Helen Hunt Shares Rare Photo With Stunning Look-Alike Daughter Makena Lei: ‘Just the Best’

Helen Hunt shared a peek into her life as a mom to daughter Makena Lei Gordon Carnahan. The As Good as It Gets actress posted a photo with her child on Instagram recently.

“Just the best National Daughter ever. #nationaldaughtersday,” Helen, 61, captioned a photo with her daughter on Instagram on September 25. The Academy Award winner went for a casual look in a white button down shirt, jeans and sunglasses while Makena, 20, wore a T-shirt with black pants and sneakers in the mirror selfie.

“She’s lucky to have such a great mom,” one person wrote in a comment, while another said, “So great to see you two together!”
“She has the prettiest red hair,” another person said, while another commenter wrote, “Both beautiful!”

Just a few months ago, Helen gave her daughter a sweet shout-out in a post to mark her 20th birthday. The doting mom shared a throwback photo, writing, “Happy Birthday @makenalei I’m so proud to walk alongside as you live this righteous life. I love you forever and beyond. Mama.”

“A mother’s love is timeless,” one fan wrote underneath the post, while others flooded the post with birthday wishes.

Fans of the star love seeing glimpses into her private life as a parent away from the Hollywood gaze. Last year on Mother’s day, Helen also shared a rare snap with Makena, writing, “Best Mother’s Day ever. @makenalei.”

Helen shares Makena with former partner Matthew Carnahan. Makena earned a couple acting credits of her own, proving that she’s just like her famous mom! She’s always making Helen proud.

In September 2019, Helen revealed to Closer her best parenting advice: “Tell the truth.” Helen dished on how parenthood completely changed her life in more ways than one.

“I fell in love, I had a daughter. It was hard to find a part that was as interesting as watching her grow up,” she said in September 2008, four years after Makena was born. “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?”

The Blindspotting actress said that being a parent “gives me real motivation to try and be the person I want to be.”

“You tell them to be patient. But they’ll do what you do and not what to say,” Helen said about motherhood. “If I want her to be relaxed, I have to be relaxed. Or at least try as hard as I can to seem relaxed. If I want her to be patient, I have to be patient. If I want her to be kind, I have to be kind. I have a deep wish for her to be happy and serene, and it makes me want to do everything I can to be happy and serene.”