Emma Jean Bell (born December 17, 1986) is an American actress, best known for her roles in films '' Frozen'' (2010) and '' Final Destination 5'' (2011), and for playing Amy in the first and third season of '' The Walking Dead'' (2010; 2012), and Emma Judith Ryland Brown on the
TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
drama series ''
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
'' (2013–2014).
Early life and family
Emma Bell, who was born in
Woodbury, New Jersey
Woodbury is the county seat of Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the South Jersey region of the state.Flemington and the Stanton section of Readington Township and attended
Hunterdon Central Regional High School
Hunterdon Central Regional High School is a comprehensive, four-year public high school, and regional school district that serves students from five municipalities in east central Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. Students hail from ...
. She moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
at the age of 16. She attended Talent Unlimited High School
Performing Arts High School
The High School of Performing Arts (informally known as "PA") was a public alternative high school established in 1947 and located at 120 West 46th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, from 1948 to 1984.
In 1961, the school was m ...
on the
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...
of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
.
Her mother, Tessa Horan, was a producer for '' 60 Minutes'', and her father, Robert M. "Rob" Bell, owns Green Birdie Productions, a full-service video production company in
Lambertville, New Jersey
Lambertville is a city in Hunterdon County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 3,906,WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area as the flagship of MyNetworkTV. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox flagship WNYW ...
. Her brother, Chase Sterling Bell, is a musician. Her paternal grandparents are
Ensign
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
Charles Robert Bell and Elise Emma Stone, a
Daughter of the American Revolution
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' struggle for independence.
A non-pr ...
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
in 1941, married in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
on a Sunday, September 14, 1941, and her aunt is Jean Elise Bell. Her great-grandparents were
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
Mead Wilmer Stone, who fought in the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and was a co-owner of George Malvese and Company of Garden City Park, in Long Island, and Lillie Seamann.
Career
Bell began her acting career in an Off-Broadway cabaret show in New York at the age of 12. She made her screen debut in 2004, in the episode of
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
drama series ''
Third Watch
''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 26, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced ...
The WB
The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on terrestrial television, broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture be ...
television series ''
The Bedford Diaries
''The Bedford Diaries'' is an American drama television series that premiered on March 29, 2006, on The WB and concluded its first season on May 10, 2006. The series was created by Tom Fontana and Julie Martin. This series was canceled on May 18, ...
CSI: Miami
''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...
''. She made her film debut in the 2007 sports drama film '' Gracie'' and also appeared in '' New York City Serenade'', ', ''
Death in Love
''Death in Love'' is a 2008 psychosexual erotic thriller about a love affair between a Jewish woman and a doctor overseeing human experimentation at a Nazi German concentration camp, and the impact this has on her sons' lives in the 1990s. The fil ...
'', and ''
Elektra Luxx
''Elektra Luxx'' is a 2010 comedy film directed and written by Sebastian Gutierrez featuring Carla Gugino. The film is a sequel to the ensemble comedy ''Women in Trouble''. The film premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in 2010, where ...
''.
In 2010, Bell starred as Parker O'Neill, one of the main characters in the film '' Frozen''. The film has received positive reviews from critics and in same year she named one of the "55 Faces of the Future" in
Nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic.
Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from pe ...
's young Hollywood issue. She appeared in ''
Hatchet II
''Hatchet II'' is a 2010 American slasher film written and directed by Adam Green. It is the sequel to Green's film, ''Hatchet'' and the second installment in the ''Hatchet'' film series.
Picking up right where the first film ended, ''Hatchet II ...
'', in which she reprised her ''Frozen'' role in an uncredited cameo. Also in 2010, Bell portrayed the role of Amy, the younger sister of Andrea (
Laurie Holden
Heather Laurie Holden (born December 17, 1969) is a Canadian-American actress, producer, and human rights activist, known for her roles as Marita Covarrubias in ''The X-Files'' (1996–2002), Adele Stanton in '' The Majestic'' (2001), Cybil Benn ...
) in Season 1 of the
AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
** AMC+, streaming service
** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** ...
drama series '' The Walking Dead''. In 2011, Bell starred as Molly Harper, the female lead character, in the 2011 thriller-horror film '' Final Destination 5''.
Bell starred in two television pilots through NBC but neither resulted in becoming full series, ''Reconstruction'' in 2011 and ''Midnight Sun'' in 2012. In September 2012, it was announced that Bell had signed on as a series regular on the second season of
TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
's drama series ''
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
''. She played the role of Emma Judith Ryland Brown, Ann Ewing's (
Brenda Strong
Brenda Lee Strong (born March 25, 1960) is an American actress. She began her career in television, including guest starring appearances in ''Twin Peaks'', '' Party of Five'', ''Seinfeld'', '' Scandal'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', '' ...
) and Harris Ryland's (
Mitch Pileggi
Mitch Pileggi (born April 5, 1952) is an American actor. He played Horace Pinker in '' Shocker'', Walter Skinner on ''The X-Files'', Colonel Steven Caldwell on ''Stargate Atlantis'', Ernest Darby in ''Sons of Anarchy'', and Harris Ryland in the ...
) daughter, and Judith Brown Ryland's (
Judith Light
Judith Ellen Light (born February 9, 1949) is an American actress. She made her professional stage debut in 1970, before making her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of ''A Doll's House''. Her breakthrough role was in the ABC daytime soap opera ...
) granddaughter. In 2013, Bell also starred in independent films ''
Life Inside Out
''Life Inside Out'' is a 2013 American independent film directed by Jill D'Agnenica, written by Maggie Baird and Lori Nasso and starring Baird, Finneas O'Connell, David Cowgill, Nasso, William Dennis Hunt, and Goh Nakamura. The film premiered i ...
Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry.
Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...
Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Ellen Nixon (born April 9, 1966) is an American actress, activist, and theater director. For her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), she won the 2004 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supp ...
. She made her directing debut with short film ''Scratch'' (2016), receiving multiple Festival Awards. She later directed and wrote short film ''Between the Pines''. On television, she has appeared on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', '' American Horror Story: Roanoke'' and '' NCIS''. She starred alongside
Dan Fogler
Daniel Kevin Fogler (born October 20, 1976) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He has appeared in films including '' Balls of Fury'', '' Good Luck Chuck'', ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'', '' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Gr ...
in the upcoming drama film ''
The Argument
''The Argument'' is the sixth and most recent studio album from the post-hardcore band Fugazi released on October 16, 2001, through Dischord Records. It was recorded at Don Zientara's Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, VA and the Dischord House bet ...
'' directed by
Robert Schwartzman
Robert Coppola Schwartzman (born December 24, 1982) is an American filmmaker, director, screenwriter, actor and musician. Schwartzman is best known for directing ''Dreamland'', ''The Unicorn'', and ''The Argument'', acting in his cousin Sofia ...
.
Personal life
On October 6, 2018, Bell married fellow actor Camron Robertson. On October 28, 2020, she gave birth to their first child, a daughter.