A pretty, effervescent blonde player, Helen Hunt is the daughter of acting coach and director Gordon Hunt. Born in Culver City, CA, she moved with her family to NYC for six years where she was exposed to theater. When her family returned to L.A., Hunt had decided she wanted to be an actress. Her first job was in the TV-movie “Pioneer Woman” (ABC, 1973), as the daughter of Joanna Pettet. Hunt landed her first spot as a series regular playing the daughter of a policewoman (Jessica Walter) on “Amy Prentiss” (NBC, 1974-75). She continued playing daughters (“Swiss Family Robinson”, ABC 1975-76; “It Takes Two” ABC, 1982-83) or girls-next-door (“The Fitzpatricks”, CBS 1977-78) in series TV, guest appearances (“Family”) and TV-movies (“Angel Dusted”, NBC 1981). Her lead performance in the CBS TV-movie “Quarterback Princess” (1983) earned her praise. One of Hunt’s first adult roles was as the girlfriend of Dr. Jack Morrison (David Morse) on the acclaimed NBC drama series “St. Elsewhere”. She played the title role in “Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Smart Story” (1991) about a school teacher arrested along with her 16-year-old lover for the murder of her husband. Hunt received some of her best notices to date (as well as several awards including two Emmys) as Jamie Buchman in the weekly comedy series “Mad About You” (NBC, 1992-99), co-starring with Paul Reiser as a couple facing the ups and downs of marriage.
