Early life and career

Hunter was born in Conyers, Georgia, the daughter of Opal Marguerite (née Catledge), a housewife, and Charles Edwin Hunter, a farmer and sporting-goods manufacturer's representative. Hunter earned a degree in drama from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and for a while performed in the theatre scene there, playing ingenue roles at City Theatre, then named the City Players.

She eventually moved to New York City and roomed with fellow actress Frances McDormand. Hunter, in 2008, described living in The Bronx "at the end of the D train, just off 205th Street, on Bainbridge Avenue and Hull Avenue. It was very Irish, and then you could go just a few blocks away and hit major Italian." A chance encounter with playwright Beth Henley, when the two were trapped alone in an elevator, led to Hunter's being cast in Henley's plays Crimes of the Heart (succeeding Mary Beth Hurt on Broadway), and Off-Broadway's The Miss Firecracker Contest. "It was like the beginning of 1982. It was on 49th Street between Broadway and Eighth ... on the south side of the street," Hunter recalled in an interview. " 10 minutes; not long. We actually had a nice conversation. It was just the two of us."

Stage and film

Hunter made her film debut in the 1981 horror movie The Burning. After moving to Los Angeles in 1982, Hunter appeared in TV movies before being cast in a supporting role in 1984's Swing Shift. That year, she had her first collaboration with the writing-directing-producing team of brothers Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, in Blood Simple, making an uncredited appearance as a voice on an answering-machine recording. More film and television work followed until 1987, when thanks to a starring role in the Coens' Raising Arizona and her Academy Award-nominated turn in Broadcast News, Hunter became a critically acclaimed star. She went on to the screen adaptation of Henley's Miss Firecracker; Steven Spielberg's Always, a romantic drama with Richard Dreyfuss; and the made-for-TV 1989 docudrama about the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade.

Following her second collaboration with Dreyfuss, in Once Around, Hunter garnered critical attention for her work in two 1993 films, resulting in her being nominated for two Academy Awards the same year: Hunter's performance in The Firm won her a nomination as Best Supporting Actress, while her portrayal of a mute Scottish woman entangled in an adulterous affair with Harvey Keitel in Jane Campion's The Piano won her the Best Actress award.

Hunter went on to star in the comedy-drama Home for the Holidays and the thriller Copycat, both in 1995. She also appeared in David Cronenberg's Crash and as a sardonic angel in A Life Less Ordinary. The following year, she played a recently divorced New Yorker in Richard LaGravenese's Living Out Loud; starring alongside Danny DeVito, Queen Latifah, and Martin Donovan. Hunter rounded out the 1990s with a minor role in the independent drama Jesus' Son and as a housekeeper torn between a grieving widower and his son in Kiefer Sutherland's drama Woman Wanted.

Following a supporting role in the Coens' O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Hunter took top billing in the same year's television movie Harlan County War, an account of labor struggles among Kentucky coal-mine workers. Hunter would continue her small screen streak with a role in When Billie Beat Bobby, playing tennis pro Billie Jean King in the fact-based story of King's famed exhibition match with Bobby Riggs; and as narrator of Eco Challenge New Zealand before returning to film work with a minor role in the 2002 drama Moonlight Mile.

The following year found Hunter in the redemption drama Levity. Also in 2003, Hunter had the role of a mother named Melanie Freeland, whose daughter is troubled and going through the perils of being a teenager in the film Thirteen. The film was critically acclaimed along with Hunter and her co-stars and earned her nominations for the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.

In 2004, Hunter starred alongside Brittany Murphy in the romantic satire Little Black Book, and the same year lent her voice to the animated film The Incredibles as the voice of Helen Parr, a.k.a. the superheroine Elastigirl. In 2005, Hunter starred alongside Robin Williams in the black comedy-drama The Big White.

Hunter became an executive producer, and helped develop a starring vehicle for herself with the TNT cable-network drama Saving Grace, which premiered in July 2007. For her acting, she received a Golden Globe Award nomination, two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, and an Emmy Award nomination. On May 30, 2008, Hunter received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2009, she was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award. In 2016, Hunter played Senator Finch in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Personal life

Hunter is capable of hearing in her right ear but not her left ear, due to a childhood bout of the mumps, which sometimes leads to complications at work. Some scenes have to be altered from the script for her to use her right ear.

Holly Hunter was married to Janusz Kamiński, cinematographer of Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan from 1995 until 2001.

Hunter has been in a relationship with British actor Gordon MacDonald since 2001. The couple met in San Jose Repertory Theatre's production of playwright Marina Carr's By the Bog of Cats, in which she played a woman abandoned by her lover of 14 years, played by MacDonald. In January 2006, Hunter's publicist announced that Hunter had given birth to the couple's twin boys Claude and Press.

