Maria Elena Bello (born April 18, 1967) is an American actress and writer. Her film roles include ''

Permanent Midnight ''Permanent Midnight'' is a 1998 independent drama film written and directed by David Veloz. It stars Ben Stiller, Maria Bello, Elizabeth Hurley, Owen Wilson, Cheryl Ladd and Janeane Garofalo. Based on Jerry Stahl's autobiographical book of the ...

'' (1998), ''

Payback Payback may refer to: * Revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance Payback may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Payback, a member of the fictional comics superhero team Shadow ...

'' (1999), '' Coyote Ugly'' (2000), ''

The Cooler ''The Cooler'' is a 2003 American crime drama film directed by Wayne Kramer, from a screenplay by Frank Hannah and Kramer. The film stars William H. Macy, Maria Bello, Shawn Hatosy, Ron Livingston, Estella Warren, Paul Sorvino, and Alec Baldw ...

'' (2003), ''

A History of Violence ''A History of Violence'' is a 2005 action thriller film directed by David Cronenberg and written by Josh Olson. It is an adaptation of the 1997 graphic novel of the same title by John Wagner and Vince Locke. The film stars Viggo Mortensen, ...

'' (2005), '' The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor'' (2008), '' Grown Ups'' (2010), ''

Prisoners A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

'' (2013), and '' Lights Out'' (2016). On television, Bello appeared as Dr. Anna Del Amico on the medical drama '' ER'' (1997–1998), with other starring roles including as Lucy Robbins on the series ''

Touch In physiology, the somatosensory system is the network of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of touch (haptic perception), as well as temperature (thermoception), body position (proprioception), and pain. It is ...

'' in 2013, as Michelle McBride on the first season of the series ''

Goliath Goliath ( ) ''Goləyāṯ''; ar, جُليات ''Ǧulyāt'' (Christian term) or (Quranic term). is a character in the Book of Samuel, described as a Philistine giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) a ...

'' in 2016, and from 2017 to 2021 as Special Agent Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane on the series '' NCIS''. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' named her one of the best actors never to have received an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination.

Early life

Bello was born April 18, 1967 in

Norristown, Pennsylvania Norristown is a municipality with home rule status and the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the 7 ...

, to Kathy, a school nurse and teacher, and Joe Bello, a contractor. Her father is Italian American, with roots in

Montella Montella is an Italian town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Avellino, Campania, with a population of 7,699. The zone was inhabited already in the neolithic period. The town was founded by the Samnites in the 1st millennium BC ...

, Italy, and her mother is Polish American. She grew up in a working-class, Catholic family and graduated from Archbishop John Carroll High School in

Radnor, Pennsylvania Radnor is a community located approximately 13 miles west of Philadelphia, in the Main Line suburbs. It straddles Montgomery and Delaware Counties, Pennsylvania. The community was named after Radnor, in Wales. Radnor is home to Cabrini Universi ...

. She majored in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

. Following graduation, Bello honed her acting skills in a number of New York theater productions.

Career

Bello's early TV appearances include episodes of ''

The Commish ''The Commish'' is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on ABC in the United States from September 28, 1991, to January 11, 1996. The series focuses on the work and home life of a suburban police commissioner in Eastbridge, New ...

'' (1991), '' Due South'' (1994), '' Nowhere Man'' (1995), '' Misery Loves Company'' (1995), and '' ER'' (1997–98). Her breakthrough came when she was cast as Mrs. Smith in the TV series spy show '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'', though the show was cancelled after eight weeks. She then appeared in the final three episodes of the third season of '' ER'' as pediatrician Dr. Anna Del Amico and was a regular cast member during the medical drama's fourth season. Bello moved on to films, landing a role in '' Coyote Ugly'' (2000). She was nominated for the

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

award twice: for Best Supporting Actress in ''

'' (2003) and for Best Actress in ''

'' (2005). She starred in ''

The Jane Austen Book Club ''The Jane Austen Book Club'' is a 2004 novel by American author Karen Joy Fowler. The story, which takes place near Sacramento, California, centers around a book club consisting of five women and one man who meet once a month to discuss Jane A ...

