Rare Public Appearance of 80-Year-Old Film Legend Stuns Fans – Can You Recognize Her?

January 4, 2026 by Nadia

Long before that recognition, Hunt built her craft in theater, developing the discipline that would define her screen work. Her film and voice roles—Kindergarten Cop and Disney’s Pocahontas, where she voiced Grandmother Willow—showed her ability to anchor a story without dominating it. She became known not for scale, but for gravity.

Her television career reflected the same steadiness. She appeared as Judge Zoey Hiller on The Practice and lent her voice to PBS’s The American Experience. Most enduringly, she portrayed Henrietta “Hetty” Lange on NCIS: Los Angeles from 2009 until its conclusion in 2023—a role built on authority without theatrics. Even a serious car accident in 2018, which required time away, did not alter the tone of her return: quiet resilience, no declarations required.

Hunt has shared her life with Karen Kline since 1978, marrying in 2008. Their recent walk—hand in hand, measured, mutual—spoke less of endurance than of companionship refined over decades. Assistance, when needed, was accepted without self-consciousness. There was no attempt to disguise age, only to inhabit it with grace. Continue reading…