Bonnie Hunt

Bonnie Hunt
Bonnie Hunt
	Tribeca Film Festival in 2006
Born	Bonnie Lynn Hunt; September 22, 1961 (age 62); Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupations	Actress; comedian; director; producer; writer; television host;
Years active	1984–present
Spouse	John Murphy (m. 1988; div. 2008)

Bonnie Lynn Hunt (born September 22, 1961)^[1] is an American actress, comedian, director, producer, writer and television host. Her film roles include 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, Zootopia, and the Monsters, Inc., Cars, and Toy Story franchises. She starred in Grand and Davis Rules, as well as creating, producing, writing, and starring in The Building, Bonnie, and Life with Bonnie. From 2008 to 2010, she hosted The Bonnie Hunt Show.

Early life

Bonnie Lee Hunt was born on September 22, 1961, in

Polish descent.^[3]^[4]^[5] She has three older brothers named Patrick, Kevin, and Tom, two older sisters named Cathy and Carol, and a younger sister named Mary.^{[citation needed}

] She was educated in Catholic schools, attending St. Ferdinand Grammar School and Notre Dame High School for Girls in Chicago, and worked part-time as a nurse's aide.^[6]

In 1982, Hunt worked as an

improvisational comedy troupe called An Impulsive Thing.^[6] Hunt also performed as a member of Chicago's world-famous the Second City

, joining in 1986.

In 1988, while a nurse, Hunt auditioned on her lunch break for the role of waitress Sally Dibbs in Rain Man and won it.^[6]

Career

In 1990, Hunt portrayed Carol Anne Smithson in 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.^[7] Instead, she chose to co-star in Davis Rules.

In 1993, Hunt teamed with good friend

Live with Regis and Kelly

that ABC had offered her another sitcom, in which she would have portrayed a divorced detective. This pilot titled Let Go (also known as Crimes and Dating) was not picked up for the fall 2006 schedule.

She 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,^[8] was largely influenced by Hunt's blue-collar Catholic upbringing in Chicago.^[9]

Hunt portrayed Alice Newton in

Jumanji, and Kate Baker in Cheaper by the Dozen and Cheaper by the Dozen 2. She portrayed the sister of Renée Zellweger's character in Jerry Maguire and Jan Edgecomb in The Green Mile. She portrayed Grace Bellamy in Loggerheads. She has provided her voice for a total of eight Pixar films: A Bug's Life as Rosie, Monsters, Inc. as Ms. Flint, Cars, Cars 2, and Cars 3 as Sally Carrera, Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4 as Dolly, and Monsters University as Karen Graves. In addition, Hunt voiced Bonnie Hopps in the Walt Disney Animation Studios' film, Zootopia

, which marked her first non-Pixar animated film.

The Bonnie Hunt Show

In 2007, Hunt taped a pilot episode for

Live with Regis and Kelly, with the host and guests often interacting with the audience. Many of the series' staffers were longtime friends of Hunt's from Chicago. The series 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. 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 Bonnie Hunt 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.[10] The couple separated in 2006, their divorce was officially finalized in 2008.^[11]

Hunt is a lifelong

Cleveland for the Cubs' historic Game 7 victory during the 2016 World Series

.

She is a supporter of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, of which she is an honorary board member.^[12]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Rain Man	Sally Dibbs (the waitress)
1992	Beethoven	Alice Newton
1993	Dave	White House Tour Guide
1993	Beethoven's 2nd	Alice Newton
1994	Only You	Kate Corvatch
1995	Now and Then	Mrs. DeWitt
1995	Jumanji	Sarah Whittle
1996	Getting Away with Murder	Gail Holland
1996	Jerry Maguire	Laurel Boyd
1998	A Bug's Life	Rosie (voice)
1998	Kissing a Fool	Linda Streicher
1999	Random Hearts	Wendy Judd
1999	The Green Mile	Jan Edgecomb
2000	Return to Me	Megan Dayton	Also director and co-writer
2001	Monsters, Inc.	Ms. Flint (voice)
2002	Stolen Summer	Margaret O'Malley
2003	Cheaper by the Dozen	Kate Baker
2005	Cheaper by the Dozen 2	Kate Baker
2005	Loggerheads	Grace
2006	I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With	Stella Lewis
2006	Cars	Sally Carrera (voice)
2009	Hurricane Season	Principal
2010	Toy Story 3	Dolly (voice)
2011	Hawaiian Vacation	Dolly (voice)	Short film
2011	Cars 2	Sally Carrera (voice)
2013	Monsters University	Karen Graves (voice)
2016	Zootopia	Bonnie Hopps (voice)
2017	Cars 3	Sally Carrera (voice)^[13]
2019	Toy Story 4	Dolly (voice)
2021	The Ultimate Playlist of Noise	Dr. Lubinsky
2024	Red One	Mrs. Claus