'' (2007) as Jocelyn and as Dr. Alex Sabian in the 2005 film, '' Assault on Precinct 13'', a remake of the original 1976 movie made by

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

. In 2008, she starred in '' The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor'' as Evelyn O'Connell, replacing

Rachel Weisz Rachel Hannah Weisz (; born 7 March 1970 ) is an English actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Rachel Weisz, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a BAFTA Award. We ...

. In December 2008, Bello began developing a drama for

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

. Besides starring in the new series, Bello planned to also serve as an

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

. She starred in the 2009 drama film ''

The Yellow Handkerchief The Yellow Handkerchief or Yellow Handkerchief may refer to: * ''The Yellow Handkerchief'' (1977 film), Japanese film *''Yellow Handkerchief'', 2003 television program broadcast by Korean Broadcasting System * ''The Yellow Handkerchief'' (2008 fil ...

'', which was released in theatres on February 26, 2010, by

Samuel Goldwyn Films Samuel Goldwyn Films is an American film company that licenses, releases and distributes art-house, independent and foreign films. It was founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the son of the Hollywood business magnate/mogul, Samuel Goldwyn. The curre ...

. In 2010, Bello guest starred in two episodes of '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''. The following year, she starred in the TV series ''

Prime Suspect ''Prime Suspect'' is a British police procedural television drama series devised by Lynda La Plante. It stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, who ...

'', which was cancelled after 13 episodes. In 2011, she became a founding board member of the CQ Matrix Company, a company created by her then-partner, Clare Munn, to help clients achieve "transformative living and the power of intelligent exchange" by enhancing their

communication quotient Communication quotient (CQ; alternately called communication intelligence or CI) is the theory that communication is a behavior-based skill that can be measured and trained. CQ measures the ability of people to communicate effectively with one an ...

. In 2014, she starred alongside

Frank Grillo Frank Anthony Grillo (born June 8, 1965) is an American actor and martial artist. He played Brock Rumlow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier'' (2014), '' Captain America: Civil War'' (2016), '' Avengers: ...

in the

James Wan James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian director, producer, screenwriter and comic book writer. He has primarily worked in the horror genre as the co-creator of the ''Saw'' and ''Insidious'' franchises and the creator of The Conjurin ...

-produced thriller '' Demonic''.

Humanitarian efforts

In the aftermath of the

2010 Haiti earthquake A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...

, Bello founded WE ADVANCE with Aleda Frishman, Barbara Guillaume, and Alison Thompson. It is an organization that encourages

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

an women to collaborate in making healthcare a priority, and putting an end to

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

within their communities. , the organization is based in a health clinic and a community outreach center in

Cité Soleil Cité Soleil ( ht, Site Solèy; English: ) is an extremely impoverished and densely populated commune located in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area in Haiti. Cité Soleil originally developed as a shanty town and grew to an estimated 200,000 ...

. Bello is also a board member of Darfur Women Action Group, an

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

that undertakes activism on behalf of

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

victims of the

Darfur conflict The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, is a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups be ...

Personal life

Bello has a son Jackson with her former boyfriend Dan McDermott. In November 2013, she wrote about having a

same-sex relationship A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries w ...

with her then-partner, Clare Munn. She published a book, ''Whatever...Love Is Love: Questioning the Labels We Give Ourselves'' (Dey Street Books, April 28, 2015). In February 2020, while attending the

92nd Academy Awards The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 2019 and took place on February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:00 ...

in their first public appearance as a couple, Bello announced she and chef

Dominique Crenn Dominique Crenn (born 1965) is a French chef. she is the only woman chef in the United States to attain three Michelin stars, for her restaurant Atelier Crenn, in San Francisco, California. Biography Crenn, originally from Locronan, was adopte ...

had become engaged on December 29, 2019, while holidaying in Paris, France.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
Maria Bello
on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

Maria Bello
on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bello, Maria Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Pennsylvania American film actresses American people of Italian descent American people of Polish descent American television actresses LGBT actresses LGBT people from Pennsylvania American LGBT actors People from Norristown, Pennsylvania Villanova University alumni Archbishop John Carroll High School alumni 1967 births