Tragic Details About Helen Hunt The List
Actor Helen Hunt has enjoyed a steady career after skyrocketing to fame in the early ‘90s, but the Hollywood star is no stranger to tragedy and heartache.
By Jan. 17, 2025 2:15 pm EST
Helen Hunt was a household name in the 1990s, starring as Jamie Buchman in the hit sitcom "Mad About You" and as Dr. Jo Harding in the hit action film "Twister." She went on to star opposite Jack Nicholson in "As Good as It Gets," a role that garnered her an Academy Award win for best actress in a leading role in 1998. Hunt seemed to be on a winning streak, but between the pressures of media scrutiny and difficulties in her personal life, fame was not doing the actor any favors.
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Helen Hunt was born and raised in Culver City, California, where her mother worked as a photographer and her father was a successful director and acting coach. It seems Hunt was primed for stardom, and she landed her first role at age 9 in the 1973 TV movie "Pioneer Woman." Hunt then starred in a slew of series and films, including "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" with the stunning Sarah Jessica Parker, and she was a successful working actor for years before securing a lead role in her own sitcom. She married a fellow actor and appeared to live a charmed life. However, behind the scenes, Helen Hunt endured many difficult obstacles.
From dealing with sexism in Hollywood to sustaining injuries on and off the job, along with trying to find peace amid the din of media attention, a lot has happened to Helen Hunt. The actor and mom now enjoys a more private life, but she's learned some difficult lessons along the way.
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Helen Hunt almost quit 'Twister' due to an injuryHelen Hunt began her acting career in the '70s, but she rose to fame a few decades later when she joined the "Mad About You" cast and then starred in the movie "Twister." The latter was a blockbuster action hit that debuted in 1996 and became the second highest-grossing film of that year.
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Hunt played storm chaser Dr. Jo Harding, but she almost had to pass on the starring role because of an injury. "I injured my knee right before we started," Hunt told Entertainment Weekly. "And so a week or two before, I remember sitting in Oklahoma with ice on my knee and calling my agent and going, 'Am I going to be able to pull this off?'" Hunt decided to push through for the sake of the role, showing off her strength. "So, for me, it was just like 'Run anyway' because I had no other choice," the actor said.
While filming, Hunt experienced a few other mishaps, including getting hit in the head with a car door and being nearly blinded by the lighting used to create the illusion of darkened skies. Hunt and co-star Bill Paxton were both affected by the 16,000-watt bulbs used to shoot the scene. "The next day, Bill came into the makeup trailer and said, 'Can you see?' And I said, 'Not really,'" Hunt recalled in an interview with Vulture. "It was super weird ... We put on some dark glasses and we walked around like the mice in 'Cinderella' for a while," she said.
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Her marriage to Hank Azaria fell apart quicklyThe '90s were full of power couples, like Elizabeth Hurley and Hugh Grant, Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise, and Helen Hunt and Hank Azaria. Hunt and Azaria began dating in 1994 and both were very successful at the time. Hunt was starring in "Mad About You," while Azaria won over audiences in "The Birdcage," "Heat," and as the voice of several characters on "The Simpsons." The pair appeared incredibly happy, and when Hunt won an Academy Award for her performance in "As Good as it Gets" in 1998, she referred to Azaria as "my beloved" in her acceptance speech. She also called him the "very best man" she knew.
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The pair tied the knot in July of 1999, in a small ceremony at their Los Angeles home. But the marriage wasn't built to last, and they called it quits very shortly thereafter. Hunt filed for divorce in December of 2000, citing "irreconcilable differences." It was revealed that the couple had separated about six months prior to their official split.
According to Azaria — the actor who lost the role of Joey on "Friends" not once but twice — it was jealousy on his part that contributed to difficulties in the marriage. It had nothing to do with infidelity but, rather, professional success. "When your wife is Helen Hunt and your best friend is Matthew Perry ... I mean, that's some pressure," Azaria revealed on "Radio Andy" in 2017. He added, "We were aware of it, we tried our absolute best to be honest about it ... " But it clearly wasn't enough to save the relationship.
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Helen Hunt lost her father to Parkinson's diseaseIn 2016, Helen Hunt suffered a devastating loss when her father died of complications related to Parkinson's disease. Gordon Hunt was an acting teacher and an accomplished director who ran the voice department at Hanna-Barbera. He was the recording director for many legendary cartoons, such as "The Smurfs," "The Jetsons," "Scooby-Doo," and "The Flintstones."
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Gordon Hunt also directed sitcoms, including many episodes of "Mad About You," starring his daughter Helen. According to Helen, her father worked up until his final days, and she spoke about him with the utmost respect and admiration. "He was a master of reinvention, a journeyman artist," she told The Hollywood Reporter. "He knew and taught that the work doesn't always find you. You need to create and re-create the work every day."
Helen seems to have had a close relationship with her father, and in 2014, she dedicated her film "Ride" to him. It was a project close to her heart that she wrote, directed, and starred in. The film was about surfing, and her father was an avid body surfer for most of his life. According to Helen, her father was a great man who was loved by many. "If you asked 100 people who knew him, 100 of them would say he was the kindest man they ever knew," she shared.
