Helen Hunt, 62, looked radiant at a high-profile fashion event in Paris this week, turning heads with her polished blonde hair, glowing makeup, and chic ensemble consisting of a white blouse, leather skirt, and playful red heels.
The award-winning actress also made a rare public appearance alongside her 21-year-old daughter, Makena Lei Gordon Carnahan, at the Stella McCartney WI26 show, held at Le Grand Manege Jean Caucanas on Wednesday.
Born in 1963 in Culver City, California, Hunt began acting as a child, debuting on television in the 1973 series Pioneer Woman. She achieved widespread fame for her role as Jamie Buchman opposite Paul Reiser in Mad About You, which ran from 1992 to 1999. Hunt won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1997 for her performance in As Good as It Gets, starring alongside Jack Nicholson.
Her film career also includes leading roles in Twister (1996), Cast Away (2000), Pay It Forward (2000), The Sessions (2012), and What Women Want (2000), the latter earning her another Oscar nomination. She expanded her talents behind the camera, making her directorial debut with Then She Found Me (2007) and directing episodes of series like Blindspotting (2021) and The Politician (2020). Hunt also returned to her iconic role in the 2019 Mad About You revival and appeared in Hacks season three.
Hunt was married to producer Matthew Carnahan from 2001 to 2017, and the couple shares a daughter, Makena.
In recent years, Hunt has become outspoken about rejecting Hollywood’s beauty standards. Speaking to Flow Space in June 2025, she explained how the pressure to look a certain way once affected her self-esteem but that she now refuses to let it control her life. Inspired by the book The Only Diet There Is by Sondra Ray, she focuses on eating what she loves and embracing self-acceptance.
Reflecting on her past struggles, Hunt told HuffPost Live that obsessing over appearance in the 1980s was draining, but letting go of that anxiety has improved both her mental and physical health. She emphasized the importance of enjoying life, even in small daily routines like exercise, instead of letting perfectionism take over.
