Bonnie Hunt

Some Lesser Known Facts About Bonnie Hunt

• Bonnie Hunt was born in a low-income childhood as her father worked multiple jobs to take care of the family financially.

  

• She worked at a dairy shop during her school days and learned to make Peanut Buster Parfait there.

• During high school, she made a record for most hours volunteering and was also reported in a local newspaper.

• After completing her formal education, she worked as an oncology nurse at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, including 2 years in the emergency department.

  

• While working there, she would cover the soles of her shoes with metal thumbtacks to tap dance for the patients.

• She once told her father about her intention to go to California to become a writer. But her father refused, and she also continued studying at the nursing school. But later, her father dies at the age of 50.

• In 1984, Bonnie Hunt founded an improv group named An Impulsive Thing, which often performed comedy skits. She worked at the hospital during the day and performed at the theatre at night.

  

• In 1986, she also performed as a member of the Second City, a famous improv group in Chicago.

  

• During a performance, an investment banker John Murphy watched her. Through her sister-in-law, whom he knew, he approached her following which they started dating. The couple never had any children.

  

• She auditioned for the role of waitress Sally Dibbs in Rain Man in 1988. She had gone there during the lunch break and was chosen, marking her debut in Hollywood.

  

• She later received an offer to work on the TV show titled ‘Saturday Night Live’ but refused as the show producers didn’t like her style of improvisation.

• From 8 September 2008 to 26 May 2010, The Bonnie Hunt Show aired on syndication.

  

• Bonnie Hunt has acted in many films as in Jerry Maguire (1996) as Laurel Boyd and in The Green Mile (1999) as Jan Edgecomb. She also won rave reviews for giving her voice as Sally Carrera in the ‘Cars’ film series.

  

• Since 1977, she has not missed an opening day at Wrigley Field, the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs. When they won the MLB World Series in 2016, she was in attendance.

  

• During the COVID-19 era in 2020 and 2021, she lived with her mother who passed away in 2021 in her sleep due to natural causes.

• Her brother, Kevin Hunt, is a doctor who has worked in African nations such as Uganda. In January 2016, he was awarded the Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award.

  

• She is also a dog lover and has many dogs named PT109, Whiskey, Happy, Buddy, Lacey, and Charlie.

• She often volunteers as an advocate for newly diagnosed cancer patients.

• Bonnie Hunt has worked with the founder of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMLF), Kathy Giusti, for around 20 years. She is also an honorary board member of MMRF.

• She has an allergy to chemicals in colognes and perfumes.

• She is a music lover and always wakes up to her favourite music.

• When she is at home, she changes her window shades to tell her neighbour that the coffee is ready.

• She was friends with the noted singer and guitarist Brad Paisley who taught her how to fly fish.

• She was inspired by the quote ‘Never fear failure’ to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.