Catherine Lisa Bell (born August 14, 1968) is an British-born American actress known for her role of Lt. Colonel Sarah MacKenzie of the television show JAG from 1997 to 2005. Currently she stars in the Lifetime Television hit series Army Wives as Denise Sherwood.Biography
Early life:Bell was born in London, United Kingdom, the daughter of Mina, a personal assistant and nurse, and Peter Bell, an architect. Her mother is Iranian and her father Scottish. 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.
Personal life:Bell is fluent in Farsi 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, which she has done since age 8. She met actor/production assistant Adam Beason on the set of Death Becomes Her in 1992 (where she was the body-double for Isabella Rossellini), and they were married on May 8, 1994 They have a daughter, Gemma, who was born on April 16, 2003.
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 by The Sporting News, she correctly predicted that the New England Patriots would beat the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI 20 to 17.
In August 2007, Bell and her husband put their Calabasas, California, 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.
When she was in her 20s, she had thyroid cancer and had to have her thyroid removed. She doesn't cover the scar on her neck because she "thinks it's kind of cool".
Scientology:Although Bell was raised Roman Catholic and attended an all-girls’ Catholic school, she has since become a 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 Citizens Commission on Human Rights, "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.
Career: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. She was a free lance masseuse whose clientele included singer Peter Gabriel. She was on the game show To Tell the Truth in 1990 where she mentioned that she was a massage therapist, (she was one of the imposters on the show, she was playing an imposter of a body double named Shelly Michelle). Her first television acting role was one line on the sitcom Sugar and Spice (1990). Her first appearance in a film was as a body double for Isabella Rossellini in Death Becomes Her (1992). One of her first TV roles was on the HBO sitcom Dream On in 1994.
From 1997 to 2005, Bell starred as U.S. Marine Corps Major Sarah MacKenzie on the hit television series JAG as a practicing attorney in the U.S. Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps. Her earlier TV work also included an appearance in a late night adult series called Hot line. Bell was featured in "The Brunch Club" episode.
In 2003, she had a supporting role as a television news anchor, Susan Ortega, in the comedy Bruce Almighty, starring Jim Carrey. She reprised the role with a cameo in the 2007 sequel Evan Almighty, starring Steve Carell.
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 domestic violence at the hands of her teenage son.
Bell has also recently played the main role in Hallmark's The Good Witch (2008) and its sequel, The Good Witch's Garden (2009). She co-executive produced both movies.
