In the 1990’s, Hunt was a household name with her breakout TV performance in the hit comedy series Mad About You, where she starred opposite Paul Reiser, who later starred in the Netflix series, Stranger Things.
She won four back-to-back Emmy Awards and three Golden Globes for her comedic portrayal of one half of a newlywed couple. She also directed some episodes, including the series finale in 1999.
Speaking with People, Hunt shared about her daughter and Reiser, “… My daughter loves Stranger Things so now when he calls she’s excited. She’s never seen an episode of Mad About You but she’s super psyched about Stranger Things!” Hunt has one daughter, born in 2004, with Matthew Carnahan, her partner of 16 years.
Hunt is also known for playing a storm chaser in the adrenaline-fueled movie Twister (1996), her Academy Award-winning role in 1997’s As Good as it Gets, starring next to Hollywood royalty, Jack Nicholson, and 2000’s Cast Away and What Women Want.
More recently, she plays a journalist in BBC’s World on Fire and has a recurring character on Blindspotting. She’s also loaned her skills as a director to shows like Californication, House of Lies and This is Us.
In 2021, she revealed she was working on a Twister reboot with a diverse cast of storm chasers “from HBCU [historically Black college and university],” but the story was rejected.
“I tried to get it made,” Hunt said in 2021. “I was going to direct it… We could barely get a meeting, and this is in June of 2020 when it was all about diversity. It would have been so cool.”
Universal Pictures is releasing Twisters, without Hunt, in July 2024.
Over the years, Hunt, who’s collected numerous awards and nominations, has been a staple in Hollywood culture with her timeless performances and beauty.
As one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood–a face that through the years has matured, she’s recently been the topic of many conversations.
With a career spanning more than four decades, it’s common, and expected, that there would be natural physical changes but, as a celebrity, Hunt is not immune from unfiltered opinions coming from the public.
Speculation that she had plastic surgery started after an accident in 2019, where the SUV she was a passenger, was t-boned by another car, causing it to rollover. She was briefly hospitalized but fully recovered, and within one week, she was back to work filming the limited series reboot of Mad About You.
Speaking with People about reprising her role, Hunt said, “It was a very loving piece of work. We loved it. It would be fun to work on something that’s really about love. We’ll be older though — I hope people are prepared for that. I’m not prepared for it!”
Shortly after, Radar Online, posted an article suggesting the star too much plastic surgery. In the story, she’s referred to as “ageless,” followed by “mannequin-like” and “…her expression more static than usual.”
Fans however were quick to defend her. One wrote, “I’m not an expert on spotting facelifts and that but to me Helen Hunt today still looks like Helen Hunt from Mad About You, just older. Which is what happens when 3 decades pass, people get older.” Another wrote, “I think we are so used to seeing women who have puffed up their lips and lifted both eyes and forehead, that a woman who is aging normally looks odd to us.”
Tight-lipped about the rumours that she’s had a nip and tuck to smooth the wrinkles on her face, it’s possible that Hunt benefits from a makeup artist, who can achieve the same results with some magical strokes of their brush.
In fact, there are many Hollywood beauty secrets that keep celebrities looking ageless. Pairing a healthy diet and exercise with pricey non-surgical spa treatments have proven results!
Hunt is very active and isn’t shy about showing off her fit physique. In an interview, she explained “As a general rule, I tend to move. I don’t go to a gym ever. I don’t diet ever. I used to diet, but sometime after the eighties, it made me miserable, but I do like to walk, run, and I do like to surf when I can just to warm it up, and I do enjoy doing yoga when I can get there.”
As we all know, being a woman in Hollywood can be quite a challenge.
In a 2019 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hunt discussed how she has experienced being objectified throughout her career and how she hopes to help create a more inclusive.
“What are the great movies for younger women where they’re the protagonist [being] made now? You know what I mean? The whole thing — there’s no equal rights amendment. We’re fucked,” Hunt told Huffington Post in 2015.
Over the years, Hunt has been involved in various advocacy and philanthropic efforts to support women’s rights and empowerment – speaking up against objectification of women.
”I certainly drive around and I’m tired of the billboard where she’s barely in her underwear and they’re selling, you know, a watch or something,” Hunt said.
”I’m over it, to be honest.”
Facing judgements from the public can’t be easy, especially for celebrities who are out there doing their jobs, which is entertaining us.
I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO DIDN’T GET AN INVITE TO MY CLOSE FRIEND’S WEDDING — WHEN I CRASHED IT, I FINALLY UNDERSTOOD WHY.
The air in the elegant ballroom hung heavy with the scent of lilies and unspoken words. Guests, dressed in their finest attire, buzzed with excitement, their conversations a low hum against the backdrop of soft music. I stood frozen at the entrance, an invisible ghost amidst the throng of well-wishers.
My name was Sarah, and I was crashing my best friend’s wedding.
It had all started with a casual conversation. “So, have you heard?” my friend, Emily, had gushed, her eyes sparkling. “Amber and Ben are getting married!”
“Amber? Oh my god, that’s wonderful!” I’d exclaimed, feigning excitement. But a seed of doubt had been planted.
Weeks passed, and invitations arrived for everyone I knew – everyone except me. I tried to convince myself it was an oversight, a simple mistake. Maybe the invitation had gotten lost in the mail. Maybe Amber was planning a special surprise for me. But as the wedding date drew closer, my hopes dwindled.
The day of the wedding arrived, and I found myself inexplicably drawn to the venue, a grand old mansion overlooking the lake. Dressed in a simple black dress, I slipped in unnoticed, blending into the crowd of elegantly dressed guests.
The room fell silent as I made my way through the throng of people. Whispers followed me, a hushed murmur of disbelief and pity. I felt eyes boring into me, judging, analyzing. I had never felt so alone, so utterly invisible.
Then, I saw her. Amber. Standing at the altar, her face radiant, her eyes sparkling with happiness. But the moment our eyes met, the joy in her eyes vanished, replaced by a look of sheer terror.
And then I saw him. Her groom.
My breath hitched. It was David. My ex-boyfriend.
The memories came flooding back – stolen kisses, late-night conversations, promises whispered in the dark. David, with his charming smile and his infectious laughter, had been my first love. We had been inseparable, until he abruptly ended our relationship, citing a need to “find himself.”
The betrayal, the hurt, the shattered pieces of my heart – it all came rushing back. So this was why she hadn’t invited me. She had been afraid I would ruin her wedding, would expose their secret, would remind everyone of the man who had broken my heart.
The room seemed to spin. I felt a wave of nausea wash over me, the festive atmosphere suddenly suffocating. I turned and fled, disappearing into the night, the sound of their wedding vows echoing in my ears, a cruel reminder of the love I had lost, the trust I had betrayed.
As I walked away, I vowed to never forgive them. Never to forgive Amber for her betrayal, for the way she had used me, for the pain she had inflicted. And never to forgive David for the hurt he had caused, for the way he had shattered my heart and then moved on, without a single backward glance.
The night air was cold and unforgiving, a reflection of the icy pain that had gripped my heart. But as I walked, I knew that I would heal. I would learn to forgive, not for their sake, but for my own. I would move on, stronger, wiser, and more cautious. And I would never again allow myself to be blindsided by the betrayal of those I trusted.
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