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	American Playhouse	Foxtrot Dancer	Episode: "Under the Biltmore Clock"
1990	Grand	Carol Anne Smithson	Main role (26 episodes)
1991–92	Davis Rules	Gwen Davis	Main role (18 episodes)
1993	The Building	Bonnie Kennedy	Lead role; also creator, executive producer, writer
1995–96	Bonnie	Bonnie Kelly	Lead role; also co-creator, producer, writer
1997	Wheel of Fortune	Herself	Played alongside her mother Alice
2002–04	Life with Bonnie	Bonnie Molloy	Lead role; also co-creator, director, executive producer, writer
2006	Let Go	Kate Holloway	Unsold ABC pilot; lead role, also director, executive producer, writer
2008–10	The Bonnie Hunt Show	Herself / Host	Also executive producer, writer
2010	The Life & Times of Tim	Gabe's Mother (voice)	2 episodes
2013–18	Sofia the First	Aunt Tilly (voice)	Recurring role (7 episodes)
2013	Call Me Crazy: A Five Film	–	TV film; Director of "Eddie" segment
2014	Cars Toons: Tales From Radiator Springs	Sally Carrera (voice)	3 episodes
2018	Escape at Dannemora	Catherine Leahy Scott^[14]	Miniseries (7 episodes)
2019	Forky Asks a Question	Dolly (voice)	Episode: "What Is a Leader?"
2021	Monsters at Work	Ms. Flint (voice)	6 episodes
2022	Amber Brown	–	Creator, director, executive producer, writer
	Cars on the Road	Sally Carrera (voice)	Episode: "Dino Park"
	Zootopia+	Bonnie Hopps (voice)	Episode: "Hopp on Board"

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role
1998	A Bug's Life	Rosie
2006	Cars	Sally Carrera
2010	Toy Story 3: The Video Game	Dolly

Theme park attractions

Year	Title	Role
2012	Radiator Springs Racers	Sally Carrera

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
1995	Jumanji	Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress	Won
1996	Bonnie	Viewers for Quality Television Founder's Award	Won
1999	The Green Mile	Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress – Drama	Nominated
1999	The Green Mile	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Nominated
2003	Life with Bonnie	TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy	Nominated
		Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy	Nominated
		Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy	Nominated
2004		Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series	Nominated
		Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy	Nominated
		Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy	Nominated
2010	The Bonnie Hunt Show	Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host	Nominated

References

^ "About Bonnie Hunt (1961– )". Archived from the original on July 26, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2010. MovieActors.com
^ "Bonnie Hunt Biography". Film Reference. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
^ Bonnie Hunt, host; Jared Padalecki, guest (February 10, 2009). "Episode". The Bonnie Hunt Show.
^ Grahnke, Lon (April 14, 1992). "Hunt draws on improv talents for 'Davis' role". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 43. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
^ "Genealogy Report: Descendants of Joannis Backes". Family Tree Maker. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c Reiss, Dawn (April 17, 2009). "Teaming Up with Bonnie Hunt". The Saturday Evening Post.
^ Collins, Scott (August 31, 2008). "Hunt ready to take on daytime". Chicago Tribune. p. 10. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
^ "Return to Me". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
^ Stack, Peter (April 2, 2000). "Hunt's Full Heart". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
^ "True blue Bonnie Hunt". Tampa Bay Times. April 28, 2000. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
^ "Bonnie Hunt - Bio, Ex-Husband, Divorce and Reason for Divorce". Naija News. July 21, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
^ "Honorary Board". Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. Archived from the original on July 15, 2010. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
^ Alexander, Bryan (May 30, 2016). "Sneak peek: 'Cars 3' zooms ahead with new character Cruz Ramirez". USA Today. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
^ Harnick, Chris (November 18, 2018). "Why Bonnie Hunt Returned to TV for Escape at Dannemora". E! Online. Retrieved December 28, 2021.

External links

Bonnie Hunt at
IMDb
Bonnie Hunt at the TCM Movie Database

[1] "About Bonnie Hunt (1961– )". Archived from the original on July 26, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2010. MovieActors.com

[Filmreference-Bio-2] "Bonnie Hunt Biography". Film Reference. Retrieved August 12, 2010.

[3] Bonnie Hunt, host; Jared Padalecki, guest (February 10, 2009). "Episode". The Bonnie Hunt Show.

[Grahnke1992-04-14-4] Grahnke, Lon (April 14, 1992). "Hunt draws on improv talents for 'Davis' role". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 43. Retrieved August 12, 2010.

[5] "Genealogy Report: Descendants of Joannis Backes". Family Tree Maker. Retrieved February 17, 2012.

[post-6] Reiss, Dawn (April 17, 2009). "Teaming Up with Bonnie Hunt". The Saturday Evening Post.

[Collins-7] Collins, Scott (August 31, 2008). "Hunt ready to take on daytime". Chicago Tribune. p. 10. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2010.

[8] "Return to Me". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 5, 2011.

[9] Stack, Peter (April 2, 2000). "Hunt's Full Heart". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 5, 2011.

[10] "True blue Bonnie Hunt". Tampa Bay Times. April 28, 2000. Retrieved December 15, 2023.

[11] "Bonnie Hunt - Bio, Ex-Husband, Divorce and Reason for Divorce". Naija News. July 21, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2023.

[TheMMRF-12] "Honorary Board". Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. Archived from the original on July 15, 2010. Retrieved August 12, 2010.

[13] Alexander, Bryan (May 30, 2016). "Sneak peek: 'Cars 3' zooms ahead with new character Cruz Ramirez". USA Today. Retrieved January 26, 2024.

[14] Harnick, Chris (November 18, 2018). "Why Bonnie Hunt Returned to TV for Escape at Dannemora". E! Online. Retrieved December 28, 2021.

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v t e Bonnie Hunt
Films directed	Return to Me (2000) Call Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013, directed "Eddie" segment)
TV series created and produced	The Building (1993) Bonnie (1995–96) Life with Bonnie (2002–04) The Bonnie Hunt Show (2008–10) Amber Brown (2022)