Kristen Bell

For some actors, success just seems to come naturally. In the case of talented stage and screen beauty Kristen Bell, it wasn't so much a matter of if she was going to be a star after realizing her dream during an early performance as a banana in +Raggedy Ann and Andy at the tender age of 12 &#8212 but when she would finally make the big time. Paralyzed with stage fright as she waited for her cue off-stage, Bell was offered a word of encouragement by her supportive mother that would ultimately… Show more give her the drive to realize her life's calling. A native of Detroit whose early stage experiences eventually led her to study at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Bell saw early success when she was chosen to portray Becky Thatcher in a Broadway production of +The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Realizing that she had what it took to find success onscreen as well as on-stage, Bell was soon packing her bags for Los Angeles and landing small supporting roles in such features as Polish Wedding and Pootie Tang . In 2003, Bell impressed television viewers with a solid performance in the made-for-television dramas The King and Queen of Moonlight Bay and Gracie's Choice . She next appeared in David Mamet's 2004 thriller Spartan, before landing the lead as a sort-of new-millennium Nancy Drew on UPN's Veronica Mars . If the show's ravenous cult following wasn't enough to make young Bell a household name, even after its much mourned cancellation in 2007, her subsequent performance in the awesomely successful comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall cinched it for her. Bell would go on to play a recurring role on the landmark TV series Heroes, before appearing in a number of comedies over the next few years, like Fanboys, Couples Retreat, and When in Rome. Bell would even appear in slightly less prestigious movies, like Burlesque and Scream 4, but remained one of the most in-demand young actresses in Hollywood, especially in the realm of comedy. She would play a memorable role on Don Cheadle's comedy series House of Lies, all while filming an action-oriented romcom with Bradley Cooper called Hit and Run. ~ Rovi

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