Maria Bello
- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Maria Bello was born on 18 April, 1967 in Norristown, Pennsylvania, to
Kathy, a nurse and teacher, and Joe Bello, a contractor. She is of
Italian and Polish descent. Maria went to Villanova University,
majoring in political science. She had every intention of becoming a
lawyer, but she took an acting class during her senior year, just for
fun. She discovered she was very good at it, and she was soon cast in
small off-Broadway plays, such as "The Killer Inside Me", "Small Town
Gals With Big Problems" and "Urban Planning". She later guest-starred
on episodes of
The Commish (1991),
Nowhere Man (1995),
Misery Loves Company (1995)
and Due South (1994). She got her
big break when producers Kenny Lenhart and
John J. Sakmar cast her in the spy show
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1996) as
"Mrs. Smith" (they remembered her from her performance in a failed
pilot that was a remake of the classic TV series
77 Sunset Strip (1958)). The
show was canceled after eight weeks on the air. Then came a spot on
ER (1994) as "Dr. Anna Del Amico", in
which she guest-starred on the final three episodes of the third
season. The show's producers were so impressed with her that they asked
her back as a regular on the series.
