Bonnie Lynn Hunt (born September 22, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and television producer.

Hunt was born in Chicago, Illinois, one of seven children. For a while, Hunt worked as a cancer nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. In the mid 1980s, Hunt cofounded "An Impulsive Thing", a three woman improvisational comedy troupe, with Holly Wortell and Joan Cusack. The women performed regularly in Chicago. Hunt also performed as a member of The Second City.

Television

Hunt turned down multiple opportunities to become a cast member of Saturday Night Live, because the show's producers generally frown on improvisation on the show.

In 1992, Hunt turned down a higher paying role on Designing Women to costar in Davis Rules with Jonathan Winters and Audrey Meadows. Hunt was also offered Helen Hunt's role on Mad About You, but turned that down as well.

In 1993, Hunt teamed up with David Letterman to produce The Building for CBS. The sitcom was modeled after early 1950s television shows. The show was also filmed live; mistakes, accidents and forgotten lines were often left in the aired episode. The writing of the show tended to be very loose, which allowed the actors to improvise. Despite being praised by television critics, the show was soon cancelled.

Hunt and Letterman gave it another shot in 1995, with The Bonnie Hunt Show (later retitled just Bonnie), which featured many of the same cast members as The Building and the same loose style. The show was once again praised by critics and soon cancelled. In 2002, Hunt returned to television with Life with Bonnie; her role on that show earned her her first Emmy Award nomination in 2004. Unfortunately, it was also cancelled the same year.

Films

Hunt served as screenwriter, director, and supporting actress in the 2000 film Return to Me , a romantic comedy starring David Duchovny and Minnie Driver. It was filmed in her Chicago neighborhood and included bit parts for a number of her relatives.

Hunt has had voice roles in Monsters, Inc and A Bug's Life. Hunt's films as actress include:

• Cheaper by the Dozen with Steve Martin,
• Stolen Summer
• The Green Mile with Tom Hanks,
• Random Hearts with Harrison Ford,
• Jerry Maguire,
• Jumanji with Robin Williams,
• Beethoven, and
• Rain Man.