# Maria Bello
**Maria Bello** (Maria Elaina Bello, born 1967) is an American actress, producer, and activist known for portraying complex, often damaged female characters, on the television drama *ER* and in films including *[The Cooler](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cooler)* (2003), *A History of Violence* (2005), and *The Woman King* (2022), for which she received a producer and story credit.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/maria-bello/) • [2](https://www.laphil.com/people/maria-bello)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1967, Norristown, Pennsylvania[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/maria-bello/) |
| Education | Villanova University, political science degree, 1989; turned to acting after an elective drama class[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/maria-bello/) |
| Television breakthrough | Pediatrician Anna Del Amico on *ER* (NBC, 1997), leaving after one full season for film work[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/maria-bello/) |
| Signature film role | Edie Stall in David Cronenberg's *A History of Violence* (2005); New York Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actress and a Golden Globe nomination[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/maria-bello/) • [3](https://time.com/archive/6675945/movies-maria-bello-a-history-of-violence/) |
| Golden Globe nominations | Twice for Best Actress, for *The Cooler* and *A History of Violence*[2](https://www.laphil.com/people/maria-bello) |
| Producing | Producer and story writer for *The Woman King* (2022), a project she developed over two decades[2](https://www.laphil.com/people/maria-bello) • [4](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/11/maria-bello-the-woman-king-interview-awards-insider) |
| Activism | Co-founder of the Dreamyard Drama Project (1992); founder of WE ADVANCE; board member of the Darfur Women Action Group[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/maria-bello/) • [2](https://www.laphil.com/people/maria-bello) |
## Early life and education
Bello was born and raised in a working-class Polish and Italian household in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and attended a [Catholic school](https://www.edgepedia.org/catholic-school) that had no theater department. Acting entered her life only as an elective drama class at [Villanova University](https://www.edgepedia.org/villanova-university), taken within a schedule otherwise filled with political science and pre-law courses. After graduating with a political science degree in 1989, she abandoned plans for law school, moved to New York, worked as a bartender, and began appearing in off-Broadway plays while struggling for years with little income.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/maria-bello/)
In 1992 she combined her interest in the arts with the social concerns that had drawn her toward law by co-founding Harlem's Dreamyard Drama Project, a nonprofit arts and education program that paired working artists with at-risk children.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/maria-bello/)
## Television
Her first screen breaks came in the mid-1990s, with a role in the TV movie *The Commish: In the Shadow of the Gallows* (ABC, 1995) and a part as a spy opposite [Scott Bakula](https://www.edgepedia.org/scott-bakula) in the short-lived CBS action series *Mr. & Mrs. Smith* (1996). The latter led her to Los Angeles and to regular appearances on *ER* (NBC, 1994–2009) as pediatrician Anna Del Amico in 1997. She held her own in the ensemble cast, and film offers followed, prompting her departure after one full season.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/maria-bello/)
She later returned to series television as the star of the police drama *Prime Suspect* (NBC, 2011–12), appeared in *[NCIS](https://www.edgepedia.org/ncis-tv-series)*, and played Jordan in the Netflix series *[Beef](https://www.edgepedia.org/beef-tv-series)*, a role that brought her first Emmy nomination in 2023.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/maria-bello/) • [2](https://www.laphil.com/people/maria-bello) • [5](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/beef-star-1st-time-emmy-173036418.html)
## Film career
Early film roles established her range: a recovering addict opposite [Ben Stiller](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-stiller) in *Permanent Midnight* (1998), Rosie in *Payback* (1999), and the bartender Lil in *[Coyote Ugly](https://www.edgepedia.org/coyote-ugly-film)* (2000). Her performance as [Bob Crane](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-crane)'s girlfriend in *Auto Focus* (2002) and her role as an emotionally torn Las Vegas cocktail waitress in the independent drama *The Cooler* (2003) brought her wider critical attention and a Golden Globe nomination.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/maria-bello/) • [2](https://www.laphil.com/people/maria-bello)
