Catherine Lisa Bell (born 14 August 1968) is a British-American actress and model known for her roles as Lieutenant Colonel Sarah MacKenzie in the television series '' JAG'' from 1997 to 2005, Denise Sherwood in the series ''

Army Wives ''Army Wives'' is an American drama television series that followed the lives of four army wives, one army husband, and their families. The series premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007, and ran for seven seasons, ending on June 9, 2013. The sh ...

'' from 2007 to 2013, and Cassandra "Cassie" Nightingale in

Hallmark A hallmark is an official Mark (sign), mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''Wikti ...

's '' The Good Witch''

films A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of Visual arts, visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are gen ...

and

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

from 2008 to 2021.

Early life

Catherine Lisa Bell was born on 14 August 1968"Catherine Bell now acting less, playing mom more"
''Iran Times International'' 27 September 2013. in London to a Scottish father, Peter Bell, and an Iranian mother, Mina Ezzati. Peter was working as an architect under contract to an oil company in Iran; Mina had travelled to London to study nursing. Bell's parents divorced when Catherine was two years old. She was raised by her mother and maternal grandparents. The family eventually moved to California's

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

where Bell was exposed to diverse influences. The family spoke

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

at home. In her teenage years, Catherine came under the influence of her California surroundings: "I am definitely a Valley Girl. I was a tomboy. I liked to skateboard, play football, and push the envelope a little bit". Catherine enrolled at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, where she considered a career in medicine or research. However, when she was offered a modelling job in Japan, where advertisers value "American beauty", she dropped out during her second year.

Career

When Bell returned to the United States, she decided to try acting. She studied at the Beverly Hills Playhouse with

Milton Katselas Milton George Katselas (December 22, 1933 – October 24, 2008) was an American-Greek director and producer of stage and film, as well as a Hollywood acting instructor and coach who trained under Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg at the acclaimed ...

. She also worked as a massage therapist for eight years at the Peninsula Hotel, and her clients included singer

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

. Bell's first television acting role was one line spoken to Gabriel on the short-lived 1990 sitcom ''Sugar and Spice''. Among her first parts was

Isabella Rossellini Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini (; born 18 June 1952) is an Italian actress and model. The daughter of Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and Italian film director Roberto Rossellini, she is noted for her successful tenure as a Lancôme ...

' body double for the 1992 film ''

Death Becomes Her ''Death Becomes Her'' is a 1992 American satirical surrealistic black comedy fantasy film directed and produced by Robert Zemeckis and written by David Koepp and Martin Donovan. The film stars Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis, a ...

''. In 1994, Bell starred in the

Dolph Lundgren Hans "Dolph" Lundgren (, ; born 3 November 1957) is a Swedish actor, filmmaker, and martial artist. Lundgren made his acting debut in 1985 with a cameo in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film ''A View to a Kill''. Also that year, he h ...

film ''

Men of War ''Men of War'' is a real-time tactics video game franchise, based mainly in World War II. Main series ''Soldiers: Heroes of World War II'' ''Soldiers: Heroes of World War II'' is the original game of the ''Men of War'' series, and uses an ea ...

''. While filming the movie in Thailand, Bell and her co-star Trevor Goddard bonded over contracting

amoebic dysentery Amoebiasis, or amoebic dysentery, is an infection of the intestines caused by a parasitic amoeba '' Entamoeba histolytica''. Amoebiasis can be present with no, mild, or severe symptoms. Symptoms may include lethargy, loss of weight, coloni ...

. Goddard would play Bell's off-and-on love interest Mic Brumby the following year on '' JAG''. They remained friends until Goddard's death from a drug overdose in June 2003, an event that the bereaved Bell described as "horrible". In 1995, she obtained a three-line role in one episode of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

TV series '' JAG'', which centers on the work of the

United States Department of the Navy The United States Department of the Navy (DON) is one of the three military departments within the United States Department of Defense. It was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, at the urging of Secretary of War James McHenr ...

