Kristen Bell
Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980)[1] is an American actress. She began her acting career starring in stage productions, while attending the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. She made her Broadway stage debut as Becky Thatcher in the comedy musical The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and appeared in a Broadway revival of The Crucible the following year. She later appeared in the action thriller film Spartan (2004) and received praise for her performance in the television drama film Gracie's Choice (2004).
Not to be confused with Kristine Bell, Kristine DeBell, or Kierstan Bell.
Kristen Bell
Actress
1992–present
2
Bell received a Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television for her performance as the title character in the television series Veronica Mars (2004–2007). She reprised the eponymous role in the 2014 film and the 2019 revival. During her time on Veronica Mars, she starred as Mary Lane in the musical film Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical (2005), a role she would later reprise in the New York musical of the same name.
She later starred as Elle Bishop in the superhero drama series Heroes from 2007 to 2008. She voiced the titular narrator in the teen drama series Gossip Girl, reprising the role in the 2021 sequel, and starred as Jeannie van der Hooven, the female lead on the Showtime comedy series House of Lies. She starred in the lead role of Eleanor Shellstrop on the critically acclaimed NBC comedy series The Good Place, receiving a Golden Globe Award nomination for her role. In addition, Bell portrayed the lead role in streaming series The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window.
In film, she had her major breakout film role as the title character in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008). She has since appeared in a number of comedy films, including Couples Retreat (2009), When in Rome (2010), You Again (2010), The Boss (2016), Bad Moms (2016), and A Bad Moms Christmas (2017). Bell received further recognition for voicing Princess Anna in the Disney animated films Frozen (2013), Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018), and Frozen II (2019).
Early life and family[edit]
Bell was born and raised in Huntington Woods, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. Her mother, Lorelei (née Frygier), was a registered nurse, and her father, Tom Bell, was a television news director in Las Vegas.[2][3] Her parents divorced when she was two. Bell has two half-sisters from her father's second marriage, and three half-sisters and a half-brother from her mother's second marriage. Her mother is of Polish descent, and her father has German, Scottish and Irish ancestry.[4]
At the age of four, Bell stated that she did not like her first name, so her mother encouraged her to use her middle name, Anne, which she used until she attended high school.[5]
Just before her first year of high school, Bell's parents decided to remove her from the public school system.[6] She attended Shrine Catholic High School in nearby Royal Oak, where she took part in the drama and music clubs. Before attending Shrine, she attended Burton Elementary School and Norup Middle School (now known as Norup International School), part of the Berkley School District.[7] At Shrine, she won the starring role in the school's 1997 production of The Wizard of Oz as Dorothy Gale, and appeared in productions of Fiddler on the Roof (1995), Lady, Be Good (1996), and Li'l Abner (1998). In 1998, the year she graduated, she was named the yearbook's "Best Looking Lil' Lady" by senior class vote.[8]
Shortly after her high school graduation, Bell moved to New York City to attend New York University's Tisch School of the Arts,[9] studying musical theater.[10] In 2002, during her senior year, she left a few credits shy of graduating[11] to take a role in the Broadway musical version of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Career[edit]
1992–2003: Early work[edit]
In 1992, Bell went to her first audition and won a dual role as a banana and a tree[12] in a suburban Detroit theater's production of Raggedy Ann and Andy.[9] Her mother had established her with an agent before Bell was 13, which allowed her to appear in newspaper advertisements for several Detroit retailers and television commercials. She also began private acting lessons.[9] In 1998, she had an uncredited role in the locally filmed movie Polish Wedding.
In 2001, Bell left New York University to play Becky Thatcher in the short-lived Broadway musical of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. That year, she also made her credited film debut in Pootie Tang. Her single line of dialogue was cut, and she appears only during the credits.[13]
In 2002, she appeared in the Broadway revival of The Crucible with Liam Neeson, Angela Bettis and Laura Linney. Bell then moved to Los Angeles in 2002 because of her friendship with writers Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney,[13] and appeared in a handful of television shows as a special guest, finding trouble gaining a recurring role in a television series. Bell said she "tested like eight times and booked nothing and every show [she] tested for got picked up", including auditions for Skin and a Norm Macdonald series.[12]
In 2003, Bell appeared in FX's The Shield, season 2, episode 1, which aired on January 7, 2003. She appeared in Everwood, season 2 episode 2 as a cheerleader. She also co-starred in the film The King and Queen of Moonlight Bay as Alison, a 17-year-old girl who travels to Arizona to reconnect with the father who abandoned her family.[14]
2004–2006: Veronica Mars and other roles[edit]
In 2004, Bell earned acclaim for her starring role in the Lifetime television film Gracie's Choice, which received one of the network's highest ratings.[11] She made her debut in a theatrically released film with David Mamet's action thriller Spartan, as Laura Newton, the kidnapped daughter of the U.S. president, acting alongside Val Kilmer. Bell also guest-starred on the HBO period drama series Deadwood, in a two-episode story arc ("Bullock Returns to the Camp" and "Suffer the Little Children").