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Catherine Lisa Bell (born August 14, 1968) is an actress known for her role of Lt. Colonel Sarah MacKenzie of the television show JAG from 1995 to 2005. Recently she has starred in the Lifetime Television hit series Army Wives as Denise Sherwood. A beguiling dark-eyed beauty with a statuesque figure, Catherine Bell rose to prominance on the military-themed television series "JAG" (1995 -2005) as Maj. Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie. Born in London, Bell emigrated to California with her Iranian mother at the age of two and began acting and modeling as a child. After a stint as a fashion model in Japan, Bell first got a foothold in Hollywood as a body double, performing a nude scene for Isabella Rossellini in director Robert Zemeckis' "Death Becomes Her" (1992). Small roles in TV movies, C-level action flicks, sydicated fare including "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" and racy TV series such as HBO's risque comedy "Dream On" and the erotic cable anthology "Hot Line"--which made great advantage of her enviable physique--followed. Bell was born in London, England, the daughter of Mina, a personal assistant and nurse, and Peter Bell, an architect. Her mother was Iranian and her father English. Her parents divorced and she and her mother moved to Los Angeles, California when she was three years old. She became a naturalized citizen of the United States at the age of twelve. A self-described "geek", Bell thrived in math and biology classes in school, and in junior high school once programmed a computer video game. She acted in various television advertisements as a child. She attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with an interest in becoming either a biomedical engineer or a physician but dropped out to become a full-time model. One of Bell's first modeling jobs was an extended assignment in Japan. When she returned to California, she studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse with Milton Katselas. Her first television acting role was one line on the sitcom "Sugar and Spice" (1990). Her first appearance in a film was as a partially nude body double for Isabella Rossellini in Death Becomes Her (1992). She made her "JAG" debut on an 1996 episode as Lt. Diane Schonke, the love interest of lead character Harm (David James Elliott). After return engagements her character was tragically killed off, but Bell learned that "JAG" producer Don Bellasario was looking for a new regular female lead for the series and wrote Bellasario a letter, suggesting that it would be intirguing if the new character were the spitting image of Harm's lost love. Bellasario agreed and Bell joined the cast as a new character, Maj. Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie when the show switched networks from NBC to CBS in 1997. From 1997 to 2005, Bell starred as U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Sarah MacKenzie on the television series JAG as a practicing attorney in the U.S. Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps. Her earlier TV work included an appearance in a late night adult series called "Hot line" which aired in the U.K. From 1994 to 1996. Bell was featured in "The Brunch Club" episode. In 2003, the actress had a supporting role as a television news anchor in the comedy Bruce Almighty, which starred Jim Carrey. She reprised the role with a cameo in the 2007 sequel Evan Almighty. She parlayed her visibility and the show's mainstream popularity--especially with military supporters--into several magazine covers and roles in telepics, ultimately landing a high-profile movie role as the object of Jim Carrey's lust in the comedy "Bruce Almighty" (2003). When her co-star Elliott announced his attention to leave the show following its tenth season in 2004-2005, producers initially planned to reshape the series around Bell, but the network ultimately pulled the plug on the show. Bell appeared in the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries The Triangle, presented in December 2005, playing an ocean engineer. In 2006, she was nominated in Saturn Award of Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for Best Supporting Actress on Television (The Triangle). In 2007, Bell starred in Lifetime's ensemble drama series Army Wives as Denise Sherwood, the wife of a US Army major, who is enduring physical abuse at the hands of her teenage son. 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 Scientology's controversial "Psychiatry: An Industry of Death" Museum. 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. Bell is fluent in Persian and English. She is fond of skiing, snowboarding and kick-boxing, which she has been practicing for over 10 years. Her hobbies include cross-stitching and making model cars since about the age of 8. She met actor/production assistant Adam Beason on the set of Death Becomes Her in 1992, and were married on May 8, 1994. They have a daughter, Gemma, who was born on April 16, 2003. Bell is a survivor of thyroid cancer. She had a thyroid gland removed from her neck in her 20s and has a small surgical scar. At one time she had a message board on her website but it has been removed citing an inability to constantly monitor it. While the message board was running, the actress noted her thyroid surgery and LASIK work. Bell was the grand marshal of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway on June 3, 2007. In a survey of 70 celebrities who had nothing to do with football conducted by "The Sporting News," she correctly predicted that the New England Patriots would beat the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI by a score of 20 to 17. In August 2007, Bell and her husband put their Calabasas home on the market for $3.25 million and moved to South Carolina. During the Hollywood writers strike, Bell took flying lessons in a Cirrus SR22. |
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