Linda Hunt hadn’t had the career of a superstar in Hollywood until she got the role of Hetty on ‘NCIS.’ At least, that’s probably what many of the fans of the now-classic crime series thought.
Hunt actually has a lengthy career in show business, despite facing many issues growing up. She was institutionalized because of her stunted physical and mental growth, but that didn’t stop her from pursuing her dreams.
In 1983, Linda Hunt received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. But many fans would probably not be able to recognize her from the role at the time, which became a true classic.
Linda Hunt was born on April 2, 1945, in Morristown, New Jersey. She was raised in Connecticut by her parents, Elsie and Raymond Hunt. At an early age, though, when Linda was only six months old, her parents noticed something that gave them cause for worry.
Linda’s motor skills weren’t developing at the usual rate, so her mother and father took her to a hospital in New York to seek help.
What doctors found wasn’t exactly the news Linda’s parents wanted. As The Bulletin reported in 1991, examinations showed she was suffering from a form of cretinism – a condition of severely stunted physical and mental growth – which would likely eventually lead to Linda being institutionalized.
