Maria Elena Bello (born April 18, 1967) is an
American actress best known for her appearances in the movies
Coyote Ugly,
The Jane Austen Book Club,
Thank You for Smoking, and
A History of Violence. For television she's best known for her role as Dr.
Anna Del Amico on the
NBC medical drama ER.
Early life
Bello was born in
Norristown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Kathy, a teacher and school nurse, and Joe Bello, a contractor.
[eMatrimony - Supporting, Encouraging and Challenging the WWME Community] Her father is
Italian American and her mother
Polish American.
["Maria Bello: after more than a decade of not being the one, suddenly she's well on her way" from FindArticles.com (originally published in Interview magazine)][Bello epoque - interview with actress Maria Bello from FindArticles.com (originally published in Interview magazine)][McCarthy, Ellen. Maria Bello, 'Getting Better and Better', The Washington Post, August 11, 2006. Accessed May 24, 2008.] She grew up in a working-class
Roman Catholic family and graduated from
Archbishop Carroll High School (Radnor, Pennsylvania). Later she attended
Villanova University, majoring in
political science. She intended to become a
lawyer, but took an acting class during her senior year, just for fun. She was soon cast in small
off-Broadway plays, such as
The Killer Inside Me,
Small Town Gals With Big Problems and
Urban Planning. She later guest-starred on episodes of
The Commish (1991),
Nowhere Man (1995),
Misery Loves Company (1995)
Due South (1994), and
ER (1997-98).
Career
Bello's breakthrough came when the producers Kerry Lenhart and John J. Sakmar cast her as Mrs. Smith in the spy show
Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The show was cancelled after just eight weeks on the air. Then came a guest stint on
ER as the feisty pediatrician Dr.
Anna Del Amico, in which she guest-starred in the final three episodes of the third season. Bello remained on the show for one season as a regular cast member, departing after the medical drama's 4th season. The actress went on into movies landing a role in
Coyote Ugly. She has been nominated for the
Golden Globe award twice: for Best Supporting Actress in
The Cooler (2003) and for Best Actress in
A History of Violence (2005). She also starred in
The Jane Austen Book Club as Jocelyn.
In 2008 Bello starred in
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor as
Evy O'Connell, taking over from
Rachel Weisz. Bello has stated that she has signed up for three more Mummy films.
In December 2008 Bello began developing a drama for
HBO. Besides starring in the new series, Bello will also serve as an
executive producer.
Bello's latest project, the 2009 Sundance film
The Yellow Handkerchief, will be released in theaters on February 26, 2010 by
Samuel Goldwyn Films.
Personal life
Bello has a son named Jackson Blue, born in 2001, with former long-time boyfriend
Dan McDermott. Bello is also a
Muay Thai practitioner. In July 2008 she became engaged to musician
Bryn Mooser; a date for the wedding has not been announced.
[Actress Maria Bello Engaged, Us Magazine, July 28, 2008. Accessed September 10, 2008.]
During interview while promoting The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Bello voiced her support for Senator Barack Obama in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election.[1]
Bello and
Carrie-Anne Moss of
The Matrix are best friends, and they are godmother to each others first born children.
[fametastic.co.uk/archive/20080729/12465/maria-bello-gets-engaged/]
Filmography
