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Helen Hunt's only child, daughter Makena Lei Carnahan, has graduated from college.
On Tuesday the 63-year-old actress took to Instagram to share two photos of the 22-year-old Northwestern University graduate with her 668,000 followers.
Hunt looked like a proud mother as she and her daughter embraced and smiled cheek-to-cheek.
She captioned the post, 'Look at this Wildcat and her wonderful friends! Happy Graduation my Love. You. Are. Amazing.'
Makena wore a royal purple graduation gown over a white dress as she held a bouquet of congratulatory yellow roses.
Hunt split from longtime partner Matthew Carnahan, 65 – with whom she shares her daughter – in 2017.
Helen Hunt's only child, daughter Makena Lei Carnahan, has graduated from college
Hunt and Makena pictured in March during Paris Fashion Week
Carnahan's Instagram profile describes him as a 'writer/director/showrunner.'
The ex-couple's daughter has followed in their creative footsteps, as she performs in a band called Widemouth.
Hunt rose to fame with her role as Jamie Buchman in the 90s sitcom Mad About You.
In 1998 she won the Oscar for Best Actress for her role as Carol Connelly in 1997's As Good As It Gets.
In addition to the Academy Award, the star has earned three Golden Globe Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards.
In the mid-2000s, she took a step back from the entertainment industry, explaining she did not want to 'sacrifice' herself to Hollywood.
She told The Guardian in 2019: 'It was a very famous time. I felt quite nervous because I was being followed.
'I remember thinking: "What if I can’t turn this off? Am I always going to be walking to my car and there are people with cameras there? Does this last forever?"'
Hunt shared a photo of her daughter and her Northwestern University classmates as well
Hunt won a Best Actress Academy Award in 1998 for her role as Carol Connelly in As Good As It Gets
The actress has been dating boyfriend Jeffrey Nordling, 64, since January 2022; pictured in March
After having her daughter in 2004, she began working behind the camera.
Elsewhere in the interview, she said, 'It's so funny when people ask, "What happened to you?"... There's a difference between working hard and being famous.'
Hunt continues to act and direct – she appeared in the hit HBO series Hacks between 2024 and 2025, and the series Blindspotting between 2021 and 2023.
In 2025, she landed a lead role in the thriller In Cold Light, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June.
This summer she will star in The Royal Shakespeare Company's production of The Cherry Orchard.
The actress has been dating boyfriend Jeffrey Nordling, 64, since January 2022.
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