Lauralee Kristen Bell (born December 22, 1968) is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of

Christine Blair Christine Blair is a fictional character from ''The Young and the Restless'', an American soap opera on the CBS network, portrayed by Lauralee Bell, the daughter of series creators William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell. "Cricket" (as the characte ...

in the CBS daytime soap operas, ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...

'' and ''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''Th ...

''. As a producer, she received the award for Outstanding Special Class Short Format Daytime at the 41st Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for the short film ''mI promise''.

Life and career

Bell was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, and attended The Latin School of Chicago. The only daughter of soap opera creators

William J. Bell William Joseph Bell (March 6, 1927 – April 29, 2005) was an American screenwriter and television producer, best known as the creator of the soap operas '' Another World'', ''The Young and the Restless'' and ''The Bold and the Beautiful''. Ea ...

and

Lee Phillip Bell Lee Phillip Bell (born Loreley June Phillip; June 10, 1928 – February 25, 2020) was an American talk show host and soap opera creator. During her career on Chicago television, she hosted over 10,000 programs and, early in her tenure, worked fiv ...

, and sister to Bill Bell, Jr. and

Bradley Bell Bradley Phillip Bell (born June 29, 1964) is an American television writer and producer. Bell is an eight-time Daytime Emmy Award winner and is executive producer and head writer for ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', the CBS soap opera. Early l ...

as well as sister-in-law to

Maria Arena Bell Maria Arena Bell ( Arena; born March 10, 1963) is an American novelist, television and freelance writer. She is the former head writer and executive producer of the CBS Daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless.'' Early life and education ...

and

Colleen Bell Colleen Bell ( Colleen Clark Bradley; January 30, 1967) is an American television producer known for her work on the soap opera ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' and for her involvement in various social issues. She was appointed Director of the Ca ...

. She was offered a bit role as a model, Christine "Cricket" Blair, on her parents' daytime soap opera ''

'' in 1983 and that became a contract role in 1986. Over time, her character matured from a model into a

legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right ...

lawyer. Her character also dropped the childish moniker "Cricket", especially after her rival Phyllis (

Michelle Stafford Michelle Stafford (born September 14, 1965) is an American actress, screenwriter and producer. She currently plays Phyllis Summers on the CBS daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', for which she has won three Daytime Emmy Awards. In ...

) turned it into an insult by calling her "the Bug." In 2001, Bell asked to be moved to recurring status after maternity leave, though she returned to regular status the following year. In 2005, she returned to recurring for another year. In 2007, the character was brought over to ''

'' by executive producer

, the actress' real-life brother, for a short-term stint, returning to ''The Young and the Restless'' in 2010, where she continues to make recurring appearances. Bell received

Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Daytime TV Series – Young Actress The Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Daytime TV Series – Young Actress is one of the Young Artist Awards presented annually by the Young Artist Association to recognize a young actress under the age of 21, who has delivered an ou ...

in 1989, the Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 1999, and

Daytime Emmy Awards The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

nomination for

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series is an award presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre-, ...

in 2016. Bell guest-starred on prime time shows including '' Diagnosis: Murder'', ''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action fiction, action Crime drama, crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film ''Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both the film and the series starring Chuck Norr ...

'', '' Pacific Blue'', '' CSI: Miami'' and ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

''. She made her film debut starring in the 2005 comedy ''Carpool Guy'' directed by

Corbin Bernsen Corbin Dean Bernsen (born September 7, 1954) is an American actor and film director. He appeared as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series ''L.A. Law'',

. The following year, she played the leading role in the Lifetime thriller film, ''Past Sins''. She later starred in ''Deadly Expose'' (2017), ''Mistress Hunter'' (2018), and ''Nightmare Tenant'' (2018) which she also produced. In 2021, she played Daphne Dumas in

V.C. Andrews Cleo Virginia Andrews (June 6, 1923 – December 19, 1986), better known as V. C. Andrews or Virginia C. Andrews, was an American novelist. She was best known for her 1979 novel '' Flowers in the Attic'', which inspired two movie adaptations and ...

' ''Ruby'' and ''Pearl in the Mist''.

Personal life

Bell married photographer Scott Martin on October 4, 1997. They have a son, Christian James Martin, born on January 17, 2001, and a daughter, Samantha Lee Martin, born on October 28, 2002. Lauralee co-owned a boutique, ''On Sunset'', which closed in 2009.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Lauralee 1968 births Living people American soap opera actresses American television actresses Actresses from Chicago Latin School of Chicago alumni 21st-century American women