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Bonnie Hunt

Bonnie Hunt’s career has always carried a distinctly Chicagoan mix of quick humor, practicality and warmth. Born in Chicago on September 22, 1961, she worked as an oncology nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital before making acting and comedy her full-time focus. Even then, the two paths briefly overlapped: in 1988, Hunt auditioned for Rain Man during her lunch break and landed the role of waitress Sally Dibbs. Her comic foundation came through improvisation. Hunt co-founded the troupe An Impulsive Thing in 1984 and joined Chicago’s Second City in 1986. That preference for spontaneity became central to her television work. She and David Letterman produced The Building in 1993, followed by The Bonnie Hunt Show, later retitled Bonnie, in 1995. Both embraced a loose approach in which mistakes and forgotten lines could remain in the finished episode. Hunt later starred in Life with Bonnie, earning her first Emmy nomination in 2004. On film, Hunt has often brought grounded comic timing to busy family stories and large ensembles. She played Alice Newton in Beethoven and Beethoven’s 2nd, Sarah Whittle and Madam Serena in Jumanji, and Kate Baker in Cheaper by the Dozen and Cheaper by the Dozen 2. Her other roles include the sister of Renée Zellweger’s character in Jerry Maguire and Jan Edgecomb in The Green Mile. Return to Me gave Hunt room to shape a film from several directions at once: she directed, co-wrote and co-starred in the romantic comedy, which was filmed in her Chicago neighborhood and influenced by her blue-collar Catholic upbringing. Hunt has also built a substantial voice-acting career. Across eight Pixar films, her characters include Rosie in A Bug’s Life, Sally Carrera in the Cars series, Dolly in Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4, and Karen Graves in Monsters University. She also voiced Bonnie Hopps in Zootopia and Zootopia 2. Whether performing on camera, behind it or at a microphone, Hunt’s work is tied together by an improviser’s alertness and an ease with ensemble storytelling.