Bonnie Hunt Bio

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Bonnie Lynne Hunt (born September 22, 1964) is an American actress, comedienne, writer, director, television producer and daytime television host.

Bonnie Hunt: Biography

Bonnie Hunt - Early life

Hunt, who was born in Chicago, Illinois, is the daughter of Alice, a homemaker of Polish descent, and Bob Hunt, an electrician of Irish descent. She was raised in a large Catholic family, and has three older brothers, Patrick, Kevin, and Tom, two older sisters, Cathy and Carol, and one younger sister, Mary. Hunt was educated in Catholic schools and attended St. Ferdinand Grammar School and Notre Dame High School for Girls in Chicago.

In 1982, Hunt worked as an oncology nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. In 1984, she co-founded An Impulsive Thing, an improvisational comedy troupe, 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.

Bonnie Hunt - Career

Hunt refused to become a cast member of Saturday Night Live because the show's producers generally frowned on her preferred improvisational style. In 1992, she turned down a higher-paying role on Designing Women to co-star in Davis Rules with Jonathan Winters, Randy Quaid, and Audrey Meadows.

In 1993, Hunt teamed with good friend David Letterman to produce The Building, a short-lived sitcom that was modeled after early-1950s television shows. The show 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. Hunt 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 wrote, directed, and co-starred in the 2000 film Return to Me, a romantic comedy starring David Duchovny and Minnie Driver. It was filmed in her Chicago neighborhood and included bit parts for a number of her relatives.

A recognizable film actress, Hunt has starred opposite Charles Grodin in the popular children's films Beethoven and Beethoven's 2nd. She played opposite Robin Williams in Jumanji as well as 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". Also, 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. Hunt not only starred as the voice of Sally Carrera in Pixar's Cars but received a writing credit on the film as well.

Bonnie Hunt - Personal life

Hunt married investment banker John Murphy in 1988. However, 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 and she is a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, having not missed an Opening Day at Wrigley Field since 1977. She is also a supporter of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, of which she is an honorary board member.

Hunt often says that her favorite show is The Amazing Race. Hunt joked with Emma Roberts that the two should go on the show if there is ever a celebrity season.

Bonnie Hunt - The Bonnie Hunt Show

In 2007 Bonnie Hunt taped a pilot episode for Telepictures. The pilot passed and the talk show was created. The Bonnie Hunt Show premiered on September 8, 2008. Since then the show has received great praise. The set is a tribute to Dean Martin and on the wall are pictures of her dog Charlie and more of her family. The show has the same concept of other talk shows such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Rosie O'Donnell Show with the host and guests often interacting with the audience. Many of show's staffers are longtime friends of Hunt from Chicago as well as her professional career. The show has an opening monologue, guest interviews and spontaneous appearing audience participation games. Hunt's mother Alice often appears in webcasts from her home in Chicago. A characteristic of the show is Hunt's facial scolding of non-PG conversation, while enjoying the double entendre of conversation. The show has cleared in 85% of the US ahead in its launch. The Bonnie Hunt Show has now sold to 17 of the top 20 markets. The show tapes in Culver City, California. In its first year, the show was nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards in opening theme, hairstyle, and makeup. June 2009, the show was announced to be coming back for a second season in the fall.