an American comedienne, actress, director, producer, writer, host, and voice artist. She has appeared in Rain Man, Beethoven, Beethoven's 2nd, Jumanji, Jerry Maguire, The Green Mile, Cheaper by the Dozen, and Cheaper by the Dozen 2. Hunt has done voice work in A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc., Monsters University, Toy Story 3, Cars, and Cars 2. Hunt has starred in Grand and Davis Rules, and has created, produced, written, and starred in The Building, Bonnie, and Life with Bonnie. From 2008 to 2010, she hosted The Bonnie Hunt Show.
Early life
Hunt was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Robert Edward Hunt, an electrician, and Alice E. Hunt (née Jatczak), a homemaker. Her father was of Irish and Belgian ancestry and her mother is of Polish descent. She was raised in a large Catholic family, and has three older brothers named Patrick, Kevin, and Tom, two older sisters named Cathy and Carol, and a younger sister named Mary.
Hunt was educated in Catholic schools and attended St. Ferdinand Grammar School and Notre Dame High School for Girls in Chicago.
In 1982, she worked as an oncology nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. In 1984, she co-founded an improvisational comedy troupe called An Impulsive Thing with Holly Wortell, Andy Miller, and John Gripentrog. Hunt also performed as a member of Chicago's world-famous the Second City, joining in 1986.
Career
In 1990, Hunt played a role on Grand. She refused to become a cast member of Saturday Night Live because the series' producers generally frowned on her preferred improvisational style. In 1992, she was offered the part of B. J. Poteet, a replacement for Julia Duffy, on Designing Women. Instead, she chose to co-star in Davis Rules.
In 1993, Hunt teamed with good friend David Letterman to produce The Building. The series was also filmed live; mistakes, accidents, and forgotten lines were often left in the aired episode. Hunt and Letterman re-teamed in 1995 with The Bonnie Hunt Show (later retitled Bonnie), which featured many of the same cast members as The Building and the same loose style. The show was praised by critics but was canceled after 11 of the 13 episodes produced were aired. In 2002, Hunt returned to television with Life with Bonnie, a show known for clean and offbeat humor. Her role on that show earned her a 2004 Emmy nomination, her first. Despite fair ratings, the show was canceled in its second season. She announced on Live with Regis and Kelly that ABC had offered her another sitcom, in which she would have played a divorced detective. This pilot, Let Go (also known as Crimes and Dating), was not picked up for the fall 2006 schedule.
Hunt directed, co-wrote, and co-starred in Return to Me. It was filmed in her Chicago neighborhood and included bit parts for a number of her relatives. The film, which received a positive reception from critics, was largely influenced by Hunt's blue-collar Catholic upbringing in Chicago.
Hunt starred as Alice Newton opposite Charles Grodin in Beethoven and Beethoven's 2nd. She played opposite Robin Williams in Jumanji and opposite Steve Martin in Cheaper by the Dozen and its sequel. She played the sister of Renée Zellweger in the movie Jerry Maguire and Jan Edgecomb opposite Tom Hanks in the film adaptation of the Stephen King novel The Green Mile. She played the biological mother, Grace Bellamy, of Mark Austin (played by Kip Pardue) in Loggerheads, a 2005 independent film written and directed by Tim Kirkman. She has provided her voice for a total of five Pixar films: A Bug's Life as Rosie the black widow spider; Monsters, Inc. as training supervisor Mrs. Flint; Cars as the heroine Sally Carrera; and Toy Story 3 as Dolly. In addition, Hunt received a writing credit on the film Cars, and reprised her Sally role in the sequel Cars 2.
The Bonnie Hunt Show
In 2007, Hunt taped a pilot episode for Telepictures. The pilot was approved and the talk show was created. The Bonnie Hunt Show premiered on Monday, September 8, 2008. The show's set design was a tribute to Dean Martin and on the walls are pictures of historic television personalities and of Hunt's family members. The show was inspired by the format of Live with Regis and Kelly with the host and guests often interacting with the audience. Many of show's staffers were longtime friends of Hunt's from Chicago. The show typically started with an opening monologue followed by guest interviews and games played with the audience. Hunt's mother Alice often appeared in webcasts from her home in Chicago. A characteristic of the show was Hunt's over-the-top faux indignation at non-PG language after which she would enjoy the double-entendre drenched material she had pretended to poo-poo. The Bonnie Hunt Show taped in Culver City, California and was viewed in 17 of the top 20 US television markets in the United States. In its first year, the show was nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards: for opening theme, hairstyle, and makeup. It won the Gracie Award for "Outstanding Talk Show" in 2009. In 2010, Hunt was nominated for "Outstanding Talk Show Host" at the Daytime Emmy Awards. The final episode aired on May 26, 2010.
Personal life
In 1988, Hunt married investment banker John Murphy, but during her June 6, 2006, appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, she mentioned that she was single again.
Hunt's hometown is Chicago, Illinois and she is a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, having not missed an Opening Day at Wrigley Field since 1977. She is a supporter of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, of which she is an honorary board member.
Filmography
Films
Television
Video games
References
External links
- Bonnie Hunt at the Internet Movie Database