**A History of Violence.** In David Cronenberg's 2005 film she played Edie Stall, the wife of [Viggo Mortensen](https://www.edgepedia.org/viggo-mortensen)'s character, whose hidden past catches up with him. TIME's review described her as the one stable character in a film of shifting identities, and noted that the film's intense staircase scene, shot over a day and a half and largely improvised, left her bruised. The performance won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress and brought a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a motion picture drama.[3](https://time.com/archive/6675945/movies-maria-bello-a-history-of-violence/) • [1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/maria-bello/)
She balanced smaller films with commercial projects such as *The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor* (2008), in which she took over the role of Evelyn O'Connell, and the [Adam Sandler](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-sandler) comedies *Grown Ups* (2010) and *Grown Ups 2* (2013). Other credits include *Thank You for Smoking* (2005), *World Trade Center* (2006), *[The Jane Austen Book Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-jane-austen-book-club-film)* (2007), *Prisoners* (2013), *McFarland, USA* (2015), and *[Lights Out](https://www.edgepedia.org/lights-out-2016-film)* (2016).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/maria-bello/) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/person/maria-bello/) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jul-31-et-bello31-story.html)
## Producing and The Woman King
Bello began producing short films in 2010 and carried the story of a group of female African warriors for roughly two decades before it reached the screen as *The Woman King* (2022), on which she served as producer and story writer. She has said she noticed early in her career how few female-focused stories reached big-budget movies, and the project grew out of that observation.[2](https://www.laphil.com/people/maria-bello) • [4](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/11/maria-bello-the-woman-king-interview-awards-insider)
## Activism
Beyond the Dreamyard project, Bello founded the organization WE ADVANCE, raised and donated money for relief after the 2011 disasters in Japan, and served as a board member of the Darfur Women Action Group. She has also toured Africa and Asia in connection with her arts and education program for children.[2](https://www.laphil.com/people/maria-bello) • [8](https://www.sonyclassics.com/autofocus/_media/press/presskit.pdf)
## Awards and recognition
Her honors include the Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series (1997, with the *ER* cast), the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress (2005) for *A History of Violence*, and nominations for the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild Award, and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for *The Cooler* and *A History of Violence*. Villanova University awarded her its Young Alumni Medal in 1999.[9](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/bello-maria-1967)
## Personal life
Bello has a son, Jackson, with the screenwriter Dan McDermott.[10](https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a19932292/maria-bello-interview/) She married the chef [Dominique Crenn](https://www.edgepedia.org/dominique-crenn) in April 2024 and filed for divorce a year later.[11](https://www.vg.no/i/Jbakeb)
## References
1. [Maria Bello, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/maria-bello/)
2. [Maria Bello, LA Phil](https://www.laphil.com/people/maria-bello)
3. [Movies: Maria Bello, A History of Violence, TIME (Richard Corliss, 2006)](https://time.com/archive/6675945/movies-maria-bello-a-history-of-violence/)
4. [Maria Bello Has Been Waiting to Make 'The Woman King' for Decades, Vanity Fair (2022)](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/11/maria-bello-the-woman-king-interview-awards-insider)
5. ['Beef' star and 1st-time Emmy nominee Maria Bello, Yahoo Entertainment (2023)](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/beef-star-1st-time-emmy-173036418.html)
6. [Maria Bello, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/maria-bello/)
7. [Indie star has jones for action, Los Angeles Times (2008)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jul-31-et-bello31-story.html)
8. [Auto Focus press kit, Sony Pictures Classics](https://www.sonyclassics.com/autofocus/_media/press/presskit.pdf)
9. [Bello, Maria 1967–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/bello-maria-1967)
10. [A Conversation With Maria Bello, Women's Health (2006)](https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a19932292/maria-bello-interview/)
11. [«Coyote Ugly»-stjernene 25 år senere, VG (2025)](https://www.vg.no/i/Jbakeb)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Be to Bo*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license