# Linda Hunt

Linda Hunt (born Lydia Susanna Hunt; April 2, 1945) is an American actress. She made her film debut playing Mrs. Oxheart in Popeye (1980). Her portrayal of the male character Billy Kwan in The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, making her the first and, as of 2024, the only person to win an Oscar for portraying a character of the opposite sex. Hunt has also appeared in films such as Dune (1984), Silverado (1985), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Pocahontas (1995), Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998), and Stranger Than Fiction (2006).
Hunt has had a successful career on television and in voice-over work, notably being the narrator for the Ancient Greek mythology themed God of War video game series. From 1997 to 2002, she played the recurring role of Judge Zoey Hiller on The Practice and played Commander Chennault on the sci-fi series Space Rangers. From 2009 to 2023, she portrayed Henrietta "Hetty" Lange on the CBS television series NCIS: Los Angeles, a role for which she has received two Teen Choice Awards.

## Early life

Hunt was born on April 2, 1945, in Morristown, New Jersey. Her father, Raymond Davy Hunt (1902–1985), was vice president of Harper Fuel Oil. Her mother, Elsie Doying Hunt (1903 – c. 1994), was a piano teacher who taught at the Westport School of Music, and performed with the Saugatuck Congregational Church Choir in Westport, Connecticut, the town where Hunt would be raised. She has one sibling, an older sister named Marcia (born 1940). Hunt attended the Interlochen Arts Academy and graduated from the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago (now at DePaul University).

## Career
### Theatre

Hunt was a well-known live-stage actress before she entered film and television. She made her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of Ah, Wilderness. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her work in the 1984 play End of the World. She also received two ensemble Obie Awards for her work Off-Broadway in Top Girls and A Metamorphosis in Miniature.
Hunt created the role of Aunt Dan in Wallace Shawn's play Aunt Dan and Lemon. She was a member of the Long Wharf Theatre Company in Connecticut, where she performed the Player Queen in a production of Hamlet, amongst other roles. She portrayed Sister Aloysius in the Pasadena Playhouse production of John Patrick Shanley's play Doubt. Hunt was praised for her performance as the title character in Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children. She also appeared as Pope Joan in Caryl Churchill's Top Girls when London's Royal Court Theatre's production was staged at the Public Theater in New York.
In an interview with writer Craig Gholson and actor Vincent Caristi, Hunt said: "Acting onstage is like an explosion each night. And what comes in at you all the time as you are trying to . . . create something which is a tremendous act of organization and concentration."

### Film

Known for her small stature, Hunt made her film debut in 1980 in Robert Altman's musical comedy Popeye.
Two years later, Hunt co-starred as Billy Kwan in The Year of Living Dangerously, Peter Weir's film adaptation of the novel of the same name. For her work in this film, Hunt won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1983, becoming the first person to win an Oscar for playing a character of the opposite sex. In her screen test, Hunt wore a hairpiece, a fake moustache, and "paste-on pieces above her eyes to [appear] Asian." To play the role, Hunt had her hair dyed and cut short, had her eyebrows shaved, wore padding and makeup, and wore something in her shirt pocket. In her 1986 interview with the Bomb magazine, Hunt remarked that Billy Kwan "is supra-personal [with] layers of sexual ambiguity[.]"
Hunt also played the Shadout Mapes in Dune (1984 film), a nurse in She-Devil (1989), the austere school principal Miss Schlowski opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten Cop (1990), and assassin Ilsa Grunt in If Looks Could Kill (1991).

### Television

Hunt's television appearances include recurring roles as Judge Zoey Hiller on David E. Kelley's series The Practice and as Dr. Claire Bryson on Without a Trace. She has narrated several installments of The American Experience on PBS.
From 2009 to 2023, Hunt co-starred as Operations Manager Henrietta "Hetty" Lange on the CBS television series NCIS: Los Angeles. Her co-stars on the series included Chris O'Donnell, LL Cool J, Daniela Ruah, Eric Christian Olsen, Miguel Ferrer and Barrett Foa. Hunt was a main cast member on the series for twelve seasons, but was downgraded to a special guest star position in season thirteen as a safety precaution due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She was supposed to return in the series finale, but was unable to due to availability issues. As a result, her return was condensed to a voiceover. Hunt won two Teen Choice Awards for her work on NCIS: Los Angeles.

### Voice work

Hunt is known for her husky voice. She has narrated numerous documentaries, cartoons, and commercials. She is the on-air host for City Arts & Lectures, a radio program recorded by KQED public radio at the Nourse Theater in San Francisco. Hunt voiced the role of Grandmother Willow in the animated musical film Pocahontas (1995) and its direct-to-video sequel Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998).
Hunt narrated the National Geographic documentary The Great Indian Railway (1995). In 1998, she narrated the Discovery Channel documentary "Titanic: Untold Stories." Hunt's voice work also includes the character of Management in Carnivàle (2003, 2005) and the narrator for God of War video game series. She narrated a PBS Nature special entitled Christmas in Yellowstone (2006).

