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Lake Bell
Lake Bell MFF 2013.jpg
Bell at the 2013 Montclair Film Festival
Born
Lake Siegel Bell

(1979-03-24) March 24, 1979 (age 45)
New York City, U.S.
Alma mater Rose Bruford College
Occupation Actress, director, screenwriter
Years active 1997–present
Spouse(s)
Scott Campbell
(m. 2013; sep. 2020)
Children 2

Lake Siegel Bell (born March 24, 1979) is an American actress, screenwriter, and director. She has appeared in various television series, including Boston Legal (2004–2006), Surface (2005–2006), How to Make It in America (2010–2011), Childrens Hospital (2008–2016), and Bless This Mess (2019–2020) and in films including Over Her Dead Body (2008), What Happens in Vegas (2008), It's Complicated (2009), No Strings Attached (2011), Million Dollar Arm (2014), No Escape (2015), Man Up (2015), The Secret Life of Pets (2016), Shot Caller (2017), Home Again (2017), The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019), and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022).

She wrote and directed the short film Worst Enemy, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012, followed by her 2013 feature film directing debut, In a World..., in which she also starred. In 2017, she directed, wrote, co-produced, and starred in I Do... Until I Don't. Bell has also voiced Poison Ivy in the Max series Harley Quinn (2019–present) and Black Widow in the Disney+ series What If...? (2021).

Early life

Bell was born in New York City. Her mother, Robin Bell, owns the design firm Robin Bell Design in New York. Her father is real estate developer Harvey Siegel. He bought the Virginia International Raceway after it had closed, and converted it to a racetrack country club. He also owned New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Bell's father is Jewish and her mother is Protestant. Bell has stated that she was raised in a "comically dysfunctional" family.

Bell attended The Chapin School in New York and Westminster School in Simsbury, Connecticut. As a high school junior, Bell attended School Year Abroad (SYA) at its school located in Rennes, France. For part of her teenage years, she lived in Vero Beach, Florida and attended Saint Edwards School. She attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, but decided to focus on acting and transferred to Rose Bruford College in London, which emphasized theater and the arts.

At Rose Bruford, she acted in theatrical productions including The Seagull, The Children's Hour, Six Degrees of Separation, Light Shining in Buckinghamshire and The Pentecost.

Career

Actress

After returning to the United States, Bell began her career in 2002 with roles in the film Speakeasy, a film about two men who become unlikely friends after a minor traffic accident, and in two episodes of the medical TV drama ER. Her first significant roles came in 2003. After appearing in the psychological thriller I Love Your Work, she was cast alongside Jeff Goldblum as the female lead in the NBC television film War Stories. She next played Alicia Silverstone's wisecracking best friend, Victoria Carlson, in NBC's comedy-drama series Miss Match. In 2004, Bell appeared in the wrestling film Slammed and made her debut as Sally Heep in the final four episodes of the series The Practice. Her character was carried over into the spinoff Boston Legal, where she was a regular cast member until she left the series in 2005. She also appeared alongside Dustin Hoffman in an Audi commercial that spoofed his well-known film The Graduate.

Bell played the lead role in the science fiction series Surface, which aired between September 2005 and May 2006. She returned to Boston Legal for two episodes, reprising her role as Sally Heep, opposing counsel to Alan Shore (portrayed by James Spader). In 2008, she played the female lead in the thriller Under Still Waters, for which she won the Newport Beach Film Festival Award for Outstanding Performance in Acting. She also starred alongside Paul Rudd and Eva Longoria in the romantic comedy Over Her Dead Body, played the best friend of Cameron Diaz's character in the romantic comedy What Happens in Vegas; and played the wife of Colin Farrell's character in the crime drama Pride and Glory.

She was cast as the lead female role, Dr. Cat Black, in Rob Corddry's satirical comedy Childrens Hospital. The fourth season began airing in August 2012 and featured two episodes that were directed by Bell: the season premiere, "The Boy with the Pancakes Tattoo", a parody of the film The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo; and the ninth episode, "A Kid Walks in to a Hospital".