Hunter describes herself as an agnostic theist.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Director	Notes
1981	The Burning	Sophie	Tony Maylam
1984	Swing Shift	Jeannie	Jonathan Demme
1984	Blood Simple	Helene Trend	Joel Coen Ethan Coen	Voice role, uncredited
1987	Raising Arizona	Edwina 'Ed' McDunnough	Joel Coen Ethan Coen
1987	End of the Line	Charlotte Haney	Jay Russell
1987	Gathering of Old Men, AA Gathering of Old Men	Candy Marshall	Volker Schlöndorff
1987	Broadcast News	Jane Craig	James L. Brooks	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress National Board of Review Award for Best Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Silver Bear for Best Actress Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated — American Comedy Award for Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated — National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress
1989	Miss Firecracker	Carnelle Scott	Thomas Schlamme
1989	Animal Behavior	Coral Grable	Jenny Bowen & Kjehl Rasmussen
1989	Always	Dorinda Durston	Steven Spielberg
1991	Once Around	Renata Bella	Lasse Hallström
1993	Piano, TheThe Piano	Ada McGrath	Jane Campion	Academy Award for Best Actress Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress Cannes Film Festival - Best Actress Award Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama London Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the Year Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress National Board of Review Award for Best Actress National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated — David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress
1993	Firm, TheThe Firm	Tammy Hemphill	Sydney Pollack	Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1995	Copycat	M.J. Monahan	Jon Amiel	Special Mention Award at the Festival du Film Policier de Cognac
1995	Home for the Holidays	Claudia Larson	Jodie Foster
1996	Crash	Helen Remington	David Cronenberg
1997	Life Less Ordinary, AA Life Less Ordinary	O'Reilly	Danny Boyle
1998	Living Out Loud	Judith Moore	Richard LaGravenese	Nominated — American Comedy Award for Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1999	Jesus' Son	Mira	Alison Maclean
2000	Woman Wanted	Emma Riley	Kiefer Sutherland
2000	Timecode	Renee Fishbine, Executive	Mike Figgis
2000	O Brother, Where Art Thou?	Penny Wharvey McGill	Joel Coen Ethan Coen	Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
2000	Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her	Rebecca Waynon	Rodrigo García	Nominated — Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Film
2000	Harlan County War (film)	Ruby Kincaid	Tony Bill	Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie; Nominated - Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film; Nominated - Satellite Awards for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film
2001	Festival in Cannes	Herself	Henry Jaglom
2002	Moonlight Mile	Mona Camp	Brad Silberling
2003	Levity	Adele Easley	Ed Solomon
2003	Thirteen	Melanie Freeland	Catherine Hardwicke	Bronze Leopard for Best Actress International Cinephile Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Nominated — London Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the Year Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Prism Award for Best Performance in a Theatrical Feature Film Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated — Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
2004	Little Black Book	Barb Campbell-Dunn	Nick Hurran
2004	Incredibles, TheThe Incredibles	Helen Parr/Elastigirl	Brad Bird	Voice role Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Team
2005	Nine Lives	Sonia	Rodrigo García	Bronze Leopard Award for Best Actress Nominated — Gotham Award for Best Cast
2005	Big White, TheThe Big White	Margaret Barnell	Mark Mylod
2012	Won't Back Down	Evelyn Riske	Daniel Barnz
2012	Jackie	Jackie	Antoinette Beumer
2013	Paradise	Mrs. Mannerhelm	Diablo Cody
2014	Manglehorn	Dawn	David Gordon Green
2016	Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice	Senator Finch	Zack Snyder
2016	Weightless		Terrence Malick
2019	The Incredibles 2	Helen Parr/Elastigirl	Brad Bird	Voice role

• Hunter's likeness was used to portray Senator Finch in the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice tie-in prequel comics, released by Dr. Pepper on February 3, 2016.

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Roe vs. Wade	Ellen Russell/Jane Doe	Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or a Movie Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film
1993	The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom	Wanda Holloway	CableACE Award for Best Actress in a Movie or Miniseries Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or a Movie Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film
2000	Harlan County War	Ruby Kincaid	Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or a Movie Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film
	Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her	Rebecca Weyman	Segment - "Fantasies About Rebecca" Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Miniseries or a Movie
2002	When Billie Beat Bobby	Billie Jean King	Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or a Movie
2007-2010	Saving Grace	Grace Hanadarko	TV series Gracie Allen Award for Outstanding Actress — Drama Series Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama Series Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television Nominated — People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Drama Diva Nominated — Prism Award for Best Performance in a Drama Series Episode Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama
2013	Top of the Lake	GJ	Miniseries Equity Award for Most Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Television Movie or Miniseries Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2013	Bonnie & Clyde	Emma Parker	Miniseries

Video games

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2013	Disney Infinity	Helen Parr/Elastigirl	Voice role
2015	Disney Infinity 3.0	Helen Parr/Elastigirl	Voice role

[ Source: Wikipedia ]