# Bonnie Hunt
**Bonnie Hunt** (Bonnie Lynn Hunt) is an American actress, comedian, writer, director, and talk-show host from Chicago who began her working life as an oncology nurse and went on to star in films such as *Rain Man*, *Jumanji*, and *The Green Mile*, to create several of her own television comedies, and to voice characters across the Disney and Pixar animated catalogs.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | Chicago, Illinois; sources give 1961 (IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, NNDB) or 1964 (Encyclopedia.com)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001372/) • [2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/hunt-bonnie-1964) |
| First career | Oncology nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, for about five years before comedy[3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/bonnie-hunt) |
| Comedy training | Co-founded the improv troupe An Impulsive Thing with Holly Wortell and Joan Cusack; joined the Second City Chicago Mainstage cast in 1986[3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/bonnie-hunt) |
| Television landmark | Not the first female to write, produce, and star in her own series, *The Building*[3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/bonnie-hunt); that distinction had earlier been achieved by Gertrude Berg with *The Goldbergs*[13](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/gertrude-berg) |
| Signature sitcom | *Life With Bonnie* (ABC, 2002), which she created, wrote, and produced; Golden Globe nominations in 2003 and 2004 and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2004[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/hunt-bonnie-1964) • [4](https://www.emmys.com/bios/bonnie-hunt) |
| Talk show | *The Bonnie Hunt Show*, syndicated daytime program, 2008–2010[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/bonnie_hunt) |
| Notable voice roles | Sally in the *Cars* films, Dolly in *Toy Story 3* and *Toy Story 4*, Rosie in *A Bug's Life*, Flint in *Monsters, Inc.*, Bonnie Hopps in *Zootopia*[6](https://d23.com/a-to-z/hunt-bonnie/) |
## Chicago beginnings
Hunt is one of seven children and grew up in a Chicago neighborhood she later described as a place where families never locked their doors.[3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/bonnie-hunt) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-04-04-ca-22-story.html) She trained as a nurse and worked the oncology ward at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, an occupation she returned to after her first sitcom was canceled.[3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/bonnie-hunt) • [8](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-channel18-2008aug18-story.html)
Her comedy career started in Chicago bars. In the mid-1980s she co-founded the improvisational troupe An Impulsive Thing with Holly Wortell and [Joan Cusack](https://www.edgepedia.org/joan-cusack), then joined the Second City Chicago Mainstage cast in 1986. There she wrote and performed in three revues: *Catch 27*, *Jean-Paul Sartre & Ringo*, for which she received a Jeff Award nomination in 1988, and *Kuwait Until Dark or Bright Lights, Night Baseball*, the directorial debut at Second City of fellow alum [Betty Thomas](https://www.edgepedia.org/betty-thomas).[3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/bonnie-hunt) In 1987 she filmed a pilot called *110 Lombard Street* alongside [Mike Myers](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-myers), Ryan Stiles, and Richard Kind.[3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/bonnie-hunt)
## Television
After Second City, Hunt held main roles in the sitcoms *Grand* and *Davis Rules*, the latter opposite [Jonathan Winters](https://www.edgepedia.org/jonathan-winters) on CBS.[3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/bonnie-hunt) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-04-04-ca-22-story.html) She then wrote, produced, and starred in her own series, *The Building*, following in the footsteps of Gertrude Berg, who had previously done so with *The Goldbergs*.[13](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/gertrude-berg) Two years later she produced and wrote *Bonnie*, and in 2002 *Life With Bonnie* premiered on ABC, a show she created, wrote, and produced while starring as Bonnie Molloy, the host of a show-within-a-show called "Morning Chicago."[3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/bonnie-hunt) • [6](https://d23.com/a-to-z/hunt-bonnie/)
**Recognition for *Life With Bonnie*.** She received Golden Globe Award nominations for best performance by an actress in 2003 and 2004 and an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2004, along with Golden Satellite Award nominations in the same years.[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/hunt-bonnie-1964) • [4](https://www.emmys.com/bios/bonnie-hunt) Her Second City profile dates the Golden Globe nominations to 2002 and 2003; the Television Academy database places the Emmy nomination in 2004.[3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/bonnie-hunt) • [4](https://www.emmys.com/bios/bonnie-hunt) On the show she worked as writer, producer, director, and star, and with her longtime collaborator Don Lake developed a reputation for writing a full episode script in a single day.[9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-jan-04-ca-smith4-story.html)
**The talk show.