Petite, fiery, and altogether confident, Holly Hunter was an Academy Award-winning actress and producer who rose to prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s with a string of roles in challenging and critically acclaimed films. She was best known as the mute pianist who carries out a torrid affair with Harvey Keitel’s rough-hewn New Zealander in “The Piano” – for which she won the Oscar in 1993 – but her turns in such films as “Raising Arizona” (1987), “Broadcast News” (1987), “thirteen” (2003) and “The Incredibles” (2004) also earned her a legion of admirers.

Born in Conyers, GA on March