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Her split from Matthew Carnahan was messyAfter her divorce from Hank Azaria, Helen Hunt found love again with producer Matthew Carnahan. Hunt and Carnahan began dating in 2001 and welcomed their daughter Makena Lei Gordon Carnahan in 2004. On the surface, the pair seemed to be blissfully happy together for many years, but they eventually split in 2017. The breakup came as a shock to those close to the couple, and a source told InTouch, "Helen and Matthew always appeared to be super in love. Their married friends would joke that they were jealous of their relationship."
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However, appearances can be deceiving. Hunt and Carnahan had a messy breakup, due in part to the fact that Hunt believed he had strayed from the relationship. Although he denied any infidelity, Hunt remained suspicious. According to a source, the couple had a tumultuous relationship but stayed together for so long for the sake of their daughter. "Matthew moved out a few times over the years. Helen would always take him back, and then time would pass and she'd kick him out again," the source told InTouch.
Helen Hunt's love life yet again made headlines when she attended a 2023 red carpet event on the arm of "Big Little Lies" actor Jeff Nordling. The couple began dating in 2022, and made another appearance together at the Vanity Fair Oscars party in 2024.
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Helen Hunt dealt with ageism and sexism in HollywoodLike so many other women in show business, Helen Hunt has experienced her fair share of sexism and ageism in Hollywood. Despite having won an Academy Award and four Emmys, the actor found herself somewhat desperate for work at one point in her career. In 2017 she told The Daily Beast that she loved acting despite not having worked in a while. "People say, 'Oh, you're making a shift into directing,' and I say, 'No, I'm not! Give me a job! I'll take anything!'" Hunt said.
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She also lamented the fact that women of a certain age do not get the same treatment as men — the main reason why we don't see women over 50 on screen – citing one of her peers as an example. "George Clooney is sexier and sexier every year, people think, but the same rule doesn't apply to women," she explained. Many women share Hunt's experience. For instance, Julia Louis-Dreyfus refuses to become "invisible" as an older woman and even younger actors such as Anne Hathaway are determined to prove everyone wrong.
That said, Hunt has always excelled when it comes to advocating for herself, even while filming "Twister" in the '90s. While reading the script, Hunt noticed something amiss and brought it to the attention of the filmmakers. "There were things in the original script where the women were sort of catty with each other, and I raised my hand and said, 'That's not gonna be fun to play or to watch. I'm not sure if I want to do that,'" she revealed to Vulture.
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She was criticized for associating with a divisive political figureIn 2017, Helen Hunt found herself at the center of a controversy no one could have anticipated. The actor was a keynote speaker at the World Youth Forum in Egypt and used her platform to discuss high incarceration rates in the U.S., as well as voice her support for the #MeToo movement. The problem was that the forum was organized in part by Egypt's president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, who had been accused of human rights violations, including jailing journalists and targeting members of the LGBTQ+ community.
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Activists took Hunt to task, penning an open letter accusing the actor of aligning herself with a dictator. "As you shake hands with Sisi, smile, take a photo, let history note that you chose to support a dictator responsible for thousands of deaths, arbitrary detentions, and disappearances," the letter read. Human rights activist Mona Seif wrote the letter, which was signed by more than 200 people, including fellow activists Azza Soliman and Mohamed Zaree.
Hunt, a vocal feminist and supporter of LGBTQ rights, did not comment on the controversy, but the negative attention her appearance generated was likely not what she intended.
Helen Hunt was involved in a serious car accidentIn October of 2019, Helen Hunt was involved in a frightening car accident in Los Angeles. The actor was riding in the backseat of an SUV when the vehicle was T-boned while driving through an intersection. The impact of the collision caused the SUV to roll over onto its side, injuring Hunt and several others.
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Hunt was briefly hospitalized and sent home once it was determined that she suffered no serious injuries from the crash. Still, she was shaken up by the accident and grateful to return to work on the "Mad About You" reboot series with co-star Paul Reiser. "It was scary," Hunt told ET. "I'm grateful to be here with my friend," she said, referring to Reiser who chimed in, "Me too!"
In 2021, Hunt sued BLS Limousine Company, the service responsible for operating the black SUV on the day of the accident. In her lawsuit, Hunt sought damages due to "personal injury, wage loss, hospital and medical expenses, general damage, loss of earning capacity," among other reasons. She also listed "loss of earnings, emotional distress, pain and suffering, economic and non-economic damages" in her formal complaint.
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Helen Hunt was once 'spooked' by fameWith her success as a sitcom star and as an Oscar-winning actor, Helen Hunt was largely in the public eye at the height of her career. But instead of reveling in her newfound fame, she was actually pretty freaked out by it. In a 2022 interview, Hunt revealed that there were times when she was frightened by the media scrutiny, especially upon seeing paparazzi outside of her home. "There were a couple of years when I was a little spooked," the actor told The Guardian. "I was afraid that I could never unring that bell."
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Hunt values privacy and strives toward a low-key lifestyle, even if it isn't exactly thrilling. "I just became very boring," she explained. "I think by the 130th picture of me in my khaki pants with my yoga mat, that picture's worth nothing!" The actor mused that she was unlike some of her peers, "who will live more exciting lives and keep going at that level — and it's their whole life, wherever they go, forever."
Howeverk Hunt doesn't seem to have many regrets about shying away from the limelight. Although she might not grace the cover of every magazine, she has chosen a quieter, more comfortable life for herself. "It's not great for continuing to get every great part, but it has allowed me to have a life that I am really in as a parent or a friend," Hunt shared. "You know, that's a big priority for me."
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