Name: Catherine Bell
Date of Birth: 14 August 1968
Place of Birth: London, England
Hieght: 5' 8"
Status: Married (Adam Beason)
Background: hobbies are bungie jumping, motorcycles,
and racing.
Occupation: Actress
Catherine Bell is an amazing woman, an actress, a wife,
and someone who devotes her time to very special charities.
Some find it hard to believe that I, a man, consider
her a role model, but I can think of few people who
embody exactly what I want to be. Someone who works
hard and long for what they want, and once they get
it, they still have time for everyone else that matters
in their life. And, on top of all that, still has time
to care about those who are less fortunate. She is a
wonderful woman, but even more, Catherine is a wonderful
person.
Catherine Bell was born in London, England on the fourteenth
of August; when she was three her parents moved the
family to Los Angeles. Catherine originally wanted to
be an artist, but her mother wanted her to go to the
University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) to study
medicine. While at UCLA Bell had done some modeling;
she got into an acting class by "accident",
once she was in she found that she "really, really
loved it. It was a way to overcome my shyness, to express
my feelings and emotions. And within six months to a
year, I was hooked." Catherine says that when she
did make the decision to become an actress that her
mother and the rest of her family were very supportive
of her and her decision; she also claims that she was
not "discovered" and that it took nine years
to "get that big break." Bell advises those
with desire to act to "take acting classes. Watch
as many movies as you can, and if you have the chance
at all, do theater. It's a great training ground. I
didn't do a lot of it, but I know David had theater
as his background and highly recommends it." When
asked who the greatest role model in her life was, Bell
chose her uncle. "We grew up in the same house,
and he was a really great, hardworking, ethical person.
A great role model!" In an online chat event, Catherine
told her fans that part of her hiatus would be spent
in Jamaica, and that she would "do everything from
staying home and watching movies, making dinner with
my husband - to motor bike riding, water skiing, all
different types of sports." She also mentioned
that the next spot on her vacation list is Italy because
of its "museums, and the old buildings, and the
history." She said she loves cold, rainy weather,
and would like to have homes all over the world, because
she cannot choose where she would like to live. "It
was a very unusual experience. I loved it though!"
Catherine said of her playing two roles on JAG, Lieutenant
Diane Shonke, in an episode of the first season, and
then coming in to take a regular role as Major Sarah
"Mac" MacKenzie. "I couldn't have been
more thrilled that I was killed off in one episode and
brought back as a series regular in the next."
In her visit with her fans she also gave a peek into
the antics that happen on the set. "David's a great
jokester, and there are just fun, silly things happening
all the time! The main prank we play with props is for
the people's birthday. The special effects people will
put a little explosive in the cake so it blows up in
their face. That's always great fun to play on a guest
star, or one of the trainees or someone who's new."
The actors are on set from fifteen to eighteen hours
a day, ten months out of the year, filming and rehearsing;
and filming for the fourth season begins the first week
of July. Catherine and her husband, Adam Beason, recently
bought a new house and have a puppy. Her husband used
to be a stunt man, but currently he is working in computers.
A former "squid" asked Catherine if she preferred
Marine Green or Navy White, to which she answered, "Don't
tell any Marines I said this, but I do think the Navy
uniforms are pretty sharp! Our technical advisor is
a 22 year veteran of the Corps and he's a real stickler!"
She also told those in attendance that her favorite
episode was "The Stalker" because she was
able to do more in depth acting than most episodes permit,
because her character was dealing with he death of a
loved one, was being stalked, and got drunk and fell
off the wagon. Bell got to explore many different emotions
that she doesn't get to explore on JAG on a regular
basis. Catherine devotes some of her precious time,
when free of filming, to charities and other causes.
She spends most of her time with Children's Hospital
in Los Angeles, California, and the Buoniconti Fund,
which is trying to find a cure for paralysis. The Buoniconti
Fund was formed by Marc Buoniconti, who was paralyzed
in a college football accident, whom Catherine describes
as "an amazing man with an amazing spirit and zest
for life!" The fund, like the American Paralysis
Association, conducts massive research to find a cure
"and they are getting very close." They have
been successful in regenerating the nerve cells in lab
mice, and actually making them walk again. Amazing isn't
it? Catherine has also participated in fundraisers and
auctions with the Children's Hospital in L.A. Although
it has been tough with her schedule, she tries to stay
involved. Bell has meet several actual JAG lawyers,
and most often hears that their job is nothing like
what Mac and Harm do on the show; mostly, they say,
they just behind desks and do paperwork. "But they
love that we make them look so glamorous!" Bell
claims that the most memorable thing that she will forever
remember was getting the phone call that she had gotten
JAG. "This huge life-changing moment of going from
zero to ninety in two seconds! I don't have much of
a personal life anymore. I miss having free time to
just relax. Getting recognized is fun, and so far it
hasn't gotten overwhelming. Learning to live with less
sleep, and less of the fun things I like to do has been
part of the change."