LakeBellJun09
Bell in June 2009

In 2009, Bell voiced the role of Dana Mercer in the video game Prototype. That year she also played Alec Baldwin's wife in the romantic comedy It's Complicated and guest starred in an episode of the fourth season of the series Wainy Days. In 2010 Bell voiced a supporting role in Shrek Forever After, starred in the satirical film Burning Palms, guest starred in an episode of the second season of the sitcom The League, and was cast as a lead character in the HBO series How to Make It in America, which aired for two seasons from February 2010 to November 2011. Bell was to play Deputy Judy Hicks in Scream 4, but dropped out four days before filming due to scheduling conflicts, with the role going to Marley Shelton.

In 2011, Bell starred alongside Josh Lucas and Terrence Howard in the supernatural thriller Little Murder, played Ashton Kutcher's boss in the romantic comedy No Strings Attached, a performance that won her critical praise and was called "scene-stealing"; and guest starred in an episode of the first season of New Girl.

Bell had a lead role alongside Kate Bosworth in the 2012 thriller Black Rock.

In 2021, Bell lent her voice to the adult animated film Cryptozoo.

Writer and director

In 2010, Bell made her writing and directing début with the short film Worst Enemy, which starred Michaela Watkins, Matt Walsh and Lindsay Sloane. Her film débuted at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and has also played at the Nantucket Film Festival, the Dallas International Film Festival, the Gen Art Film Festival and Aspen Shortsfest, winning the Tony Cox Award for Screenwriting in a Short Film from Nantucket and receiving a Shorts Jury Special Mention from Dallas. Her film led to her being named one of the "2012 Inspiring Filmmakers" by LUNAFEST. Speaking on the film, Bell stated:

"The film is about a milk-drinking, lactose-intolerant misanthrope on a quest for real human connection. Being an ordinary, unoriginal and unloved woman, she instead becomes so wrapped up in her own quiet neurosis that she finds herself physically stuck in a full body girdle. I wrote and directed Worst Enemy in 2010 as an experiment to see if I could take on being a filmmaker".

Bell made her writing and directing feature film debut at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival with In a World.... which she wrote and directed and in which she starred. She describes the film as "a comedy about a female voice-over artist and family dysfunction and relationships. I’m obsessed with the voice-over world, so it makes sense for me." The film was picked up by Roadside Attractions and Sony. In February 2014 she said her next project would be What's the Point? (And Other Fair Questions About Marriage), a film she would write and direct, which was eventually renamed I Do... Until I Don't and released in 2017 to mixed reviews.

Bell also has a number of television directing credits, including two 2017 episodes of the Hulu comedy-drama series Casual, two 2019 episodes of the ABC sitcom Bless This Mess (a show in which she co-created and starred), and two episodes of the 2022 Hulu biographical miniseries Pam & Tommy.

Modeling

Lake Bell by Gage Skidmore
Bell in July 2011

In 2007, Bell appeared in a photo shoot for GQ; in 2008 she appeared in a photo shoot for Marie Claire; in 2009 she modeled for Scott Caan, for his first book, Scott Caan Photographs, Vol. 1; and in 2011 she appeared in photo shoots for Elle, Los Angeles and Esquire, the latter in conjunction with the website Me In My Place. In September 2011, Bell modeled at Pirelli's Fashion Week in Milan, Italy. In April 2014, Bell appeared in Esquire for the second time.

Other activities

Bell has an automotive column in The Hollywood Reporter called "Test Drive" and is the magazine's automotive contributing editor. In 2022, her book Inside Voice—on the topic of the human voice—was published.

Personal life

In 2011, Bell began dating Scott Campbell, an artist and tattoo artist. The two met when he played himself in an episode of the second season of How to Make It in America. The couple became engaged on Bell's birthday in March 2012 and were married on June 1, 2013, at the Marigny Opera House in New Orleans, Louisiana. In late October 2014, her representative confirmed that Bell had given birth to their daughter, Nova. In May 2017, Bell gave birth to their second child, a son named Ozgood. In October 2020, the couple announced that they were separating, with Bell filing for divorce on October 28, 2020. On July 7, 2022 it was reported that Bell started dating comedian and actor Chris Rock.

