| Real Name: | Makena Lei Gordon Carnahan |
| Birthday: | May 13, 2004 |
| Net Worth: | $350,000 |
| Height: | N/A |
| Occupation: | American Actress, Daughter of Helen Hunt and Matthew Carnahan |
Parents all around the world push their children to get into the same industry as they are. We are not saying American actress Helen Hunt is doing the same with her daughter Makena Lei Gordon Carnahan. But it is worth noting that Makena has appeared in several movies where her mother was the lead character.
How much do you know about the celebrity child turned young actress? She is the only biological child of Helen.
Today, we will look at information like early childhood, educational background, and how Makena Carnahan became an actress. Let’s go.
Story Stages
Who Is Her Famous Mother?
Before we get to Makena Lei Gordon Carnahan, we have to talk about her mother. After all, she is the reason why Makena even became a child actress. Born Elizabeth Hunt in June 1963, her mother is an American actress best known for her TV shows Mad About You and the movie As Good as It Gets. In the last one, she appeared alongside veteran American actor Jack Nicholson.
Over the years, Helen has won many accolades, including an Academy Award, Primetime Emmy Award, and Golden Globe Award. She won Emmy and Golden Globe four times apiece.
Born in Culver City, California to an entertainment family, her mother worked as a photographer, and her father was a stage director and acting coach. Her uncle, Peter H. Hunt was also a director. She has German, Jewish, and English descent and Methodist religious background.
When she was three years old, her family moved to New York City where her father worked in the theatre as a director. Hunt attended plays as a child. Early on, she studied ballet.
In the 1970s, Helen began her career as a child actress, with early roles in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rollercoaster, The Bionic Woman, and more.
By the mid and late 1980s, she started getting roles in movies and TV series aimed at a teenage audience. Her first major film role was portraying a punk rock girl in the movie Trancers in 1984. Then, she appeared in Girls Just Want to Have Fun in 1985 alongside Shannen Doherty and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Things started getting much better in the 1990s when she rose to fame by portraying Jamie Buchman. Helen appeared in the sitcom Mad About You from 1992 to 1999, and then again in 2019. For this role, she earned three Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Television Series and four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress.
In the late 1990s, she began getting more serious movie roles. In 1997, she portrayed Carol Connelly in the romantic comedy As Good as it Gets, alongside Jack Nicholson. That role earned her an Academy Award.
In 2007, she made her directorial debut with the movie Then She Found Me. Some of her most notable acting movies include The Sessions, As Good as it Gets, The Curse of Jade Scorpion, Next of Kin, What Women Want, I see You, Twister, Then She Found Me, Quarterback Princess, and more.
Who Is Her Father?
We talked about Makena Lei Gordon Carnahan and her mother, famous actress Helen Hunt. But she is born into an entertainment family. Her father is also a celebrity.
Makena’s father is Matthew Carnahan, an American producer, writer, and director. Born Matthew McNair Carnahan in February 1961, he studied art at New York University.
He is most famous for his Valley of the Boom series, an American docudrama television miniseries that premiered on National Geographic in January 2019.
He has a son, Emmett Carnahan from a previous relationship. Makena is his only daughter with longtime partner Helen Hunt.
Her Parents’ Relationship
Makena’s parents first started dating in 2001. They stayed together for 16 years and eventually broke up in 2017.
According to insiders, Helen “was convinced Matthew had strayed. She had been suspicious for a long time that something was wrong. But he insisted he didn’t betray her”.
Over the years, Helen and director Matthew Carnahan had a rocky relationship. When they ended their relationship, their friends were shocked because, on the outside, they appeared to be super in love.
They seemed so good together and even wanted to work together. At one point, Helen said they were developing a TV series, but that didn’t happen.
Some insiders claimed that they stayed together for a long time because of their daughter Makena, who is now a teenager.
Quick Bio
Speaking of their daughter, Makena was born in May 2004. As of June 2023, she is 19 years of age. When Helen and Matthew broke up in 2017, Makena was 13 years old, just entering her teenage years.
Makena is a celebrity child and young American actress. In 2015, she made her film debut alongside her mother Helen Hunt in the comedy movie Ride.
Most people recognize her as the daughter of Helen. Born in Los Angeles, California, she was destined to be a movie star. Her mother is a famous actress and director, while her father is a director as well.
Born into a celebrity family, she could have enjoyed her comfortable life without doing anything. But when you are born into a family of Hollywood stars, you might end up in a movie.
In her first movie, Ride, she portrayed a young girl. The plot of the movie is about a mother who travels across the country to California to be with her son after he dropped out of school. Her mother Helen directed and wrote the movie, and also played the lead role.
In 2018, Makena made her second appearance in the movie The Miracle Season.
As for her educational background and early life, there is no information about it. We do not know where she finished high school and whether she enrolled at a University.
Career
Makena’s parents are veterans of the industry. She is trying to make it out, and it is undeniable that they are trying to push her to success.
Her mother Helen takes credit for playing a role in managing her career and private life. In one interview, the famous actress said, “I fell in love, I had a daughter. It was hard to find a part that was as interesting as watching her grow up. Why go off and pretend to be someone’s mother, or pretend to be someone’s wife, when I finally had the chance to have that experience in my real life”.
Makena Carnahan appeared in the movie Ride and The Miracle Season. In the latter, she portrays a girl named Ruby as her high school is trying to win the state championship. They are faced with a major setback, which is the death of their star player.
Makena’s step-brother, Emmett Carnahan is also an actor. He appeared in Tales from the Rabbit Hole and in his father’s show, House of Lies.
Exploring the promising career of Makena Lei Gordon Carnahan reveals a fascinating transition from celebrity offspring to an actress with her own spotlight. In a similar vein, Patricia Kalember’s rich career, marked by versatility and depth, serves as an inspiring benchmark for emerging talents. Their journeys underscore the ever-evolving landscape of acting, where each generation sets the stage for the next.
Is She On Social Media?
Many celebrity children are often away from social media. It is their parents’ way of trying to protect them from the craziness. But not Makena.
She has a profile on Instagram with close to 2,000 followers. And it is not a private one. You can go ahead and follow her.
Her mother, on the other hand, is a bit more famous on social media. Helen has more than 456k followers on Instagram.
Net Worth
Makena Lei Carnahan has appeared in two movies so far, and she is still young. Yet, she has earned some money along the way. According to reports, her net worth is $350,000. Not bad for a teenage girl. And as the years come, she might earn even more. It depends on how much her mother will push her to be a movie star.
Her mother, on the other hand, is the one responsible for bringing money to the household. The American actress and film director has a net worth of $75 million.