## Personal life

Hunt has been in a relationship with psychotherapist Karen Kline since 1978. The two were married in 2008.
As a teenager, Hunt was diagnosed as having hypopituitary dwarfism. Hunt stands 4 feet 9 inches (145 cm) tall.
Hunt is an ambassador for the Best Friends Animal Society.
In July 2018, People magazine reported that Hunt was involved in a multi-car accident in Los Angeles, which resulted in her taking almost a year off from NCIS: Los Angeles.

## Filmography

| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1980 | Popeye | Mrs. Holly Oxheart | |
| 1982 | The Year of Living Dangerously | Billy Kwan | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Australian Film Institute Jury Prize (shared with Peter Weir) Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress (tie with Mia Farrow for Zelig) Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Nominated—National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 1984 | Dune | Shadout Mapes | |
| 1984 | The Bostonians | Dr. Charlotte Prance | |
| 1985 | Eleni | Katina | |
| 1985 | Silverado | Stella | |
| 1987 | Waiting for the Moon | Alice B. Toklas | |
| 1989 | She-Devil | Hooper | |
| 1990 | Kindergarten Cop | Miss Ingrid Schlowski | |
| 1990 | Carmilla | Narrator | |
| 1991 | If Looks Could Kill | Ilsa Grunt | |
| 1992 | Rain Without Thunder | Atwood Society Director | |
| 1993 | Younger and Younger | Frances | |
| 1993 | Twenty Bucks | Angeline | |
| 1994 | Prêt-à-Porter | Regina Krumm | National Board of Review Award for Best Acting Ensemble |
| 1995 | Pocahontas | Grandmother Willow | Voice |
| 1996 | Paul Monette: The Brink of Summer's End | Herself | Narrator (documentary) |
| 1997 | The Relic | Dr. Ann Cuthbert | |
| 1997 | Amazon | Narrator | Voice |
| 1997 | Eat Your Heart Out | Kathryn | |
| 1998 | Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World | Grandmother Willow | Voice |
| 2002 | Dragonfly | Sister Madeline | |
| 2005 | Auschwitz: The Nazis and the 'Final Solution' | Narrator | Voice |
| 2005 | Yours, Mine & Ours | Mrs. Edna Munion | |
| 2005 | The Great Transatlantic Cable | Narrator | |
| 2006 | Stranger Than Fiction | Dr. Jill Mittag-Leffler | |
| 2007 | The Singing Revolution | Narrator | |
| 2017 | The Relationtrip | Dr. Lipschweiss | |
| 2018 | Solo: A Star Wars Story | Lady Proxima | Voice |

### 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

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1976 | Great Performances | Nora | 1 episode |
| 1978 | Fame | Mona | |
| 1987 | American Playhouse | Alice B Toklas | 1 episode |
| 1987 | Basements | Rose Hudd | Segment: "The Room"—director: Robert Altman |
| 1987 | The Room Upstairs | Mrs. Felicia Sanders | TV movie |
| 1993 | Space Rangers | Commander Chenault | |
| 1997–2002 | The Practice | Judge Zoey Hiller | 24 episodes |
| 1998–2006 | The American Experience | Narrator | |
| 2003 | Before We Ruled the Earth | Narrator | |
| 2003–2005 | Carnivàle | Management—voice | 9 episodes |
| 2006 | Nature | Narrator | Episode: "Christmas in Yellowstone" |
| 2007 | The Unit | Dr. Eudora Hobbs | 2 episodes |
| 2008 | Without a Trace | Dr. Claire Bryson | 3 episodes |
| 2009–2021, 2023 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Henrietta "Hetty" Lange | Starring role |
| 2011, 2012 | Teen Choice Awards | Herself | Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress Action |
| 2014 | Scorpion | Henrietta "Hetty" Lange | Episode: "True Colors" |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1972 | Hamlet | Player | New York Shakespeare Festival |
| 1975 | Ah, Wilderness! | Norah | Broadway |
| 1983 | Little Victories | N/A | Off-Broadway |
| 1983 | Top Girls | Pope Joan / Louise | Off-Broadway |
| 1984 | End of the World | Audrey Wood | Broadway |
| 1985 | Aunt Dan and Lemon | Aunt Dan | The Public Theatre |
| 1988 | The Cherry Orchard | Charlotta | Brooklyn Academy of Music |

### Theme parks

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1998 | Fantasmic! | Grandmother Willow | Voice |