Linda Hunt Biography

Born on April 2, 1945, in Morristown, NJ, Hunt moved to Westport, CT with her family while still an infant. Burdened with a host of health problems since birth, Hunt was misdiagnosed with cretinism at six months of age. While in her teens, she was then diagnosed with hypo-pituatary dwarfism (a condition in which the pituitary gland does not release enough growth hormone). Ironically, or perhaps consequently, Hunt grew up an unusual overachiever, undaunted by her condition. Linda Hunt took her first stab at acting at age 12 while performing in a production of “Flibbertigibbet” at Westport’s famed Silver Nutmeg Theater.

Hunt moved to New York in the mid-1960’s, where she found work in summer stock theatre. Concerned that her unusual physical type would limit her future as an actress, Hunt initially focused on becoming a stage director. But the lure of acting proved too powerful to resist, however; so in 1969, Hunt returned to Westport to study acting under dramatic coach, Robert Lewis. In the early 1970’s, Hunt began a long-time association with the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven.Linda Hunt one-woman show based on the life of Joan of Arc won the actress rave reviews and even flickers of interest from Broadway. A year later, Hunt went to New York and made her off-Broadway debut as the Player Queen in the New York Shakespeare Festival’s production of “Hamlet” in Central Park. This led to Hunt’s first major role as the Irish maid Nora in a 1973 production of Eugene O’Neill’s play, “Ah, Wilderness!” Originally directed by Arvin Brown for the Long Wharf Theatre, the play eventually moved to the Big Apple – specifically, Broadway’s Circle-in-the-Square Theatre – where it was taped for airing on PBS’s “Theater In America” special (PBS, 1976).

Hunt’s screen career began in the late 1970’s. Linda Hunt television debut was in a “Hallmark Hall of Fame” presentation of Arthur Miller’s “Fame” (CBS, 1979). Adapted for the screen by the playwright himself, it was noteworthy that that Miller specifically created Hunt’s role of Mona with her in mind. The following year, Hunt made her official big-screen debut in Robert Altman’s bloated star-studded musical, “Popeye” (1980). Cast in a small supporting role as the feisty Mrs. Oxheart, Hunt’s appearance was but a forgettable cameo lost in a even more forgettable film starring Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall.