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Catherine Bell
Bell on the set of Army Wives in Charleston, South Carolina (2012)
Born	Catherine Lisa Bell (1968-08-14) 14 August 1968 (age 56) London, England
Nationality	British, Iranian
Citizenship	British, American
Education	Our Lady of Corvallis High School
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles Beverly Hills Playhouse
Occupations	Actress model
Years active	1991–present
Known for	JAG The Good Witch Army Wives
Spouse	Adam Beason ​ ​(m. 1994; div. 2011)​
Partner	Brooke Daniells (2012–present)
Children	2
Website	catherinebell.com

Catherine Lisa Bell (born 14 August 1968) is a British-American actress and model known for her roles as Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie in the television series JAG from 1997 to 2005, Denise Sherwood in the series Army Wives from 2007 to 2013, and Cassandra "Cassie" Nightingale in Hallmark's The Good Witch films and television series from 2008 to 2021.

Early life

Catherine Lisa Bell was born on 14 August 1968 in London to a Scottish father, Peter Bell, and an Iranian mother, Mina Ezzati. Peter was working as an architect under contract to an oil company in Iran; Mina had travelled to London to study nursing. Bell's parents divorced when Catherine was two years old. She was raised by her mother and maternal grandparents. The family eventually moved to California's San Fernando Valley where Bell was exposed to diverse influences. The family spoke Persian at home. In her teenage years, Catherine came under the influence of her California surroundings: "I am definitely a Valley Girl. I was a tomboy. I liked to skateboard, play football, and push the envelope a little bit". Catherine enrolled at UCLA, where she considered a career in medicine or research. However, when she was offered a modelling job in Japan, where advertisers value "American beauty", she dropped out during her second year.

Career

When Bell returned to the United States, she decided to try acting. She studied at the Beverly Hills Playhouse with Milton Katselas. She also worked as a massage therapist for eight years at the Peninsula Hotel, and her clients included singer Peter Gabriel. Bell's first television acting role was one line spoken to Gabriel on the short-lived 1990 sitcom Sugar and Spice.

Among her first parts was Isabella Rossellini' body double for the 1992 film Death Becomes Her.

In 1994, Bell starred in the Dolph Lundgren film Men of War. While filming the movie in Thailand, Bell and her co-star Trevor Goddard bonded over contracting amoebic dysentery. Goddard would play Bell's off-and-on love interest Mic Brumby the following year on JAG. They remained friends until Goddard's death from a drug overdose in June 2003, an event that the bereaved Bell described as "horrible".

In 1995, she obtained a three-line role in one episode of the NBC TV series JAG, which centers on the work of the United States Department of the Navy's Judge Advocate General office. NBC canceled the show after which it was picked up by CBS, which restructured the series, incorporating a female Marine Corps lawyer character, Sarah MacKenzie. Bell auditioned for that role and won it. She continued in this role until the series ended in 2005.

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 endures domestic violence at the hands of her teenage son during the show's first season.

Bell 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 a co-executive producer of all of the movies. She also starred in the Lifetime movie titled Last Man Standing (2011).

In 2015, it was reported that Bell would star in the movie Love Finds Its Way, which would begin filming in 2016. Production began on the film in March 2017, with Vancouver as the filming location, and 9 July 2017 as the date for the film's premiere on the Hallmark Channel.

On 2 April 2019, CBS announced that Bell would be reprising her JAG role of Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie alongside former co-star David James Elliott for a multi-episode arc in the tenth season of NCIS: Los Angeles.

In 2022, Bell starred in the Lifetime film Jailbreak Lovers as part of its "Ripped from the Headlines" feature film which tells the story of how Toby Dorr snuck inmate John Manard out of prison in a dog crate which sparked a manhunt.

Personal life

Bell is fluent in Persian and English. She is fond of motorcycling, skiing, snowboarding and kickboxing. Her hobbies include cross-stitching and making model cars, which she has done since age eight.

During the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, Bell took flying lessons in a Cirrus SR22.

Bell met actor-production assistant Adam Beason on the set of the 1992 film Death Becomes Her. They were married on 8 May 1994. They are the parents of two children. They lived in a nearly 5,700 square feet (530 m) faux-Tuscan-style mini-mansion in Calabasas, California. The couple sold the house in 2010 and publicly confirmed that they had separated sometime before September 2011. They eventually divorced in 2011.

Since 2012, Bell has lived with fellow Scientologist, photographer and party planner Brooke Daniells, together with their children, in Los Angeles. In 2014, Bell paid US$2.05 million for a single-story ranch house on a 1.2 acres (0.49 ha) lot in the gated Hidden Hills community in the western suburbs of Los Angeles. She later moved to Clearwater Beach, Florida.

Scientology

Bell was raised Roman Catholic and attended an all-girls Catholic school (Our Lady of Corvallis High School in Los Angeles). She is a practicing Scientologist. Bell has attested to attaining the Scientology state of Clear. She has supported Scientology's Hollywood Education and Literacy Project. In December 2005, Bell helped promote the gala opening of the "Psychiatry: An Industry of Death" museum of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (a Scientology supported group). In February 2006, Bell appeared in a Scientology music video called "United".

