Maria Bello Biography

Early Life and Education of Maria Bello

Maria Bello was born on April 18, 1967, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, the U.S. to Kathy Bello, a school nurse, and teacher, and Joe Bello, a contractor.

Bello grew up in a Roman-Catholic family along with her two brothers, Joseph Bello and Christopher Bello, and one sister, Lisa Bello.

Also, see: David Muir

Bello graduated from Archbishop John Carroll High School in Radnor, Pennsylvania where she was a varsity cheerleader. Then she majored in political science at Villanova University.

Following her graduation, Bello enrolled in a number of New York theater productions to enhance her acting skills.

Maria Bello's Career

Maria Bello debuted in the 1991 movie The Commish in a small role. Then she appeared in a number of series including Due South (1994), Nowhere Man (1995), and Misery Loves Company (1995).

Bello got her big break in 1996 after she was chosen for the role of Mrs. Smith in the TV series spy show, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, though the series was canceled after eight weeks on the air. Later, she approached for the third season of ER as pediatrician Dr. Anna Del Amico.

The actress made her film debut in 2000 in Coyote Ugly and nominated twice for the Golden Globe award for her role as Lil Lovell. Some of her popular screen credit includes The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The Yellow Handkerchief, Prime Suspect, Demonic and others.

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In 2008, Bello started developing a drama for HBO. She also became a founding board member of the CQ Matrix Company in 2010.

Awards and Honors

Mario Bello won Screen Actors Guild Award in 1997 for her performance in ER. She received six awards for A History of Violence including two "Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award", "Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awar", "New York Film Critics Circle Award" and "Online Film Critics Society Award".

Bello was honored with RiverRun International Film Festival's Jury Prize for The Sisters in 2006 and National Board of Review Award for Prisoners in 2013. 

Maria Bello's Net Worth

Maria Bello's estimated net worth is $8 million. She earns more than $125K+ per episode from her appearances in the TV series. Similarly, she made $500k+ from movies.

Bello starred in a number of box-offices hit movies and some of them are enlisted below;

1. Payback (1999)

Budget= $90 million

Box-office collection= $161.6 million

IMDb rating= 7.1 stars

Starring= Mel Gibson, Gregg Henry, David Paymer

2. Coyote Ugly (2000)

Budget= $45 million

Box-office collection= $113.9 million

IMDb rating= 5.7 stars

Starring= Piper Perabo, Adam Garcia, Melanie Lynskey, John Goodman

3. The Cooler (2003)

Budget= $4 million

Box-office collection= $10 million

IMDb rating= 7.1 stars

Starring= William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, Shawn Hatosy, Ron Livingston

4. A History of Violence (2005)

Budget= $32 million

Box-office collection= $60.7 million

IMDb rating= 7.5 stars

Starring= Viggo Mortensen, William Hurt, Ashton Holmes, Ed Harris

In 2013, Bello sold her two-story 1915 Craftsman Venice mansion for $2 million which she bought in 2005 at a price of $1.895 million. She owns a 2018 BMW 3-series which costs more than $60k+ and an Audi costing $36k.

Maria Bello's Personal Life

Maria Bello is openly bisexual. In November 2013, she announced her sexual orientation in an essay titled "Coming Out as a Modern Family," in The New York Times. She often shares a picture with her close friend, Lorraine Silvera and people started speculating whether they are dating or not.

Previously, Bello was in a romantic relationship with her TV executive boyfriend, Dan McDermott from 1999 to 2006. The exes share a son, Jackson Blue McDermott who was born on March 2001.

In 2008, A History of Violence star flirted with a waiter named Bryn Mosser at a family birthday party and later they got engaged in a private ceremony. Unfortunately, they separated after a while. 

Then, Bello dated her then-friend, Clare Munn and she is the godmother of Maria's son. However, the couple split apart at the beginning of 2016.

After splitting with Munn, Maria Bello rekindled her romance with her much younger former flame, Elijah Allan-Blitz who is nearly 20 years junior to her. Blitz co-directed a promotional video for her 2015 book. The couple broke up after a short period of time.

Bello shares a good bonding with Mariska Hargitay and Carrie-Anne Moss. She is an avid dog lover and pets two dogs. Bello garnered 77.3k+ followers on Instagram. As of now, she lives in California with her son.

Charity Activities

Mario Bello founded an organization named WE ADVANCE, after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, along with her friends. She is also a member of Darfur Women Action Group which helps genocide victims from the Darfur conflict.

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In 2015, she released her first book, "Whatever...Love Is Love: Questioning the Labels We Give Ourselves." 

Body Measurements

Age: As of 2019, she is 51 years old.

Height: She stands at a height of 5 feet 5 inches tall (165cm).

Weight: She weighs 55kg or 121 lbs.

Body Measurement (Breasts-Waist-Hips): 33-25-34 inches (84-64-86 cm)

Dress size: 32 A

Shoe/Feet size: 9

Nationality: American 

Ethnicity/Race: White

Maria Bello at the Craig Ferguson Show!