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While she
had been appearing in films as early as
Rollercoaster in 1977, Hunt was never
groomed as a star player, and it is possible
that her resemblance to another child actress,
Jodie Foster, held her back from more
important roles.
After taking
on her first adult role in the 1982 sitcom
It Takes Two, Hunt's film assignments improved,
with sizable roles in
Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985),
Peggy Sue Got Married (1986),
Project X (1987),
Next of Kin (1989), and
The Waterdance (1991). She also gained
a small measure of cult status by appearing
in a brace of science fiction films, including
Trancers II (1991) and Trancers III (1992).
That same year, Hunt landed her longest-lasting
acting assignment to date, as the co-star
of the
Paul Reiser-created comedy series
Mad About You.
During
the show's seven-year run, she won both
Emmy and Golden Globe awards for her portrayal
of Jamie Buchman. In 1996, Hunt had her
most successful film role to date in the
blockbuster Twister. The following year,
she topped that when she received a Best
Actress Oscar for playing a caring waitress
and single mother who befriends acerbic,
obsessive-compulsive author Melvin Udall
(Jack
Nicholson, who also won an Oscar for
his performance) in
As Good As It Gets. After
Mad About You ended in 1999, Hunt appeared
in films by several veteran directors, including
Robert Zemeckis (Cast
Away [2000]),
Robert Altman (Dr.
T and The Women [2000]), and
Woody Allen (The
Curse of the Jade Scorpion [2001]).
She starred in Life x 3 on Broadway in 2003.
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