Bonnie Hunt

Bonnie Hunt (born September 22, 1961)^[1] is an American actress and comedian. Her film roles include Rain Man, Beethoven, Beethoven's 2nd, Jumanji, Jerry Maguire, The Green Mile, Cheaper by the Dozen, Cheaper by the Dozen 2, and Red One.

Hunt has done voice work starting with A Bug's Life (1998) and went on to voice characters in multiple animated franchises including Monsters, Inc. (2001–present), Cars (2006–present), Toy Story (2010–present), and Zootopia (2016–present). 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

Hunt's father was of Irish and Belgian ancestry and her mother was of Polish descent.^[2][3][4] She has three older brothers named Patrick, Kevin, and Tom, two older sisters named Cathy and Carol, and a younger sister named Mary.^[5] She was educated in Roman Catholic schools, attending Saint Ferdinand 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 oncology nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. In 1984, she co-founded 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 1991, Hunt joined the cast of Davis Rules as Gwen Davis, for the show's second season. The following year, she was offered the part of BJ Poteet, a replacement character of the departing Allison Sugarbaker, played by Julia Duffy on Designing Women, the part of BJ was ultimately played by Judith Ivey.^[7]

In 1993, Hunt teamed with good friend David Letterman to produce The Building. The series was also filmed live; mistakes, accidents, and forgotten lines were often left in the aired episode.^{[citation needed]} In 1995, Hunt and Letterman reteamed for The Bonnie Hunt Show (later retitled Bonnie), which featured many of the same cast members as The Building and the same loose style. The show was praised by critics but was canceled after 11 of the 13 episodes produced were aired. In 2002, Hunt returned to television with Life with Bonnie. Her role on the series earned her a 2004 Emmy nomination (which was her first). Despite fair ratings, the series was canceled in its second season. Hunt announced on 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 Beethoven and Beethoven's 2nd, Sarah Whittle/Madam Serena 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 the black widow, 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, as well as its sequel, Zootopia 2.^[10]

The Bonnie Hunt Show

In 2007, Hunt taped a pilot episode for Telepictures. The pilot was approved and the talk show was created. The Bonnie Hunt Show premiered on September 8, 2008. The set design was a tribute to Dean Martin and on the walls are pictures of historic television personalities, as well as Hunt's family members. The series was inspired by the format of 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 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.^[11] They separated in 2006, and their divorce was officially finalized two years later.^[12]

Hunt is a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, having not missed an opening day at Wrigley Field since 1977. She was in attendance in Cleveland for the Cubs' historic Game 7 victory during the 2016 World Series.

Hunt is a supporter of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, of which she is an honorary board member.^[13]

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Theme park attractions

Awards and nominations

References

1. ^ "About Bonnie Hunt (1961– )". MovieActors.com. Archived from the original on July 26, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2010.
2. ^ Bonnie Hunt, host; Jared Padalecki, guest (February 10, 2009). "Episode". The Bonnie Hunt Show.
3. ^ Grahnke, Lon (April 14, 1992). "Hunt draws on improv talents for 'Davis' role". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 43. Archived from the original on December 29, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
4. ^ "Genealogy Report: Descendants of Joannis Backes". Family Tree Maker. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
5. ^ "FamilySearch.org". ancestors.familysearch.org. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
6. ^ Reiss, Dawn (April 17, 2009). "Teaming Up with Bonnie Hunt". The Saturday Evening Post. Archived April 30, 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
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. ^ Benitez, Crystal (July 30, 2025). "Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman return in 'Zootopia 2' trailer, along with new characters!". ABC 7. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
11. ^ "True blue Bonnie Hunt". Tampa Bay Times. April 28, 2000. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
12. ^ "Bonnie Hunt - Bio, Ex-Husband, Divorce and Reason for Divorce". Naija News. July 21, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
13. ^ "Honorary Board". Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. Archived from the original on July 15, 2010. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
14. ^ Sarto, Dan (February 19, 2026). "Pixar Drops 'Toy Story 5' Trailer". Animation World Network. Retrieved February 22, 2026.
15. ^ "Bonnie Hunt (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved September 22, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
16. ^ Harnick, Chris (November 18, 2018). "Why Bonnie Hunt Returned to TV for Escape at Dannemora". E! Online. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
17. ^ Holub, Christian (March 17, 2021). "Meet the Monsters At Work crew in exclusive first look at new Disney+ series". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
18. ^ Otterson, Joe (2021-09-28). "Bonnie Hunt Sets Amber Brown Series at Apple, Carsyn Rose and Sarah Drew to Star". Variety. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
19. ^ Tangcay, Jazz (April 13, 2026). "Bonnie Hunt, Jenifer Lewis and Paul Dooley Join Disney Jr's 'Cars: Lightning Racers' Voice Cast (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved April 14, 2026.

External links

• Bonnie Hunt at IMDb