“Laughing is so good for you. It legitimately burns calories... and just makes you happier.” – Kristen Bell
“Whether or not you think you're God's gift to acting or not, it does depend largely on the audience and what they want to see you do.” – Kristen Bell
Kristen Bell is one of those actresses who everyone seems to have nothing but good words to say about. She’s the down-to-earth, girl-next-door type–who wouldn’t want to be friends with her? She’s played some pretty awesome characters, including teen sleuth Veronica Mars, and she was the voice behind one of TV’s biggest mysteries. She lives a pretty cool life, and doesn’t seem to take anything too seriously. She’s also made quite the name for herself, but knows how to stay out of the limelight. Keep reading to find out more about Bell’s awesome life.
Kristen Bell Facts
31. Gotta Start Somewhere
Bell wasn’t quite a teenager yet when she went to her first audition for a role in Raggedy Ann and Andy. Of course, she got the part. Soon after, her mom set her up with an agent and she got some work doing newspaper ads and TV commercials. Once she got to high school, she signed up for the drama and music clubs, even earning the starring role of Dorothy in the school’s rendition of The Wizard of Oz.
Wikimedia Commons, Otterbein University Theatre & Dance
30. She’s Just Like Us
Bell had a total fangirl moment when she met actor Ted Danson, who previously played a character named Arthur Frobisher in the TV show Damages. Bell met Danson in a hotel lobby, where she happened to be checked in under the alias Holly Frobisher – the character’s wife. “I think he was flattered, he might have been freaked out. He's just like the coolest dude there is. I just love him.” Bell also completely freaked out when she met Peter Dinklage on a red carpet one time. So much so that she had no idea what to say to the Game of Thrones actor.
29. Let’s Go Red Wings!
Bell grew up in Michigan, where the Detroit Red Wings reign supreme in the hockey world. Even now, you’ll still catch her at a game with husband Dax Shepard every now and then. She said the players of the Red Wings were like gods to her when she was growing up.
28. Lots of Love for a Lazy Creature
She has some pretty interesting thoughts on a couple of interesting creatures: sloths and koalas. She’s notorious for her love of sloths, with her favorite fact about them being that “they only poop once a week.” And of koalas? She’s pretty blunt. “Koalas get high off eucalyptus and most of them have chlamydia. These are facts.” So, is that a yay or nay, Kristen?
27. Is That a Lazy Eye or Is She Just Winking at Me?
Bell has a self-proclaimed “wonky” right eye. Why? Well, she has something called strabismus, which she actually got from her mom. If she doesn’t get enough sleep, her eye really takes the brunt of it. Her mom actually had hers corrected when she was a kid, but no word on the younger Bell fixing hers. Strabismus is more common than you think, and is caused by weakness in the eye muscles.
26. Fountain of Youth
Bell looks young for her age. In fact, she's 38. It’s not always easy getting by when you look young though, as she’s described. “I'm carded for R-rated movies. And I get talked down to a lot. When I try to go rent a car or buy an airplane ticket or other stuff adults do, I get 'Okaaaaaay, honey.' I remember when I was 18, getting crayons in a restaurant.” Getting crayons at 18? Yeah, that’s pretty rough.
25. The Goldilocks Effect
Someone needs to set Bell straight here. She’s been quoted as saying the reason behind her tomboy-ish roles is because she was “not homely enough to play the nerdy girl and not nearly pretty enough to play the pretty girl.” She’s also said that because of playing younger characters and not quite looking her age, she doesn’t feel womanly enough. Oh stop, Kristen! You’re beautiful and we all know it!
24. She’s Sexy and She Knows It
She does seem proud of her body though, considering she’s posed nude in Jane magazine and walks around naked in her home. “I rarely wear clothes when I’m home by myself. I love making breakfast naked. But you’ve got to make sure the gardener’s not coming that day.” You go girl!
23. Veronica Mars, at Your Service
When Bell was cast in the lead role in 2004’s Veronica Mars, she was already 24 years old, playing a 17-year-old. That didn’t seem to bother her, as she just loved the idea of Veronica Mars. “I loved Veronica right off the bat,” Bell recalled after reading the script for the pilot. “She was so strong and I think it is so important because there are so few shows that portray women, especially young women, as being strong and being able to stand up for themselves.”
Veronica Mars
22. The Wedding Singer
I think we were all a little surprised to discover Bell had an amazing singing voice when she performed in Frozen. But that wasn’t the first time she’s dabbled in singing. When she was younger, she and a friend sang at weddings and funerals, with “Amazing Grace” and Harry Connick Jr. tunes being on the top of the list.
21. Let It Go, Let It Go!
Bell was the voice behind Anna in the animated film Frozen. Yeah, you thought you recognized that voice, didn’t you? She’s said that she relates to her character in “every single way. I helped shape who she was. Leading with her heart always, goofy and clumsy but unafraid to take a challenge.”
Frozen
20. The Face Behind the Voices
Frozen isn’t the only voice acting Bell has done. In the Assassin’s Creed video games, she voices the character of Lucy Stillman, and she's also the voice behind Gossip Girl. You know you love her! XOXO.
19. Gamer Girl
She likely completely nerded out when she got the chance to do voicework for Assassin’s Creed. When she was in college, Bell was totally into the video game world. She loved anything N64, with Mario Kart 64 and GoldenEye being her favorites.
