Bello at the Independent Spirit Awards in Los Angeles on March 5, 2010
Bello's early TV appearances include episodes ofThe Commish (1991),Due South (1994),Nowhere Man (1995),Misery Loves Company (1995), andER (1997–98). Her breakthrough came when she was cast as Mrs. Smith in the TV series spy showMr. & Mrs. Smith, though the show was cancelled after eight weeks. She then appeared in the final three episodes of the third season ofER as pediatrician Dr. Anna Del Amico and was a regular cast member during the medical drama's fourth season.
In 2010, Bello guest starred in two episodes ofLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit.[11] The following year, she starred in the TV seriesPrime Suspect,[12] which was cancelled after 13 episodes. In 2011, she became a founding board member of the CQ Matrix Company, a company created by her then-partner, Clare Munn, to help clients achieve "transformative living and the power of intelligent exchange" by enhancing theircommunication quotient.[13] In 2014, she starred alongsideFrank Grillo in theJames Wan-produced thrillerDemonic.[14]
Bello began producing short films in 2010. In 2022, she was a producer on the filmThe Woman King.[15]
Bello has a son, Jackson, with her former boyfriend Dan McDermott.[16] In November 2013, she wrote about having asame-sex relationship with her partner, Clare Munn.[16][17] Her book,Whatever...Love Is Love: Questioning the Labels We Give Ourselves, was published in 2015.[18]
In February 2020, while attending the92nd Academy Awards in their first public appearance as a couple, Bello announced she and chefDominique Crenn had become engaged on December 29, 2019, while holidaying in Paris, France.[19] They got married in a ceremony in Mexico on May 12, 2024.[20]
Bello has been involved in several advocacy and philanthropic causes. In the aftermath of the2010 Haiti earthquake, Bello founded WE ADVANCE with Aleda Frishman, Barbara Guillaume, andAlison Thompson. It is an organization that encouragesHaitian women to collaborate in making healthcare a priority, and putting an end todomestic violence within their communities. As of 2011[update], the organization is based in a health clinic and a community outreach center inCité Soleil.[21] Bello led fundraising efforts in Philadelphia and donated to the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan. She is also a board member of Darfur Women Action Group, anNGO that undertakes activism on behalf ofgenocide victims of theDarfur conflict.[22]
^"CQ". ClareMunn.com. Archived fromthe original on April 23, 2011. RetrievedDecember 4, 2013.... board members including founding board member Maria Bello...