Filmography

Film

Lake Bell film work
Year Title Role Notes
2002 Speakeasy Sara Marnikov
2003 War Stories Nora Stone
I Love Your Work Felicia
2004 Fresh out of Tears Leila Short film
Slammed Gina Micelli
2008 Under Still Waters Charlie Newport Beach Film Festival Award for Outstanding Performance in Acting
Over Her Dead Body Ashley
What Happens in Vegas Tipper
Pride and Glory Megan Egan
Prop 8: The Musical Scary Catholic School Girls From Hell Short for Funny or Die
2009 It's Complicated Agness Adler National Board of Review Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble
2010 Shrek Forever After Patrol Witch / Wagon Witch #2 (voice)
Burning Palms Mary Jane
The Doctors of Childrens Hospital Answer Your Medical Questions Dr. Blake Black Short for Funny or Die
10 Minutes Herself Short for Funny or Die
Worst Enemy Writer and director
Short film
Tony Cox Award for Screenwriting in a Short Film, Nantucket Film Festival
Shorts Jury Special Mention, Dallas International Film Festival
2011 Little Murder Corey Little Distributed in US in 2017 as Ghost of New Orleans
No Strings Attached Lucy
Home for Actresses Lake Short for Funny or Die
2012 Black Rock Louise
El Tonto Writer and director
Short film
2013 In a World... Carol Solomon Also writer, director, and producer
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, Sundance Film Festival 2013
2014 Mr. Peabody & Sherman Mona Lisa (voice)
Million Dollar Arm Brenda Paauwe Bernstein
2015 Man Up Nancy Patterson
No Escape Annie Dwyer
2016 The Secret Life of Pets Chloe (voice)
2017 Shot Caller Kate Harlon
Home Again Zoey Bell
I Do... Until I Don't Alice Brewing Also writer, director, and producer
2018 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Vanessa Fisk (voice)
Time of Day Herself Short film
2019 The Secret Life of Pets 2 Chloe (voice)
2021 Cryptozoo Lauren Grey (voice)
2022 Summering Laura
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Dr. Graham
2023 Mother, Couch TBA Completed

Television

Lake Bell television work
Year Title Role Notes
2002 ER Jody Holmes Episodes: "One Can Only Hope", "Tell Me Where It Hurts"
2003 Miss Match Victoria Carlson Main role; 18 episodes
2004 The Practice Sally Heep 4 episodes
2004–2006 Boston Legal Sally Heep Main role (season 1); guest star (season 3); 14 episodes
2005–2006 Surface Laura Daughtery Main role; 15 episodes
2008–2016 Childrens Hospital Dr. Cat Black Main role; 57 episodes; also director
2009 Wainy Days Blaire Episode: "Dance Club"
2010 The League Brooke Episode: "The White Knuckler"
2010–2011 How to Make It in America Rachel Chapman Main role; 16 episodes
2011 New Girl Amanda 1 episode
2012 Top Gear Herself Episode: "Rut's Show"
2012 Tron: Uprising Lux (voice) Episode: "Identity"
2012 Robot Chicken Black Widow / Ariel (voice) Episode: "Collateral Damage in Gang Turf War"
2013 Newsreaders Dixie Peters Episode: "Hair Razing"
2015 Axe Cop Axe Girl (voice) Episode: "Ultimate Mate"
2015–2018 BoJack Horseman Katrina Peanutbutter (voice) 9 episodes
2015 Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp Donna Main role; 7 episodes
2016 Cassius & Clay Shopcarter Clay (voice) Unsold television pilot
2017 Casual N/A Director; 2 episodes
2017 Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later Donna Recurring role; 5 episodes
2017 SuperMansion Millicent (voice) Episode: "SuperMansion: Drag Me to Halloween"
2019–present Harley Quinn Dr. Pamela Isley / Poison Ivy, Barbara Eileen-Gordon, various (voice) Main role
2019–2020 Bless This Mess Rio Levine-Young 26 episodes; also executive producer, creator, writer, and director
2020 Medical Police Dr. Blake Black 4 episodes
2020 Make It Work! Herself Television special
2021–present What If...? Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow (voice) 3 episodes
2022 Pam & Tommy N/A Director; 2 episodes
2022 American Dad! Various voices 2 episodes

Video games

Lake Bell video game work
Year Title Role Notes
2009 Prototype Dana Mercer (voice)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Lake Bell para niños

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