Jean Bell (born Annie Lee Morgan on November 23, 1944) is a former ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' Playmate of the Month, and one of the first African American women to feature in this role. She later had a career as an actress in movies, most prominently in '' TNT Jackson'', in which she played the title character, and supporting roles in ''

Mean Streets ''Mean Streets'' is a 1973 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese and co-written by Scorsese and Mardik Martin. The film stars Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro. It was released by Warner Bros. on October 2, 1973. De Niro won the National ...

'' and ''

The Klansman ''The Klansman'' (also known as ''Burning Cross'') is a 1974 American drama film based on the 1967 book of the same name by William Bradford Huie. It was directed by Terence Young and starred Lee Marvin, Richard Burton, O. J. Simpson (in his fe ...

'', as well as occasional TV appearances.

Biography

Bell grew up in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, along with three younger sisters and attended

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,000 ...

, majoring in business administration. Jean was the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

woman to participate in the Miss Texas Pageant, which is part of the

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

competition. She aspired to professional bowling or acting. When she appeared in the October 1969 issue of ''Playboy'', Bell was only the second African-American woman to be the

centerfold The centerfold or centrefold of a magazine is the inner pages of the middle sheet, usually containing a portrait, such as a pin-up or a nude. The term can also refer to the model featured in the portrait. In saddle-stitched magazines (as opp ...

(the first being Jennifer Jackson, in March 1965). Her centerfold was photographed by Don Klumpp. A few months later, Bell became the first black person to grace the magazine cover.

Darine Stern Darine Stern (November 16, 1947 – February 5, 1994) was an American model and the first African-American model featured on the cover of ''Playboy'' magazine by herself. Biography Stern was the first black woman to appear by herself on the ...

, who is often erroneously credited with this distinction, was actually the first black woman to appear alone on the cover of ''Playboy'', in the October 1971 issue. Bell was featured with four other playmates on the January 1970 cover. After Bell's appearance in ''Playboy'', she enjoyed a brief acting career, working on such films as ''

'' and ''

'' (for some roles she was credited as Jeanne Bell). Her most popular role was the title character in 1975's '' TNT Jackson''. Bell dated

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

and helped him quit drinking, thus being credited with reuniting him afterwards with

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

. An Earl Wilson column in September 1975 revealed Bell's three-month friendship with the actor. She visited Burton at his villa in Céligny, Switzerland, during her effort to help him "dry out". With his assistance Bell acquired a place of her own in

Geneva, Switzerland Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. Around that time, Bell worked at Splendors Gentlemen's Club in Houston as "Bunny". Bell posed nude again for ''Playboy'' in the December 1979 pictorial "Playmates Forever!", and subsequently disappeared from public life. In 1986 she married Gary Judis, then-Chairman of the Board of the California Independent Mortgage Brokers Association, after an eight-year courtship.Actress Jeannie Bell, Multi-Millionaire Wed
Jet, November 24, 1986, p. 54

Film and television work

Films

* '' The Choirboys'' (1977) .... Fanny Forbes * '' Casanova & Co.'' (1977) .... Fatme * ''

The Muthers ''The Muthers'' is a 1976 women in prison film. It starred Jeannie Bell, Rosanne Katon, Trina Parks, Jayne Kennedy, Tony Carreon and John Montgomery. Quentin Tarantino later wrote, "So why is this cruddy little flick one of my favorite movies? It ...

'' (1976) .... Kelly * ''Disco 9000'' (1976) (as Jeanie Bell) .... Karen * '' TNT Jackson'' (1975) .... Diana "TNT" Jackson * ''

Policewomen The integration of women into law enforcement positions can be considered a large social change. A century ago, there were few jobs open to women in law enforcement. A small number of women worked as correctional officers, and their assignment ...

'' (1974) .... Pam Harris * ''

'' (1974) .... Mary Anne * ''Negro es un bello color'' (1974) .... Joyce * '' Three the Hard Way'' (1974) .... Polly * ''

'' (1973) .... Diane * ''

Black Gunn ''Black Gunn'' is a 1972 American neo-noir crime thriller film, directed by Robert Hartford-Davis and starring Jim Brown, Martin Landau, Brenda Sykes, Herbert Jefferson Jr. and Luciana Paluzzi. Baseball pitcher Vida Blue appears in a supporting ...

'' (1972) .... Lisa * '' Trouble Man'' (1972) .... Leona * ''

Melinda Melinda is a feminine given name. Etymology The modern name ''Melinda'' is a combination of "Mel" with the suffix "-inda". "Mel" can be derived from names such as Melanie meaning "dark, black" in Greek, or from Melissa (μέλισσα) meaning ...

'' (1972) .... Jean

Television

* ''

Starsky and Hutch ''Starsky & Hutch'' is an American action television series, which consisted of a 72-minute pilot movie (originally aired as a ''Movie of the Week'' entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn (inspired by th ...

'' - "Starsky and Hutch Are Guilty" (1977) .... Kate * ''

Baretta ''Baretta'' is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a revised and milder version of a 1973–1974 ABC series, '' Toma'', starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police ...

'' - "Carla" (1977) .... Midge * '' Kolchak: The Night Stalker'' - "Primal Scream" (1975) .... Rosetta Mason * ''

That's My Mama ''That's My Mama'' is an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 4, 1974 until December 24, 1975. There are 39 episodes of this series. ''That's My Mama'' was never a ratings success, having alw ...

'' - "Clifton's Big Move" (1974) .... Ginger * '' Police Woman'' - "Seven-Eleven" (1974) .... Marie * ''

Sanford and Son ''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom ''Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC One in the United ...

'' - "Lamont, Is That You?" (1973) .... Judy Ann * ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family from ...

'' ** "Hotel for Women" (1970) .... Sugar Jean Bell ** "Three-Day Reprieve" (1970) .... Sugar Jean Bell ** "Shorty Spits the Hook" (1970) .... Sugar Jean Bell ** "Marry Me, Shorty" (1970) .... Sugar Jean Bell

Trivia

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...

's ''

Kill Bill ''Kill Bill: Volume 1'' is a 2003 American martial arts film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, who swears revenge on a team of assassins (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, and Vivica A. Fox) an ...

'' movies,

Vivica A. Fox Vivica Anjanetta Fox (born July 30, 1964) is an American actress, producer, and television host. Fox began her career on ''Soul Train'' (19821983). She eventually continued her career with roles on the daytime television soap operas ''Days of O ...

's character uses the

alias Alias may refer to: * Pseudonym * Pen name * Nickname Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film * ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006 * ''Alias the ...

"Jeannie Bell", a reference to Jean Bell.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Jean 1944 births Living people Actresses from St. Louis American film actresses 1960s Playboy Playmates African-American Playboy Playmates African-American female models African-American actresses 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women