Helen Hunt is mad about her 20-year-old daughter, Makena lei Carnahan.
“Just the best National Daughter ever. #nationaldaughtersday,” Hunt captioned a recent Instagram post.
“AW I LOVE YOU,” Makena lei wrote in the comments.
In the picture, Hunt, 61, and Makena lei, who appear to be the same height, pose for a casual mirror selfie. Makena lei, a strawberry blonde, wears side-swept wispy bangs just like her mother did in the ‘90s.
Hunt shares her only child with producer Matthew Carnahan. The couple ended their 16-year partnership in 2017 when Makena lei was 13. Carnahan is also dad of actor son, Emmett, 26, from a previous relationship.
Makena lei, a student at Northwestern University in Illinois, is pursing a career in the music industry. Earlier this year, the college junior released her debut EP, “Call it a Home.” For the album cover, Makena lei chose an image of her mom as a teenager. In the picture, Hunt sits in a bathroom sink curling her eyelashes.
“A lot of us getting closer had to do with me working through stuff in my relationship with my dad, so I like that she’s on there,” Makena lei told The Daily Northwestern, of her album art. “She’s also a very creative person and a big inspiration of mine.”
Hunt largely stepped out of the spotlight after winning a Best Actress Oscar for her performance in 1997’s “As Good as It Gets.”
“I fell in love, I had a daughter,” Hunt explained to People. “It was hard to find a part that was as interesting as watching her grow up.”
“Why go off and pretend otherwise be someone’s mother, or pretend to be someone’s wife, when I finally had the chance to have that appearance in my real life?” she added.