Linda Hunt | |
|---|---|
 Hunt in 2015 | |
| Born | Lydia Susanna Hunt (1945-04-02)April 2, 1945 (age 80)[1] |
| Education | Art Institute of Chicago (BFA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1972–2023 |
| Height | 145 cm (4 ft 9 in) |
| Spouse | |
| Awards | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (1983) |
Linda Hunt (bornLydia Susanna Hunt; April 2, 1945) is an American actress. She made her film debut playing Mrs. Oxheart inPopeye (1980). Her portrayal of the male character Billy Kwan inThe Year of Living Dangerously (1982) won her theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress, making her the first person to win an Oscar forportraying a character of the opposite sex. Hunt has also appeared in films such asDune (1984),Silverado (1985),Eleni (1985),Kindergarten Cop (1990),Pocahontas (1995),Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998), andStranger Than Fiction (2006).
Hunt has had a successful career on television and in voice-over work, notably being the narrator for theAncient Greek mythology themedGod of War video game series. From 1997 to 2002, she played the recurring role of Judge Zoey Hiller onThe Practice and played Commander Chennault on the sci-fi seriesSpace Rangers. From 2009 to 2023, she portrayedHenrietta "Hetty" Lange on the CBS television seriesNCIS: Los Angeles, a role for which she has received twoTeen Choice Awards.
Hunt was born on April 2, 1945, inMorristown, New Jersey.[1] Her father, Raymond Davy Hunt (1902–1985), was vice president of Harper Fuel Oil. Her mother, Elsie Doying Hunt (1903 –c. 1994), was a piano teacher who taught at theWestport School of Music, and performed with theSaugatuck Congregational Church Choir in Westport,Connecticut, the town where Hunt was raised.[citation needed] She has one sibling, an older sister named Marcia (born 1940).[2] Hunt attended theInterlochen Arts Academy[3] and graduated from theGoodman School of Drama at theArt Institute of Chicago (now atDePaul University).[4][5][6]
As a teenager, Hunt was diagnosed withhypopituitary dwarfism. Hunt stands 4 feet 9 inches (145 cm) tall.[7]
Hunt was a well-known live-stage actress before she entered film and television.[citation needed] She made her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival ofAh, Wilderness.[8] She was nominated for theTony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her work in the 1984 playEnd of the World.[9] She also received two ensemble Obie Awards for her work Off-Broadway inTop Girls andA Metamorphosis in Miniature.[10][better source needed]
Hunt created the role of Aunt Dan inWallace Shawn's playAunt Dan and Lemon.[citation needed] She was a member of theLong Wharf Theatre Company in Connecticut, where she performed the Player Queen in a production ofHamlet, amongst other roles.[citation needed] She portrayed Sister Aloysius in thePasadena Playhouse production ofJohn Patrick Shanley's playDoubt.[citation needed] Hunt was praised for her performance as the title character inBertolt Brecht'sMother Courage and Her Children.[11] She also appeared as Pope Joan in Caryl Churchill'sTop Girls when London's Royal Court Theatre's production was staged at thePublic Theater in New York.[citation needed]
In an interview with writer Craig Gholson and actor Vincent Caristi, Hunt said: "Acting onstage is like an explosion each night. And what comes in at you all the time as you are trying to . . . create something which is a tremendous act of organization and concentration."[12]
Known for her small stature,[13][14] Hunt made her film debut in 1980 inRobert Altman's musical comedyPopeye.[15][16]
Two years later, Hunt co-starred as Billy Kwan inThe Year of Living Dangerously,Peter Weir's film adaptation of thenovel of the same name. For her work in this film, Hunt won theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1983, becoming the first person to win an Oscar forplaying a character of the opposite sex.[17][18][19] In her screen test, Hunt wore a hairpiece, a fake moustache, and "paste-on pieces above her eyes to [appear] Asian."[20] To play the role, Hunt had her hair dyed and cut short, had her eyebrows shaved, wore padding and makeup, and wore something in her shirt pocket.[20][21] In her 1986 interview with theBomb magazine, Hunt remarked that Billy Kwan "is supra-personal [with] layers of sexual ambiguity[.]"[12]
