Kristen Anne Bell born July 18, 1980 is an American actress. Although her first film role was an uncredited appearance in Polish Wedding, Bell previously acted in stage and musical productions. In 2001, she made her Broadway début as Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. After moving to Los Angeles, Bell landed various television guest appearances and small film parts before appearing in a lead role in the David Mamet film Spartan. She gained fame as the title role on the critically acclaimed television series Veronica Mars from September 2004 to May 2007.During her time on Veronica Mars, Bell appeared as Mary Lane in the film Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, a reprise of the role she had played in the New York theatrical production of the musical on which the film was based. She also portrayed the lead role in Pulse, a remake of a J-Horror film. In 2007, she joined the cast of Heroes playing the character Elle Bishop, and Gossip Girl as the off-screen titular narrator. In 2008, she played the title character in the comedy movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall. She has since appeared in a number of comedy films, such as Fanboys, Couples Retreat, and When in Rome. Bell was also the voice of Cora in Astro Boy and is the voice and face of Lucy Stillman in the Assassin's Creed video game series. Bell has received a Satellite Award and Saturn Award, and has been nominated several times for Television Critics Association Awards and Teen Choice Awards.
Early life and family
Bell was born and raised in Huntington Woods, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. She is the daughter of Tom Bell, the television news director for WOAI-TV in San Antonio, and Lorelei "Lori" Bell, a registered nurse. Bell is of Polish and Scottish descent. Her parents divorced when she was two years old, and she has two half sisters, Sara and Jody, from her father's second marriage. She has four step-siblings from her mother's second marriage to John Raymond Avedian, Laura, John, Matt Avedian, and Megan. Bell has strabismus, which affects her right eye. She inherited it from her mother, who had it corrected as a child. Bell claims that if she does not get enough sleep, it aggravates the ailment. She calls her right eye "Wonky".
At the age of four, Bell claimed she did not like her first name. Her mother convinced Bell to go by her middle name of Anne instead; she used the name Annie until high school. She attended Burton Elementary school in Huntington Woods.
Just before her freshman year of high school, Bell's parents decided to pull her from the public school system. She then attended Shrine Catholic High School in nearby Royal Oak, where she took part in the drama and music club. During her time at the school, she won the starring role in the school's 1997 production of The Wizard of Oz as Dorothy Gale and also appeared in productions of Fiddler on the Roof (1995), Lady Be Good (1996), and Li'l Abner (1998). In 1998, the year she graduated, Bell was named the yearbook's "Best Looking Girl" by senior class vote.
When Bell was 17, her best friend, whom she met at age 11 during a Detroit community theater production, was killed in an automobile accident. Bell said that it was "both the best and worst thing that has ever happened to me. [...] Once you learn not to take people for granted, you live a lot happier life".
Shortly after her high school graduation, Bell moved to New York City to attend the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, majoring in musical theater.In 2001, during her senior year at New York University, Bell left a few credits shy of graduating to take a role in the Broadway musical version of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
FILMOGRAPHY
* Everybody Loves Whales(2011)-TBA
* Dance of the Mirlitons (2011)-Corinne
* BScream 4 (2011)-Chloe Garret
* Movie 43 (2010)-Supergirl
* Burlesque (2010)-Nikki/ Nikki
* Get Him to the Greek (2010)-Sarah Marshall
* When in Rome (2010)-Beth
* You Again (2010)-Marni
* Astro Boy (2009)-Voice of Cora
* Couples Retreat (2009)-Cynthia
* Fanboys (2009)-Zoe
* Serious Moonlight (2009)-Sara
* Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)-Sarah Marshall
* Lost Islands (2008)
* Fifty Pills (2006)-Gracie
* Pulse (2006)-Mattie Webber
* Deep Water (2005)-Nurse Laurie
* Gracie's Choice (2005)
* Reefer Madness (2005)
* Spartan (2004)-Laura Newton
* Pootie Tang (2001)-Record Executive s Daughter
