In the Los Angeles spin-off, Linda Hunt made her debut in the opening episode as the beloved Henrietta “Hetty” Lange.
In a picture from over 40 years ago, one of NCIS’s most recognizable characters is nearly unrecognizable.
Fans have grown to adore Linda Hunt’s blunt hairstyle, but she didn’t always have it when she played Henrietta “Hetty” Lange on NCIS: Los Angeles.
Linda presented the well Supporting Actor award at the 57th Academy Awards in 1985, before she was well recognized for playing Hetty.
This followed Linda’s Best Supporting Actress win the previous year, when she became the first person to win an Oscar for portraying a role of the opposite sex.
She received her prize at the 1984 event from Dyan Cannon and Gene Hackman, who played the male character Billy Kwan in The Year of Life in Danger.
Linda presented Don Ameche with the Best Supporting Actor Oscar the following year for his performance in Cocoon.
Linda is seen wearing a high-necked sequin adorned gown, with her hair worn shorter than NCIS viewers are accustomed to seeing her with.
She obviously doesn’t have Hetty’s signature look from the hit CBS police procedural.
Before joining NCIS: Los Angeles in 2009, Linda had appeared in a variety of other films and television shows. She appeared as a guest star on Without a Trace and The Practice, as well as in Kindergarten Cop, Stranger Than Fiction, and 1984’s Dune.
She even played Grandmother Willow in the Disney films Pocahontas and Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World.
Most people will recognize Linda as Hetty, a petite woman with one of the largest personalities on the team.
For a variety of reasons, the fan favorite has made only sporadic appearances on the show in recent years. This included when Linda took time off to recover from a car accident and when the pand3mic prevented her from returning to set.
Sadly, NCIS: Los Angeles ended after its 14th season, but fans of the program may still watch the original NCIS, NCIS: Hawaii, and NCIS: New Orleans.
Given the current SAG-AFTRA strikes in Hollywood, it is unclear when new episodes of the NCIS universe will be released. However, it appears that any following seasons will not run until at least 2024.
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