's Judge Advocate General office. NBC canceled the show after which it was picked up by

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

, which restructured the series, incorporating a female Marine Corps lawyer character, Sarah MacKenzie. Bell auditioned for that role and won it. She continued in this role until the series ended in 2005. Beginning in 2007, Bell starred in Lifetime's ensemble drama series ''

'' as Denise Sherwood, the wife of a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

lieutenant colonel, who endures

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

at the hands of her teenage son during the show's first season. Bell played the role of Cassandra "Cassie" Nightingale, the main character of Hallmark's '' The Good Witch'' (2008), and its sequels '' The Good Witch's Garden'' (2009), '' The Good Witch's Gift'' (2010), '' The Good Witch's Family'' (2011), '' The Good Witch's Charm'' (2012), ''

The Good Witch's Destiny ''The Good Witch's Destiny'' is a 2013 Canadian-American television film and Hallmark Channel original movie written by Annie Young Frisbie and directed by Craig Pryce. The film stars Catherine Bell (actress), Catherine Bell, Chris Potter (actor), ...

'' (2013), and ''

The Good Witch's Wonder ''Good Witch'' is a Hallmark Channel media franchise that is centered on a series of films and a television series. The franchise is centered upon Cassandra "Cassie" Nightingale (Catherine Bell (actress), Catherine Bell), the titular "good witch ...

'' (2014). She was also a co-executive producer of all of the movies. She also starred in the Lifetime movie titled ''Last Man Standing'' (2011). In 2015, it was reported that Bell would star in the movie ''Love Finds Its Way'', which would begin filming in 2016. Production began on the film in March 2017, with

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

as the filming location, and 9 July 2017 as the date for the film's premiere on the

Hallmark Channel Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. ...

. On 2 April 2019, CBS announced that Bell would be reprising her ''JAG'' role of Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie alongside former co-star David James Elliott for a multi-episode arc in the tenth season of '' NCIS: Los Angeles''. In 2022, Bell starred in the Lifetime film '' Jailbreak Lovers'' as part of its "Ripped from the Headlines" feature film which tells the story of how Toby Dorr snuck inmate John Manard out of prison in a dog crate which sparked a manhunt.

Personal life

Bell is fluent in

and English. She is fond of

motorcycling Motorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. For some people, motorcycling may be the only affordable form of individual motorized transportation, and small-engine displacement, displacement motorcycles are the most common motor vehicle in ...

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

and

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

. Her hobbies include cross-stitching and making model cars, which she has done since age eight. During the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, Bell took flying lessons in a

Cirrus SR22 The Cirrus SR22 is a single-engine four- or five-seat composite aircraft built since 2001 by Cirrus Aircraft of Duluth, Minnesota, United States. It is a development of the Cirrus SR20, with a larger wing, higher fuel capacity and more powerfu ...

. Bell met actor-production assistant Adam Beason on the set of the 1992 film ''Death Becomes Her''. They were married on 8 May 1994. They are the parents of two children. They lived in a nearly faux-Tuscan-style mini-mansion in

Calabasas, California Calabasas (, ; Spanish language in California, Spanish for "winter squash, squashes") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States.David, Mark (23 January 2015

''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' The couple sold the house in 2010 and publicly confirmed that they had separated sometime before September 2011. They eventually divorced in 2011. Since 2012, Bell has lived with fellow

Scientologist Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by the American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It is variously defined as a scam, a business, a cult, or a religion. Hubbard initially developed a set of pseudoscientif ...

, photographer and party planner Brooke Daniells, together with their children, in Los Angeles. In 2014, Bell paid US$2.05 million for a single-story ranch house on a lot in the gated

Hidden Hills ''Hidden Hills'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 24, 2002, to January 21, 2003, during the 2002 fall line-up. Based on the book ''Surviving Suburbia'', the series was created by Peter Segal and Ric Sw ...

community in the western suburbs of Los Angeles. She later moved to Clearwater Beach, Florida.

Scientology

Bell was raised

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and attended an all-girls Catholic school ( Our Lady of Corvallis High School in Los Angeles). She is a practicing

. 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 "Psychiatry: An Industry of Death" museum of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (a Scientology supported group). In February 2006, Bell appeared in a Scientology music video called "United".

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Catherine 1968 births Living people Actresses from London Actresses of Iranian descent American bisexual actresses American female models American film actresses American people of Iranian descent American people of Scottish descent American Scientologists American television actresses 20th-century British actresses British female models British film actresses British television actresses Converts to Scientology from Roman Catholicism British bisexual actresses English emigrants to the United States English people of Iranian descent English people of Scottish descent English Scientologists Naturalized citizens of the United States University of California, Los Angeles alumni 21st-century British actresses