Linda Hunt has been in show business for decades. The Academy Award-winning actress has appeared in over 50 productions and, since 2009, starred as Hetty Lang on the now-classic TV series NCIS. Hunt appeared in a total of 280 episodes of NCIS and gradually became one of the show’s best characters. It seems that Hunt is not only a great actress, but also a very loyal woman. The 76-year-old has been married to Karen Klein for more than 10 years and have been together for more than 30 years in total. In fact, their love story is really special!
Linda Hunt was born on April 2, 1945 in Morristown, New Jersey. He was raised by his parents, Elsie and Raymond Hunt, in Connecticut. But when Linda was six months old, her parents began to worry. Since Linda’s motor skills were not developing at a normal rate, her mother and father took her to a hospital in New York to seek help.
Doctors discovered that this was not the news Linda’s parents wanted. As The Bulletin reported in 1991, an investigation found that she suffered from a form of cretinism—a condition of severe physical and mental retardation—which led Linda to be institutionalized.
But Elsie and Raymond didn’t lose hope. Determined to support their beloved Linda, they helped her develop through books and plays.
When Linda started school, her motor skills were about the same as a normal child’s. Unfortunately, he suffered from learning disabilities and short stature.
“I was totally alienated by school almost from the first day, I had a bad experience with a teacher and was made to feel stupid. I felt bad that I didn’t fit in,” Hunt said.
“Everybody either wanted to take care of me or push me around, you know? I was teased a lot, sure I was, of course,” she told CBS.
“Fourth grade, fifth grade, sixth grade, everybody was taking their spurts except me.”
A passion for acting
The harsh treatment was tough on Hunt, as it would’ve been for anyone. She, though, decided to use it as a sort of motivational technique, since she understood that she was unique.
“I was a very determined kid. This happens to kids who are different in any way,” Linda told the Daily Beast.
Although Linda struggled in school, her parents were determined to see their beloved daughter succeed in life. Then, at age 8, he saw something that changed everything. In an interview with The Bulletin, Linda explained that she always had a love for acting and theatre. His biggest inspiration came when he was eight, after his parents took him to see the musical Peter Pan on Broadway.
“I’m lucky that I’ve always known what I wanted to do,” she told the newspaper. “[Mary Martin, who played Peter] was astonishing in her belief in the world she was creating, and that was fascinating to me. She had the power to make others believe what was in her mind.”
“It was bigger than life. And that in some sense, I longed to be bigger than life because I wasn’t,” she explained to CBS.
Linda Hunt’s height – dwarfism
At that point, Linda decided that she would devote her life to acting and theater. She explained that she wanted to become a “high priestess of theater”. In high school, she got a private acting coach, and was sent to an excellent boarding school.
Linda’s parents would do whatever they had to in order to see their daughter achieve her dreams.
“I was so lucky my parents were encouraging on every level,” she said.
However, although Linda’s parents wanted her to pursue a professional acting career, they were concerned that she did not have a backup plan. So his father Raymond encouraged him to study directing, and when that didn’t work, he also forced him to take teacher training. Fortunately, he did. Linda Hunt was diagnosed with hypopituitarism when she graduated high school.
This condition prevents the body from releasing constant amounts of growth hormone. Therefore, Linda is much shorter than the average woman (she is 4 feet 4 inches tall). Of course, just like when she was a child, Linda didn’t want to let the diagnosis stop her.
After studying at Interlochen Academy of the Arts in Michigan and DePaul University Theater School in Chicago, it was time for Hunt to reach for the stars. He moved to New York, where his passion for theater grew.
Moved to New York
That said, once in the “Big Apple” she didn’t know what to do or where to begin.
“I moved into a shoebox-sized apartment in the city when I was in my early 20s with my father’s help,” Hunt recalled.
“I was very young and very lost, I didn’t even attempt to act professionally. That would of meant getting an agent and going to auditions. I wasn’t capable of doing any of that. It was truly emotionally beyond me.”
Instead, Linda worked small backstage jobs at off-Broadway theaters, and her friends helped encourage her. At the same time, he underwent a series of treatments for dwarfism. They failed, which made him wonder if he could really succeed in this field. Finally, he returned to his parents to reconsider his decision. As mentioned above, she had a personal acting coach at school. Moving back to her parents’ house was the best thing she ever did.
“My acting coach reminded me again about the importance of acting in my life,” Linda explained.
“And the knowledge that this was my gift. I had lost myself for a while, and that awareness gave me back to myself. Soon, I was sending out resumes and reading for parts.”‘
In 1975, Linda made her Broadway debut, starring in Ah, Wilderness. That, in turn, led her to landing her first onscreen gig. In 1978, she appeared in the film Fame – just four years later, Hunt made history.
Linda Hunt – Academy Award
Linda got the role of Billy Kwan in the film The Year of Living Dangerously, starring alongside Mel Gibson. The film became a huge success, and Hunt received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was the first person ever to win an Academy Award for playing a cis-gender character of the opposite sex.
Since then, Linda’s career has gone amazingly well. For the last ten years, she’s been a true star on NCIS, having amassed a staggering 280 episodes as Operations Manager Henrietta “Hetty” Lange.
Things have been pretty quiet around Linda after she missed season 12 due to COVID-19 concerns. Fans of the series have speculated whether or not she will come back, but, fortunately, news about her future seems promising indeed.
“Linda had both her vaccines, she was feeling great, and she came back. And she was so happy to be back. She had been gone for so long and hadn’t really interacted with anyone, so she was just so thrilled to be back on set,” NCIS showrunner R. Scott Gemmill told TV Insider.
“The minute I saw her, she’s like, ‘Let’s talk about next season,’ so I think that as tough as last year was, for a lot of reasons, she, like the rest of us, is starting to see a little light at the end of the tunnel and feels good about coming back to work,” he added.
Linda Hunt marriage – partner Karen Kline
Linda Hunt’s career began in the late 1970s. That’s when she met the love of her life and they remain married to this day. Hunt and his wife, Karen Kline, have been married since 2008, but they dated long before that, and their love story is truly amazing!
Karen and Linda first met in 1978. In an interview with CBS News, Karen explained that when she first saw Linda, what struck her was not her height, but her sense of fashion. Fortunately, Karen confirmed that height doesn’t matter.
“I was kind of struck [by] Linda’s corduroys,” she said.
“Karen’s six years younger, but I forgive her daily,” Hunt said. “I do; I forgive you for being younger.”
Just as fans don’t know much about her NCIS character, Hetty’s, private life, Linda and Karen aren’t especially open either. The couple very much keep out of the public eye, and do their best to remain private about their relationship.
Linda Hunt – net worth
What is known, however, is that the couple don’t have any children – they have three adopted dogs instead – and live in a beautiful Hollywood home built back in 1919. In a feature piece for the Los Angeles Times, the couple let the public inside their house.
“This house has whimsy and a special kind of elegance,” the Oscar-winning actress told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s welcoming.”
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Linda Hunt’s estimated net worth is $12 million!
Linda Hunt is a true role model for many. Despite being abused by her classmates as a child and having to return to her parents when things didn’t go her way, Linda never gave up and pursued her dream. Currently, he seems to be living the best life with his lovely partner Karen. We wish them all the best for the future!
