Helen Hunt

Few actresses have been praised as highly as Helen Hunt. From her earliest work in Community Theater, to the New York Broadway stage, to her film and television performances, critics continuously recognize her for her outstanding performances.

Acting is part of Ms. Hunt's DNA. She was born in southern California, the daughter of Jane Elizabeth Novis, a photographer, and Gordon Hunt, a film director and acting coach. She began her working career in the 1970s as a child actress. She landed a recurring role on the hit television series ST. ELSEWHERE and began to beef up her film resume, appearing in such films as PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED, MR. SATURDAY NIGHT, and THE WATERDANCE.

In 1992 she accepted a role that would seal her fame and popularity----that of the witty wife and partner to Paul Reiser in the television hit MAD ABOUT YOU (1992-1999). Over the course of that series' eight years on the air, Ms. Hunt won four Emmys, five Golden Globes, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and three American Comedy Awards.

The popularity of the series opened doors in Hollywood too. After starring opposite Nicholas Cage in the crime classic KISS OF DEATH, she became big box office draw with the 1996 blockbuster TWISTER. The following year, she was offered the role that would win her the highest accolades in the film world. Director James L. Brooks cast Hunt as a world-weary and somewhat abrasive waitress who tangles with the obsessive-compulsive Jack Nicholson in AS GOOD AS IT GETS. The film became a huge hit and was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, where she took home the Oscar for "Best Actress", as well as a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award. Helen's numerous movie roles with acclaimed peers include DR. T AND THE WOMEN (opposite Richard Gere); PAY IT FORWARD (opposite Kevin Spacey); WHAT WOMEN WANT (opposite Mel Gibson); Woody Allen's THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION; CASTAWAY (a small but pivotal role opposite Tom Hanks); EMPIRE FALLS (opposite Paul Newman and Ed Harris); and BOBBY (opposite an all-star cast).

Helen had her directorial debut with THEN SHE FOUND ME, which she also produced, co-wrote and starred in alongside Bette Midler, Colin Firth, and Matthew Broderick. She was awarded ShowWest's title of Breakthrough Director of the Year. Most recently, Helen has completed production of the film EVERY DAY co-starring Live Schreiber, where they play a couple whose marriage is strained to the breaking point.

So, with critical acclaim, several acting awards and now a directing debut under her belt, audiences are eagerly anticipating what the talented Ms. Hunt will do next.