Helen Hunt Was Shocked That 1 ‘Mad About You’ Guest Star Agreed to the Role

For seven seasons, Helen Hunt portrayed Jamie Buchman in Mad About You. Over the years, the series welcomed many big-name stars as guests. Cyndi Lauper appeared briefly, and so did Yoko Ono. While both superstars were huge “gets” for the series, there is one guest star that Helen Hunt never dreamed would agree to appear. The star told Ellen Degeneres she was shocked that she agreed to appear as Paul and Jamie Buchman’s nanny on the show. For what it is worth, DeGeneres doesn’t even recall the Mad About You guest spot. 

Ellen DeGeneres appeared as a guest star on ‘Mad About You’

Ellen DeGeneres might be best known as a talk show host now. Before that, though, DeGeneres spent years as a sitcom actor. Her own show, Ellen, was considered groundbreaking after a five-season run. The year her series ended, DeGeneres agreed to appear as a guest in Mad About You. 

The TV personality appeared in just one episode of the series as Nancy Bloom, a woman who acts as Jamie and Paul Buchman’s nanny. The appearance was short and overall unimportant to the plot of Mad About You; so insignificant that DeGeneres completely forgot about the guest appearance. 

DeGeneres had no recollection of appearing on the show 

DeGeneres’ guest appearance on Mad About You wasn’t long-lived. It certainly didn’t leave an impression on the talk show personality. During a chat with Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2019, DeGeneres admitted that she had to be reminded that she appeared briefly on Mad About You. 

She isn’t the only one who forgot she appeared ever-so-briefly on the show. Paul Reiser admitted he, too, had to be reminded of DeGeneres’ storyline. IMDb doesn’t seem to count the appearance in DeGeneres’ credits, either. Helen Hunt, however, has a much better memory. 

Helen Hunt still wonders why the guest appearance even happened 

While DeGeneres and Reiser do not recall the episode, Helen Hunt does recall it. During her 2019 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Hunt revealed that she remembers DeGeneres’ role but admitted she’s still puzzled by it. 

During the interview, Hunt said she remembered thinking there was a lot of talent portraying the Buchman’s nanny. She said she couldn’t remember why the team thought DeGeneres would appear on the show and certainly could not recall why DeGeneres accepted the guest spot.