** From 2008 to 2010 Hunt hosted *The Bonnie Hunt Show*, a syndicated daytime program that leaned on her improvisational background rather than a heavily scripted format.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/bonnie_hunt) • [3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/bonnie-hunt) Telepictures President Hilary Estey McLoughlin called her "probably the best talk-show guest on television" when the show was being prepared, and executives saw the program as an extension of her unscripted style.[8](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-channel18-2008aug18-story.html) Her frequent guest appearances on [David Letterman](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-letterman)'s *Late Show*, marked by easy, comic banter, had built much of that audience familiarity.[8](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-channel18-2008aug18-story.html) An account of *Saturday Night Live* casting reports that she had earlier turned down an offer from [Lorne Michaels](https://www.edgepedia.org/lorne-michaels) to join that show's cast when he refused to allow her to bring her own writers.[10](https://tom-oneill.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/snl.pdf)
## Film work
Hunt's film roles include *Rain Man*, *Beethoven*, *Jumanji*, *Jerry Maguire*, *The Green Mile*, and *[Cheaper by the Dozen](https://www.edgepedia.org/cheaper-by-the-dozen-2003-film)*, in which she and [Steve Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-martin) played the parents of a dozen children.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001372/) • [11](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/bonnie-hunt/) For *Jumanji* she won the Saturn Award for best actress from the Academy of Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Films in 1995, and she earned a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination as part of the cast of *The Green Mile* in 1999.[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/hunt-bonnie-1964)
In 2000 she wrote and directed *Return to Me*, starring [Minnie Driver](https://www.edgepedia.org/minnie-driver) and [David Duchovny](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-duchovny) and shot in Chicago just blocks from [The Second City](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-second-city).[3](https://www.secondcity.com/people/bonnie-hunt) She also directed a segment of the anthology film *Call Me Crazy: A Five Film* (2013).[12](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621214616)
## Voice acting
Hunt has voiced many Disney and Pixar characters: Rosie in *A Bug's Life*, Flint in *Monsters, Inc.* and *Monsters University*, Sally in *Cars*, *Cars 2*, and *Cars 3*, Dolly in *[Toy Story](https://www.edgepedia.org/toy-story-franchise) 3*, *Toy Story 4*, and *Hawaiian Vacation*, Aunt Tilly in *Sofia the First*, and Mrs. Bonnie Hopps in *Zootopia*.[6](https://d23.com/a-to-z/hunt-bonnie/) On Rotten Tomatoes her highest-rated film is *Zootopia* at 98 percent, followed by *Toy Story 3* at 98 percent and *Monsters, Inc.* at 96 percent.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/bonnie_hunt) She reprised the voice of Bonnie Hopps in *Zootopia 2* (2025) and Dolly in *Toy Story 5* (2026), and appeared as [Mrs. Claus](https://www.edgepedia.org/mrs-claus) in *Red One* (2024).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001372/)
## Later work
Hunt created and produced the Apple Original series *Amber Brown*.[12](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621214616) IMDb lists upcoming appearances including *The Bear* and *[Miss You, Love You](https://www.edgepedia.org/miss-you-love-you)* (2026).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001372/) She married investment banker John Murphy in 1988; IMDb records the separation in 2006.[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/hunt-bonnie-1964) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001372/)
## References
1. [Bonnie Hunt, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001372/)
2. [Hunt, Bonnie 1964(?)–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/hunt-bonnie-1964)
3. [Bonnie Hunt, The Second City](https://www.secondcity.com/people/bonnie-hunt)
4. [Bonnie Hunt, Television Academy Interviews](https://www.emmys.com/bios/bonnie-hunt)
5. [Bonnie Hunt, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/bonnie_hunt)
6. [Hunt, Bonnie, D23](https://d23.com/a-to-z/hunt-bonnie/)
7. [Second City Comes First for Hunt, Los Angeles Times (1992)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-04-04-ca-22-story.html)
8. [Bonnie Hunt prepares (sort of) for daytime TV, Los Angeles Times (2008)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-channel18-2008aug18-story.html)
9. [Sleep? Too much to do, Los Angeles Times (2004)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-jan-04-ca-smith4-story.html)
10. [SNL casting account, tom-oneill.org](https://tom-oneill.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/snl.pdf)
11. [Bonnie Hunt, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/bonnie-hunt/)
12. [Bonnie Hunt, Apple TV Snapshot](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621214616)
13. [Gertrude Berg, Emmy Awards and Nominations](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/gertrude-berg)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames He to H*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license