| Bonnie Hunt has conquered the worlds of film, television and theatre as a performer, writer and director. Growing up in one of Chicago's blue-collar neighborhoods, Hunt worked as a nurses' aid in high school, and later became a nurse at Northwestern University Hospital. At the same time, she pursued an acting career, performing at the renowned Second City. Hunt made her feature film debut in Barry Levinson's Rain Man as the toothpick-dropping waitress and she was the comically dedicated White House tour guide in Dave (We're walking, we're walking).
In 1996, Hunt portrayed Ren?e Zellweger's quick-witted sister in Cameron Crowe's smash hit Jerry Maguire. Other film credits include: Jumanji with Robin Williams, Norman Jewison's Only You as Marisa Tomei's best friend, and Charles Grodin's beleaguered wife in the family hits Beethoven and Beethoven's 2nd.
In addition to her many onscreen successes, Hunt directed the feature motion picture Return To Me in 1999, which she co-wrote with longtime creative collaborator Don Lake. Starring David Duchovny, Minnie Driver, Carroll O'Connor, Robert Loggia, David Alan Grier, Joely Richardson, Jim Belushi and Hunt, the film is a sweet romantic comedy that shows us that in love. our hearts lead the way. Return To Me was shot almost entirely in Hunt's hometown of Chicago.
Hunt lent her voice to Rosie, one of the delightful insects in the animated hit A Bug's Life and co-starred in The Green Mile with Tom Hanks, and alongside Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas in Random Hearts.
Hunt was a regular on the television series Grand and Davis Rules. In 1993, she was highly praised as the first woman to write, produce and star in her own series, The Building. The ensemble comedy (which she also executive produced) featured Hunt and her Second City colleagues playing young adults living in a Chicago apartment building. She then wrote, produced and starred in the critically acclaimed Bonnie for CBS. Her frequent and hilarious appearances on talk shows earned her Entertainment Weekly's praise as the hands-down best [talk show] guest in America.
She appeared in the feature Stolen Summer, directed by Pete Jones and co-starring Aidan Quinn and Kevin Pollack. Stolen Summer had already gained much visibility from the HBO Project Greenlight series that chronicled the film's production. Hunt received raves for her performance in Stolen Summer when the film screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001.
Hunt is currently working on the second season of her series Life With Bonnie, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2003.
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