Linda Hunt facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Linda Hunt
Hunt in 2015
Born	Lydia Susanna Hunt (1945-04-02) April 2, 1945 (age 80) Morristown, New Jersey, U.S.
Education	Art Institute of Chicago (BFA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1972–present
Height	145 cm (4 ft 9 in)
Spouse(s)	Karen Kline ​ (m. 2008)​
Awards	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (1983)

Linda Hunt, born Lydia Susanna Hunt (April 2, 1945), is a famous American actress. She has acted in many movies, TV shows, and plays.

Linda Hunt is well-known for her unique voice and her ability to play many different kinds of characters. She made history by winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing a male character, Billy Kwan, in the movie The Year of Living Dangerously (1982). This was a very special achievement!

You might also know her voice from the animated movie Pocahontas, where she voiced Grandmother Willow. She also narrated the God of War video game series. On TV, she played Henrietta "Hetty" Lange in the popular show NCIS: Los Angeles for many years.

Early Life and Education

Linda Hunt was born on April 2, 1945, in Morristown, New Jersey. Her father, Raymond Davy Hunt, was a business executive. Her mother, Elsie Doying Hunt, was a piano teacher. Linda grew up in Westport, Connecticut.

She went to the Interlochen Arts Academy, which is a school for young artists. Later, she studied acting at the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Acting Career

Linda Hunt has had a long and successful career in acting. She has performed on stage, in movies, and on television.

Theatre Work

Before becoming famous in films, Linda Hunt was a respected stage actress. She first appeared on Broadway in 1975 in a play called Ah, Wilderness. She was even nominated for a Tony Award for her role in the play End of the World in 1984.

She also won awards for her work in Off-Broadway plays like Top Girls and A Metamorphosis in Miniature. Linda loved acting on stage. She once said it was like "an explosion each night" and required a lot of focus.

Film Roles

Linda Hunt is known for her small height, which is 4 feet 9 inches (145 cm). Her first movie role was in 1980 in the musical comedy Popeye.

Her most famous film role was as Billy Kwan in The Year of Living Dangerously (1982). Billy Kwan was a male character, and Linda Hunt's performance was so good that she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. To play the role, she changed her look with a short haircut, makeup, and special padding. She was the first and only person to win an Oscar for playing a character of the opposite sex.

She also appeared in other well-known films:

• Dune (1984) as Shadout Mapes
• Kindergarten Cop (1990) as Miss Schlowski, a strict school principal
• If Looks Could Kill (1991) as Ilsa Grunt, an assassin

Television Appearances

Linda Hunt has been a familiar face on television for many years. She had a recurring role as Judge Zoey Hiller on the show The Practice from 1997 to 2002. She also narrated several episodes of The American Experience on PBS.

Her most famous TV role is Henrietta "Hetty" Lange on the CBS series NCIS: Los Angeles. She played Hetty, a smart and mysterious operations manager, from 2009 to 2023. This role made her very popular, and she won two Teen Choice Awards for it.

Voice Acting

Linda Hunt's deep, unique voice has made her a popular choice for voice-over work. She has narrated many documentaries and cartoons.

You might recognize her voice as:

• Grandmother Willow in the animated Disney movie Pocahontas and its sequel Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World.
• The narrator for the popular God of War video game series.
• The voice of Management in the TV series Carnivàle.

Personal Life

Linda Hunt has been in a relationship with psychotherapist Karen Kline since 1978. They got married in 2008.

When she was a teenager, Linda Hunt was diagnosed with hypopituitary dwarfism. This is a condition that affects growth, and it is why she is 4 feet 9 inches (145 cm) tall.

Linda Hunt is also an ambassador for the Best Friends Animal Society. This organization helps animals in need.

Filmography

Video Games

• Disney's Animated Storybook: Pocahontas as Grandmother Willow
• God of War as Narrator
• God of War II as Gaia/Narrator
• God of War: Chains of Olympus as Narrator
• God of War: Ghost of Sparta as Narrator
• God of War: Ascension as Narrator

Television Credits

Theatre

Theme Parks

See also

In Spanish: Linda Hunt para niños

• List of LGBT Academy Award winners and nominees