Maria Bello Biography

While majoring in politcal science at Villanova, an acting class blew Maria Bello's best-laid plans to attend law school; she took acting classes instead, honing her craft on the New York stage. In 1997, she got primetime exposure playing one of the M.D.'s on ER. The next year she jumped into movies, landing roles in Permanent Midnight, Coyote Ugly and the 2002 Bob Crane critical hit, Auto Focus. The following year, she earned a Best Supporting Actress nod from both the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild for her role as a Vegas cocktail waitress who falls for William H. Macy's sorry loser in The Cooler. Having built a reputation for playing brainy yet sexy women, Bello continued this trend in A History of Violence (her second Globe nomination), Thank You for Smoking and Oliver Stone's 9/11 movie, World Trade Center.


1. She is one of four children to an Italian father and a Polish mother.
2. After college, she moved to New York City with $300 and her clothes in a trash bag.
3. She has said that Mel Gibson was her favorite actor to work with.
4. She studies Muay Thai martial arts.
5. She co-founded a non-profit arts and education program for Harlem children.


"I realized that you serve by doing the thing you love, doing it well, and being conscious about what you're giving to the world."
— Interview Magazine, April 2004


Son: Jackson Blue, born Mar. 5, 2001 (father: Dan McDermott, TV writer/producer)


2006: Golden Globe nomination: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama), A History of Violence

2004: Golden Globe nomination: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, The Cooler



The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - (2008) - Actor
Towelhead - (2008) - Actor
The Jane Austen Book Club - (2007) - Actor
Flicka - (2006) - Actor
World Trade Center - (2006) - Actor
View all films


http://mariabello.tripod.com/