Linda Hunt is an actor who’s been in the business for over 40 years, but it’s likely her late-career role as Operations Manager Henrietta “Hetty” Lange in NCIS: Los Angeles that is most responsible for her sizable net worth. Hunt made her film debut in 1980’s Popeye opposite Robin Williams, where she played Mrs. Oxheart. Just two years later, Hunt was taking home the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her role as Billy Kwan in The Year of Living Dangerously. Hunt continued acting steadily over the decades, and in 2009 was cast in her most famous role, Hetty Lange.
Hunt was born Lydia Susanna Hunt in Morristown, New Jersey, though she grew up in Westport, Connecticut. She’s the youngest daughter of Raymond Davy Hunt, the former vice president for Harper Fuel Oil, and Elsie Doying Hunt, a piano teacher. She has one older sister, Marcia, and grew up enamored with the theater (via Britannica), beginning her career on the stage before transitioning into film and TV. In 2008, Hunt married psychotherapist Karen Kline, her long-term partner since 1978. NCIS: Los Angeles is Hunt’s last credited role, but with the size of her net worth, the actor can definitely retire.
Linda Hunt’s Net Worth
The Hetty Lange Actor Is Worth $12 Million
Linda Hunt has a net worth of $12 million (via Celebrity Net Worth). Celebrity Net Worth also reports that Hunt received a salary of $80,000 per NCIS: Los Angeles episode. With most seasons being 24 episodes long, that’s a payday of almost $2 million per season, and that’s not including residual royalties. Though Hunt went from main cast member to guest star in season 13 due to safety precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic (via TV Line), the actor still appeared in 281 episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles, meaning she has the series to thank for most of her net worth.
Linda Hunt’s Age & Height
Hunt Is An Aries
Born on April 2, 1945, Linda Hunt is 79 years old as of 2024. She falls under the Aries star sign, a fire sign, represented by a ram. As the first sign of the zodiac, Aries are natural-born leaders and highly competitive (via Allure). They like to get ahead, which is a defining trait of Hunt’s most famous character, Hetty Lange. In addition to being the most intimidating member of the NCIS Los Angeles team, Hetty’s accomplishments are staggering, as she’s been a pilot, a published author, and a Bronze medal-winning Olympian — a true Aries.
Hunt’s short stature is one of the actor’s most defining physical traits. Standing at 4′ 9″ inches tall (via Parade Magazine), Hunt actually has a condition called hypopituitary dwarfism, which is a result of not having enough growth hormone. A short height is the most common symptom. She was diagnosed as a teenager, and while Hunt thought her appearance would hold her back from getting acting roles, it clearly has not. In fact, the character Hunt won her Oscar for, Billy Kwan in The Year of Living Dangerously, has dwarfism.
Hunt’s performance in The Year of Living Dangerously has become controversial, with accusations of yellowface as her character is Chinese.
Linda Hunt Is One Of The Oldest People To Win A Teen Choice Award
She Won Back-To-Back Years For Choice TV Actress: Action
Though on indefinite hiatus, from 1999-2019, American teenagers were able to vote for their favorites in movies, television, music, and more. The summer ceremony was famous for handing out custom-made surfboards to all winners and for its outlandish categories, such as Choice Movie Sleazebag and Choice Movie Your Parents Didn’t Want You to See.
| Linda Hunt Teen Choice Award Wins | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ceremony Year | Category | TV Show |
| 2011 | Choice TV Actress: Action | NCIS: Los Angeles (as Henrietta “Hetty” Lange) |
| 2012 | Choice TV Actress: Action | NCIS: Los Angeles (as Henrietta “Hetty” Lange) |
Though most of the winners are, unsurprisingly, young performers, the teenage voters clearly have some respect for their elders, as they awarded Linda Hunt back-to-back surfboards in the Choice TV Actress: Action category in 2011 and 2012 for her role as Hetty Lange in NCIS: Los Angeles. She was 66 and 67 years old at the time. And while she can’t claim to be the oldest winner of a Teen Choice Award — that honor goes to the then-88-year-old Betty White for Choice Movie Dance in The Proposal — Linda Hunt proves her enduring appeal across many generations.