Hunt also played the Shadout Mapes inDune (1984 film), a nurse inShe-Devil (1989), the austere school principal Miss Schlowski oppositeArnold Schwarzenegger inKindergarten Cop (1990), and assassin Ilsa Grunt inIf Looks Could Kill (1991).[citation needed]
Hunt's television appearances include recurring roles as Judge Zoey Hiller onDavid E. Kelley's seriesThe Practice[22] and as Dr. Claire Bryson onWithout a Trace.[23][24] She has narrated several installments ofThe American Experience onPBS.[22][25][26][27]
From 2009 to 2023, Hunt co-starred as Operations ManagerHenrietta "Hetty" Lange on the CBS television seriesNCIS: Los Angeles. Her co-stars on the series includedChris O'Donnell,LL Cool J,Daniela Ruah,Eric Christian Olsen,Miguel Ferrer andBarrett Foa.[28][29][30] Hunt was a main cast member on the series for twelve seasons, but was downgraded to a special guest star position in season thirteen as a safety precaution due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. She was supposed to return in theseries finale, but was unable to due to availability issues. As a result, her return was condensed to a voiceover. Hunt won two Teen Choice Awards for her work onNCIS: Los Angeles.[31]
Hunt is known for her husky voice.[14] She has narrated numerous documentaries, cartoons, and commercials. She is the on-air host forCity Arts & Lectures, a radio program recorded byKQEDpublic radio at the Nourse Theater in San Francisco.[32] Hunt voiced the role ofGrandmother Willow in the animated musical filmPocahontas (1995)[18] and its direct-to-video sequelPocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998).[33]
Hunt narrated theNational Geographic documentaryThe Great Indian Railway (1995).[34][35] In 1998, she narrated the Discovery Channel documentary "Titanic: Untold Stories." Hunt's voice work also includes the character of Management inCarnivàle (2003, 2005)[18][36] and the narrator forGod of War video game series.[37] She narrated aPBS Nature special entitledChristmas in Yellowstone (2006).[38][39]
Hunt has been in a relationship withpsychotherapist Karen Kline[40] since 1978. The two were married in 2008.[41][42]
Hunt is an ambassador for theBest Friends Animal Society.[43]
In July 2018,People magazine reported that Hunt was involved in a multi-car accident in Los Angeles, which resulted in her taking almost a year off fromNCIS: Los Angeles.[44]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Great Performances | Nora | 1 episode |
| 1978 | Fame | Mona | |
| 1987 | American Playhouse | Alice B Toklas | 1 episode |
| Basements | Rose Hudd | Segment:"The Room"—director:Robert Altman | |
| The Room Upstairs | Mrs. Felicia Sanders | TV movie | |
| 1993 | Space Rangers | Commander Chenault | |
| 1997–2002 | The Practice | Judge Zoey Hiller | 24 episodes |
| 1998–2006 | The American Experience | Narrator | |
| 2003 | Before We Ruled the Earth | Narrator | |
| 2003–2005 | Carnivàle | Management—voice | 9 episodes |
| 2006 | Nature | Narrator | Episode: "Christmas in Yellowstone" |
| 2007 | The Unit | Dr. Eudora Hobbs | 2 episodes |
| 2008 | Without a Trace | Dr. Claire Bryson | 3 episodes |
| 2009–2021, 2023 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Henrietta "Hetty" Lange | Starring role |
| 2011, 2012 | Teen Choice Awards | Herself | Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress Action |
| 2014 | Scorpion | Henrietta "Hetty" Lange | Episode: "True Colors" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Hamlet | Player | New York Shakespeare Festival |
| 1975 | Ah, Wilderness! | Norah | Broadway |
| 1983 | Little Victories | N/A | Off-Broadway |
| Top Girls | Pope Joan / Louise | ||
| 1984 | End of the World | Audrey Wood | Broadway |
| 1985 | Aunt Dan and Lemon | Aunt Dan | The Public Theatre |
| 1988 | The Cherry Orchard | Charlotta | Brooklyn Academy of Music |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Fantasmic! | Grandmother Willow[45] | Voice |