Filmography

Film

Television

See also

• Agra catbellae – A species of beetle named after Catherine Bell

References

1. "U.S. Virtual Embassy Iran". Retrieved 10 November 2023. Catherine Lisa Bell is an American actress
2. Cohen, Aryeh Dean (19 December 2008). "Off-base on Iraq". Jerusalem Post. p. 74. ProQuest 319670346.
3. "Catherine Bell". Hollywood.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015.
4. ^ "Catherine Bell now acting less, playing mom more" Iran Times International 27 September 2013.
5. Cutler, Jacqueline (3 June 2019). "Catherine Bell of "Good Witch" Says it Takes More than Spells to Succeed". Media Village. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
6. ^ Knutzen, Eirik (15 June 2007). "TV Close-Up: Catherine Bell". Bend Weekly. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2007.
7. "Season 10, Episode 22: Fair Winds and Following Seas" TV Guide Retrieved 30 April 2017
8. Owen, Rob (31 May 2007). "Tuned In: 'Army Wives' is soap du jour". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
9. Newman, Emily L.; Witsell, Emily (28 March 2016) The Lifetime Network: Essays on 'Television for Women' in the 21st Century McFarland & Company. p. 86. Archived at Google Books Retrieved 30 April 2017
10. "Catherine Bell Credits" TV Guide Retrieved 30 April 2017
11. Radish, Christina (6 June 2011) "Catherine Bell Exclusive Interview LAST MAN STANDING and ARMY WIVES" Collider
12. "Jennifer Aspen Segues From Screen to Hallmark Exec Producer". Deadline Hollywood. 12 August 2015
13. "Catherine Bell and Victor Webster Begin Production on "Love Finds Its Way" A Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Original World Premiere July 9" The Futon Critic, 20 March 2017
14. Andreeva, Nellie (2 April 2019). "Catherine Bell To Reprise Her "Mac" Character On "NCIS: Los Angeles"; Could "JAG" Reboot Be In the Cards?". Deadline. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
15. ^ "Lifetime's Ripped-From-the-Headlines Summer Movie Slate Revealed (Exclusive)". The Wrap. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
16. Betsy Model (October 1999). "Ma'am Yes Ma'am!". Orange Coast. pp. 32–37.
17. "Lifetime's 'Army Wives' star Catherine Bell takes flying lessons during writers' strike" The Goshen News
18. Wihlborg, Ulrica; Michaud, Sarah (22 August 2010) "Catherine Bell Welcomes a Son" People
19. "Catherine Bell" TV Guide Retrieved 28 March 2014
20. ^ David, Mark (23 January 2015) "Catherine Bells Settles in Hidden Hills" Variety
21. Jordan, Julie (23 September 2016). "Catherine Bell and Husband Separate" People
22. Donnellan, Sara (7 May 2021). "'The Good Witch' Star Catherine Bell Got Divorced After 17 Years". Heavy.com. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
23. "SCIENTOLOGY’S TOP 20 CELEBRITIES — in order of those most likely to defect" (26 September 2016) Retrieved 14 September 2017
24. Bosun, Bosun (29 June 2021). "Catherine Bell biography: The Good Witch movies, Brooke Daniells and net worth". Sidomex Entertainment. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
25. King, Anne (11 October 2024). "Hallmark Star Catherine Bell Did Not Evacuate Her Florida Home As Hurricane Milton Hit". Celebrating Soaps. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
26. Zokaei, Mayar (Spring 2005). "Bell Hop". NYLA Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
27. Interview with Catherine Bell, Celebrity (Magazine of the Scientology Celebrity Centre Los Angeles), Issue 347 (April 2003)
28. Bell, Catherine. "Giving Back: This Month". Catherine Bell's Official Website. Archived from the original on 20 April 2006. Retrieved 8 June 2006.
29. Gumbel, Andrew (12 January 2006). "Scientology vs. Science". Los Angeles CityBeat. Southland Publishing. Archived from the original on 27 April 2006. Retrieved 8 June 2006.
30. Weisman, Aly (27 October 2015). "19 famous Church of Scientology members". Business Insider. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
31. "Home for Christmas Day". Crown Media Holdings. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
32. Thompson, Avery (25 October 2024). "Hallmark+ 2024 Holiday Schedule: All the New Movies & TV Shows". TV Insider. Retrieved 11 November 2024.

External links

• Official website
• Catherine Bell on Facebook
• Catherine Bell at IMDb 
• Catherine Bell at AllMovie

• 1968 births
• Living people
• Actresses from London
• Actresses of Iranian descent
• American bisexual actresses
• American female models
• American film actresses
• American people of Iranian descent
• American people of Scottish descent
• American Scientologists
• American television actresses
• 20th-century British actresses
• British female models
• British film actresses
• British television actresses
• Converts to Scientology from Roman Catholicism
• British bisexual actresses
• English emigrants to the United States
• English people of Iranian descent
• English people of Scottish descent
• English Scientologists
• Naturalized citizens of the United States
• University of California, Los Angeles alumni
• 21st-century British actresses