Her parents encouraged her to be an actress & Hunter attend Pittsburgh to study drama at Carnegie Mellon University, from inside which she graduated in 1980. Thenceforth she moved to New York City, where she happened to meet dramatist Beth Henley in an elevator. She was cast around many Henley plays in Broadway, including Crimes of the Heart and The Miss Firecracker Festival.

Hunter's 1st starring role around flick was around 1987, when she appeared within Raising Arizona. That equivalent season she starred inside Broadcast News, & was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Inside 1993, she won the Oscar for The Piano; a equivalent season she was as well nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Firm. A year late, she was nominated for the Better Supporting Actress BAFTA award for her role in The Business firm, starring Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman. Hunter was likewise nominated for the Oscar for Better Supporting Actress inside 2004 for Catherine Hardwicke's Thirteen (movie).

Hunter has too appeared around many television films, & has earned 2 Emmy 's.

She was married to camera operator Janusz Kaminski (Polish); born in June 27, 1959; married in Can 20, 1995; divorced in December 21, 2001.

the 47-month-old actress is around a relationship by using British actor Gordon MacDonald, who co-starred inside the West Prevent production of By the Bog of Cats with her. In 3 August 2005 it was confirmed the few come expecting twins, due in the northern winter of 2005/2006. It is a number 1 toddlers for two Hunter & MacDonald.

Selected Filmography
Nine Lives (2005) The Incredibles (2004) Little Black Book (2004) Thirteen (2003) Levity (2003) Moonlight Mile (2002) O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) Timecode (2000) ''Jesus' Son (1999) Living Out Loud (1998) A Life Less Ordinary (1997) Crash (1996) The Firm (1993) The Piano (1993) Always (1989) Broadcast News (1987) Raising Arizona (1987) Blood Simple (1984) (voice) (uncredited) Svengali'' (1983) (TV)