Helen Hunt's transformation from adorable child star to iconic beauty as she turns 63

Helen began working as a professional actress in the early 1970s, making her screen debut in the TV movie Pioneer Woman when she was just 10 years old.

Just two years later, a pre-teen Helen was cast in her very first regular role in a TV series, an adaptation of The Swiss Family Robinson for ABC, in which she played Helga Wagner. The show only ran for a single season, however, and was canceled by 1976.

The actress continued working for more than a decade, with several recurring roles and leads in teen-oriented movies, before breaking through in 1992 with the sitcom Mad About You, starring opposite Paul Reiser.

The show made her a star, winning her four Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globes. By the end of its eight-season run in 1999, Helen was being paid $1 million per episode.

In 1997, Helen starred opposite Jack Nicholson in the romantic comedy As Good As It Gets about a waitress and single mom who falls for a misanthropic novelist. While the film has received more mixed reviews over time, it emerged as a commercial and critical success upon release. It netted Oscars for both Jack and Helen, cementing her place in the A-list.

By the end of 2000, Helen had firmly established herself as one of Hollywood's most bankable stars. 1996's Twister had proven she could lead a box office smash, but 2000 in particular proved to be a banner year for the star, who appeared in both What Women Want opposite Mel Gibson and Cast Away opposite Tom Hanks. Those two films alone made over $800 million at the global box office.

The 2000s and early 2010s marked a period of mixed fortunes for the star. Films like The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001), A Good Woman (2004), and Every Day (2010) either received mixed reception or were commercial duds.

However, she pivoted to directing in 2007 with her feature debut Then She Found Me, and experienced a career resurgence with the 2012 drama The Sessions, receiving some of the best reviews of her career and another nomination for an Academy Award, this time in Best Supporting Actress.

In May 2004, Helen welcomed her only child, a daughter named Makena Lei Carnahan, with then-boyfriend Matthew Carnahan. Makena, now 22, is a musician, working as a guitarist and vocalist for the band Widemouth, primarily based in Chicago. They're pictured here in 2019, one of their rare public appearances.

After a brief hiatus from films, Helen returned to the big screen with 2025's In Cold Light. She will next appear in the drama Tower Stories opposite Dustin Hoffman. She's not only embracing her natural beauty in her 60s, but also her range as an actress.

In the 2020s alone, she held recurring roles in shows like the drama Blindspotting and the comedy Hacks. She's also made a comeback on stage, most recently appearing in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of The Cherry Orchard opposite Kenneth Branagh.