Early life

Bello was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, to Kathy, a school nurse and teacher, and Joe Bello, a contractor. Her father is Italian American, with roots in Montella, Italy, and her mother is Polish American. She grew up in a working-class Roman Catholic family and graduated from Archbishop John Carroll High School in Radnor, Pennsylvania. She majored in political science at Villanova University. Following graduation, Bello honed her acting skills in a number of New York theater productions.

Career

Bello's early TV appearances include episodes of The Commish (1991), Due South (1994), Nowhere Man (1995), Misery Loves Company (1995) and ER (1997-98).

Her breakthrough came when she was cast as Mrs. Smith in the TV series spy show Mr. & Mrs. Smith, though the show was canceled after eight weeks. She then appeared in the final three episodes of the third season of ER as pediatrician Dr. Anna Del Amico and was a regular cast member during the medical drama's fourth season.

Bello moved on to films, landing a role in Coyote Ugly (2000). She was nominated for the Golden Globe award twice: for Best Supporting Actress in The Cooler (2003) and for Best Actress in A History of Violence (2005). She starred in The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) as Jocelyn.

In 2008, Bello starred in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor as Evelyn O'Connell. In December 2008, Bello began developing a drama for HBO. Besides starring in the new series, Bello will also serve as an executive producer. She starred in the 2009 drama film The Yellow Handkerchief, which was released in theatres on February 26, 2010 by Samuel Goldwyn Films.

In 2010 Bello guest starred in two episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The following year, she starred in the TV series Prime Suspect, which was canceled after 13 episodes.

Bello sits on the board of The CQ Matrix Company. In 2014, she starred alongside Frank Grillo in the James Wan-produced thriller Demonic.

Humanitarian efforts

In the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Bello founded WE ADVANCE with Aleda Frishman, Alison Thompson and Barbara Guillaume. It is an organization that encourages Haitian women to collaborate in making healthcare a priority, and putting an end to domestic violence within their communities. Currently the organisation is based in a health clinic and a community outreach center in Cité Soleil. Bello is also a board member of Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG), a non-profit NGO that undertakes activism on behalf of genocide victims of the Darfur Conflict.

Personal life

Bello has a son with former boyfriend Dan McDermott.

In November 2013, Bello wrote about having a same-sex relationship with her partner and then friend, Clare Munn.

She published a book, Whatever...Love Is Love: Questioning the Labels We Give Ourselves (Dey Street Books, April 28, 2015).

Filmography

Film and television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Mr. & Mrs. Smith	Mrs. Smith	13 episodes (September 20 - December 6, 1996)
1997-1998	ER	Dr. Anna Del Amico	25 episodes (1997-1998) Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
1998	Permanent Midnight	Kitty
1999	Payback	Rosie
2000	Coyote Ugly	Lil Lovell	Blockbuster Entertainment Awards for Favorite Supporting Actress - Comedy/Romance
2000	Duets	Suzi Loomis
2002	Auto Focus	Patricia Olson / Patrica Crane / Sigrid Valdis
2003	Cooler, TheThe Cooler	Natalie Belisario	Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Drama Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Nominated — National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated — Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
2004	Silver City	Nora Allardyce
2004	Secret Window	Amy Rainey
2005	Assault on Precinct 13	Alex Sabian
2005	History of Violence, AA History of Violence	Edie Stall	Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Performance Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Village Voice Film Poll - Best Supporting Performance Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama Nominated — London Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the Year Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Drama
2005	Dark, TheThe Dark	Adélle
2006	Thank You for Smoking	Polly Bailey
2006	Sisters, TheThe Sisters	Marcia Prior Glass	Dixie Film Festival Prize for Outstanding Actress in a Film RiverRun International Film Festival's Jury Prize for Best Actress
2006	Flicka	Nell McLaughlin
2006	World Trade Center	Donna McLoughlin
2007	Jane Austen Book Club, TheThe Jane Austen Book Club	Jocelyn
2007	Towelhead	Gail Monahan
2007	Butterfly on a Wheel	Abby Randall	aka Shattered
2008	Downloading Nancy	Nancy Stockwell	Nominated - Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Female
2008	Yellow Handkerchief, TheThe Yellow Handkerchief	May
2008	The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor	Evelyn O'Connell	Replacing Rachel Weisz, who played Evy in The Mummy and The Mummy Returns
2009	Private Lives of Pippa Lee, TheThe Private Lives of Pippa Lee	Suky
2010	Company Men, TheThe Company Men	Sally Wilcox
2010	Grown Ups	Sally Lamonsoff
2010	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Vivian Arliss	2 episodes
2011	Beautiful Boy	Kate Carroll
2011	Abduction	Mara Harper
2011	Carjacked	Lorraine
2011-2012	Prime Suspect	Jane Timoney	13 episodes
2012-2013	Touch	Lucy Robbins
2013	Grown Ups 2	Sally Lamonsoff
2013	Prisoners	Grace Dover
2013	Third Person	Theresa
2014	Big Driver	Tess Thorne
2015	McFarland, USA	Cheryl White
2015	Demonic	Dr. Elizabeth Klein
2015	Bravetown	Martha
2016	The 5th Wave	Sergeant Reznik
2016	Max Steel	Molly McGrath	Post-production
2016	The Confirmation	Bonnie	Completed
2016	Wait Till Helen Comes	Jean	Post-production
2016	The Late Bloomer	Brenda Newmans	Post-production

[ Source: Wikipedia ]