Bonnie Hunt (born September 22, 1961) is an American actress and comedian. Beginning in the 1980s, she gained recognition for supporting roles in films including Rain Man (1988), Beethoven (1992), Beethoven's 2nd (1993), Jumanji (1995), Jerry Maguire (1996), and The Green Mile (1999). Hunt made her directorial debut with the romantic drama Return to Me (2000), in which she also starred.
Hunt achieved wider attention for Life with Bonnie (2002–2004), the ABC sitcom which she co-created, wrote, directed, executive produced and starred in, garnering nominations for two Golden Globes and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Other series of hers include The Building (1993), Bonnie (1995–1996), and the talk show The Bonnie Hunt Show (2008–2010), which she hosted. The latter earned her a Daytime Emmy Award nomination.
Also a voice actress, Hunt has shifted her focus to animated media, with films such as A Bug's Life (1998) and the franchises Monsters, Inc. (2001–present), Cars (2006–present), Toy Story (2010–present), and Zootopia (2016–present). In 2024, she portrayed Mrs. Claus in the Christmas action film Red One.
Early life Hunt's father was of Irish and Belgian ancestry and her mother was of Polish descent. She has three older brothers named Patrick, Kevin, and Tom, two older sisters named Cathy and Carol, and a younger sister named Mary. 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.
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. 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.
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 for the departing Allison Sugarbaker, played by Julia Duffy on Designing Women; the part of BJ was ultimately played by Judith Ivey.
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. 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, was largely influenced by Hunt's blue-collar Catholic upbringing in Chicago.
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.
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. They separated in 2006, and their divorce was officially finalized two years later.
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.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1988 Rain Man Sally Dibbs (the waitress) 1992 Beethoven Alice Newton 1993 Dave White House Tour Guide Beethoven's 2nd Alice Newton 1994 Only You Kate Corvatch 1995 Now and Then Mrs. DeWitt Jumanji Sarah Whittle 1996 Getting Away with Murder Gail Holland Jerry Maguire Laurel Boyd 1998 Kissing a Fool Linda Streicher Rosie Voice 1999 Random Hearts Wendy Judd Jan Edgecomb 2000 Return to Me Megan Dayton Also director and co-writer 2001 Monsters, Inc. Ms. Flint Voice 2002 Stolen Summer Margaret O'Malley 2003 Cheaper by the Dozen Kate Baker 2005 Loggerheads Grace Cheaper by the Dozen 2 Kate Baker 2006 I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With Stella Lewis Cars Sally Carrera Voice; Additional screenplay material Mater and the Ghostlight Voice; Short film; direct-to-video 2009 Hurricane Season Principal Durant 2010 Toy Story 3 Dolly Voice 2011 Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation Voice; Short film Cars 2 Sally Carrera Voice 2013 Monsters University Karen Graves 2016 Zootopia Bonnie Hopps 2017 Cars 3 Sally Carrera 2019 Toy Story 4 Dolly 2021 The Ultimate Playlist of Noise Dr. Lubinsky 2024 Red One Mrs. Claus 2025 Zootopia 2 Bonnie Hopps Voice 2026 Miss You, Love You Judith Bibbs Toy Story 5 Dolly Voice
Television Year Title Role Notes 1984 American Playhouse Foxtrot Dancer Episode: "Under the Biltmore Clock" 1990 Grand Carol Anne Smithson Main role (26 episodes) 1991–1992 Davis Rules Gwen Davis Main role (18 episodes) 1993 The Building Bonnie Kennedy Lead role; also creator, executive producer, writer 1995–1996 Bonnie Bonnie Kelly Lead role; also co-creator, producer, writer 1997 Wheel of Fortune Herself Played alongside her mother Alice Subway Stories: Tales from the Underground Fern Television film; Vignette: "Fern's Heart of Darkness" 2002–2004 Life with Bonnie Bonnie Molloy Lead role; also co-creator, director, executive producer, writer 2006 Let Go Kate Holloway Unsold ABC pilot; lead role, also director, executive producer, writer 2008–2010 Herself / Host Also executive producer, writer 2010 The Life & Times of Tim Gabe's Mother Voice; 2 episodes 2013 Call Me Crazy: A Five Film TV film; Director of "Eddie" segment 2013–2014 Cars Toons: Tales From Radiator Springs Sally Carrera Voice; Short films: "Hiccups", "The Radiator Springs 500 1/2" 2013–2018 Sofia the First Aunt Tilly Voice; Recurring role (7 episodes) 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. 2018 Escape at Dannemora Catherine Leahy Scott Miniseries (7 episodes) 2019 Forky Asks a Question Dolly Voice; Short film: "What Is a Leader?" 2021–2024 Monsters at Work Ms. Flint Voice; 9 episodes 2022 Amber Brown Creator, director, executive producer, writer Cars on the Road Sally Carrera Voice; Short film: "Dino Park" Zootopia+ Bonnie Hopps Voice; Short film: "Hopp on Board" 2025 Somebody Feed Phil Self S8 E4 "Tbilisi" 2026 The Bear Sue S5 E8 "The Original Beef of Chicagoland" 2027 Cars: Lightning Racers Sally Carrera Voice; Upcoming series
Video games Year Title Voice role 1998 A Bug's Life Rosie 2001 Monsters, Inc. Scream Team Ms. Flint 2002 Monsters, Inc. Monsters, Inc. Scream Arena 2006 Cars Sally Carrera 2010 Toy Story 3 Dolly
Theme park attractions Year Title Voice role 2012 Radiator Springs Racers Sally Carrera
Awards and nominations Year Nominated work Award Result 1995 Jumanji Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress 1996 Bonnie Viewers for Quality Television Founder's Award 1999 The Green Mile Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress – Drama Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture 2003 Life with Bonnie TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy 2004 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy 2010 The Bonnie Hunt Show Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host
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