Catherine Bell (actress)

Catherine Bell
Bell on the set of Army Wives in Charleston, South Carolina (2012)
Born	Catherine Lisa Bell (1968-08-14) August 14, 1968 London, England, UK
Nationality	Iranian-American
Occupation	Actress, producer
Years active	1991–present
Religion	Scientology
Spouse(s)	Adam Beason (m. 1994–2011)
Children	2
Website	www.catherinebell.com

Catherine Lisa Bell (born August 14, 1968) is an Iranian-American actress and producer known for her roles as Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie of the television series JAG from 1997 to 2005, Denise Sherwood of the series Army Wives from 2007 to 2013, and Cassandra "Cassie" Nightingale of Hallmark's The Good Witch film and television series (2008–present).

Early life

Bell was born in London to Briton Peter Bell and Mina Gharagozlou,^[1] an Iranian native. Her mother had traveled to London to study nursing. After her parents' divorce at age two, she lived with her mother in Iran. She moved to the United States at age three.^[2]

Career

One of Bell's first modeling jobs was a four-month assignment in Japan. When she returned to California, she studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse with Milton Katselas. She also worked as a massage therapist, and her clients included singer Peter Gabriel. Her first television acting role was one line spoken to Gabriel on the short-lived 1990 sitcom Sugar and Spice.^[3]

Bell served as Isabella Rossellini's body double for the 1992 film Death Becomes Her where she "showed her butt only".^[4]

In 1996, Bell began her role as Marine Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie, known as "Mac", of the United States Navy Judge Advocate General's Office in the series JAG. She continued in this role until 2005. Prior to being cast as Sarah, Bell had appeared as a murder victim in the season one episode titled "Skeleton Crew", which was never aired (nor, as it was intended as the first part of a two-part episode, properly concluded) during the original run due to the show's cancellation by NBC (it was shown in the US by the USA Network in 1999, and the season three episode "Death Watch" used much footage from the episode).

Beginning in 2007, Bell starred in Lifetime's ensemble drama series Army Wives as Denise Sherwood, the wife of a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, who endured domestic violence at the hands of her teenage son during the show's first season.^[5]

Bell also played the role of Cassandra "Cassie" Nightingale, the main character of Hallmark's The Good Witch (2008), and its sequels The Good Witch's Garden (2009), The Good Witch's Gift (2010), The Good Witch's Family (2011), The Good Witch's Charm (2012), The Good Witch's Destiny (2013), and The Good Witch's Wonder (2014); she was also an executive producer of all of the movies.^[6] She also starred in another Hallmark movie titled Last Man Standing'.'^[7]

Bell is to star in the movie Love Finds Its Way.^[8]

Personal life

Bell is fluent in Persian and English. She is fond of motorcycling, skiing, snowboarding and kick-boxing, which she has been practising for over 10 years. Her hobbies include cross-stitching and making model cars, which she has done since age 8.^[9]

In a survey of 70 celebrities by The Sporting News just before the 2002 Super Bowl, she correctly predicted that the New England Patriots would beat the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, 20 to 17.^[10] In actuality, the article was written after the NFC and AFC championship games; Bell correctly guessed the score, but the teams were already decided.^[11]

She met actor-production assistant Adam Beason on the set of the 1992 film Death Becomes Her; they were married on May 8, 1994.^[4] Together, they have a daughter and a son.^[12][13] The couple divorced in 2011.

Bell was the grand marshal of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway on June 3, 2007.^[14]

During the Hollywood writers' strike, Bell took flying lessons in a Cirrus SR22.^[15]

Scientology

Bell was raised Roman Catholic and attended an all-girls Catholic school (Our Lady of Corvallis High School in Los Angeles). She is currently a practicing Scientologist.^[16] Bell has attested to attaining the Scientology state of Clear.^[17] She has supported Scientology's Hollywood Education and Literacy Project.^[18] In December 2005, Bell helped promote the gala opening of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, "Psychiatry: An Industry of Death" museum.^[19]

In February 2006, Bell appeared in a Scientology music video called "United". The film includes cameo performances by Isaac Hayes, Erika Christensen, Jenna Elfman and Lynsey Bartilson and promotes human rights with a rap song.^[20]

Filmography

Actress

Self

Awards

In 2006, Bell was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television for her role in The Triangle.

See also

• Iranian American

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Catherine Bell.

• Official website
• Catherine Bell on Facebook
• Catherine Bell at the Internet Movie Database
• Catherine Bell at AllMovie