18. A Family All Her Own
On October 17, 2013, Bell married long-time boyfriend and fellow actor Dax Shepard. The pair have two daughters together: Lincoln and Delta. Bell was pregnant with Lincoln while filming a season of House of Lies, which resulted in the show pulling in a body double when they had to do stomach shots. Oh, and don’t even think about trying to find photos of their daughters–you won’t find any. The couple wants to ensure their privacy and doesn’t post anything about them.
17. Bringing Life Into the World
In addition to having two daughters of her own, Bell helped two other babies come into this world. She was doing some volunteer work in Brazil and assisted in the births. Now that’s kinda cool. And maybe a little messy.
16. Proud Pet Parent
She’s also a dog mommy. She has three dogs: a Welsh corgi-chow chow mix named Lola, a Welsh corgi-Chihuahua mix whose name is Shakey, and Sadie, a black Labrador retriever who Bell actually rescued after Hurricane Katrina hit. Sadie got a pretty awesome new lease on life!
15. Parenthood: Not for the Faint of Heart
Bell is pretty straight up when it comes to just about anything. That includes parenthood. “Every day when you're raising kids, you feel like you could cry or crack up and just scream ‘This is ridiculous!’ because there's so much nonsense, whether it's what they're saying to you or the fact that there's avocado or poop on every surface.” She’s also said that she needs to have some time for herself every day, otherwise she goes a little nuts.
14. So Many Tattoos, So Little Truth
There was once a crazy rumor going around that Bell’s body was home to over 200 tattoos. As interesting as this could have been, it simply isn’t true. She didn’t let the false story bother her, though. She went on Funny or Die and did a sketch about how she has to cover all of the tattoos during her morning routine. And if you think about it, that would take hours!
13. Animals Are to Be Loved, Not Eaten
Bell is known for being a vegetarian, even winning PETA’s award for World’s Sexiest Vegetarian twice, in 2006 and in 2013. “I have always been an animal lover,” she’s said. “I had a hard time disassociating the animals I cuddled with—dogs and cats, for example—from the animals on my plate, and I never really cared for the taste of meat.” When she was in high school, she was actually vegan, but her love for cheese was her downfall. And really, who can blame her for that?
12. Extreme Couponing
Bell loves using coupons when she shops. Who doesn’t? You get that little rush watching your bill go down at the register. Her favorite place to go? Bed, Bath & Beyond. I don’t blame her for that one either—there are too many fun things in that store.
11. In Case of Emergency
You know that rice trick for when you drop your phone in water? Bell knows it well. So well, in fact, that she has a bag of rice in her desk drawer that’s actually labeled as “cellphone rice.”
10. Here a Rug, There a Rug, Everywhere a Rug!
She admits that she loves rugs. Like, a lot. “I have a clinical addiction to textiles. Both the inside and outside of my house are covered in rugs.” I suppose there are worse things she could be addicted to.
9. Tall? Grande? Vente? Trenta?
If you spot her in line at your local Starbucks, maybe pick up the tab on her go-to drink: unsweetened green tea that has a dash of lemonade in it. I think she just likes drinks in general, though. “I always have a few beverages in hand. Everyone is worried about the zombie apocalypse; I’m worried about dehydration.”
8. Life’s Short, Eat Dessert (First)
Alright, well maybe she doesn’t eat dessert first, but Bell says she does eat dessert after every meal. And yes, that does include breakfast.
7. It’s All About the Balance
So if she loves her dessert (and who doesn’t?) then she probably balances it out, right? She’s a big fan of jogging and yoga–and is known to strike a yoga pose randomly around her house. She also tries to stay away from alcohol by engaging in the community. Husband Dax Shepard isn’t quiet about his past struggles with alcoholism, but we’re happy to report that he’s been sober for more than a decade now.
6. Just a Little Nap Between Parents
Bell admitted that her daughters have walked in on her and Shepard in, uh, the heat of the moment. While promoting Bad Moms Christmas, she appeared on The Talk and confessed to the ladies about how it happened. “Well, we didn’t, like, continue…we sort of just went like, ‘Hey, what’s up? What do you need? What do you need?’… And then we just said, ‘Mommy and daddy are just going to take a nap for a couple of minutes.'” Don’t worry, Kristen. We’re sure they won’t remember that as they get older. Well, maybe.
5. Smurfette
She had a bit of a dilemma when she young, in that she didn’t want to be called Kristen, and her family wasn’t going along with the names she was picking. As she said, “When I was about four I decided I really wanted to be called ‘Smurfette.’” She loved the Smurfs and would only answer to Smurfette, yet her parents refused to call her that. So, she moved on to "Matthew." She had a cousin with the name, and even named all of her dolls using boy names—but still, her parents wouldn’t call her Matthew. Then came "Annie." She said, “The movie was popular, and it was a fun nickname. And I was called Annie until I was sixteen.” And yes—that one includes her parents! She ended up changing schools when she was 16 and was called Kristen again, since she didn’t mention that Annie was her nickname. “Half my friends and family call me Annie, and half call me Kristen. You guys can still call me Smurfette if you want to," she quipped.
4. 140 Characters or Less
Oddly enough, Bell proposed to Shepard in an unorthodox way: over Twitter. She asked, he accepted. They wound up marrying at the Beverley Hills County Clerk’s Office for a whopping $142 altogether. This also all only happened once same-sex marriage was legalized. They refused to get married until marriage equality was implemented.
3. Kristen to the Rescue!
The actress was filming Like Father in Florida when Hurricane Irma came bearing down on the state. Josh Gad, who co-stars with Bell in Frozen and who happens to be one of her good friends, has family who lives in Miami. Because of all the evacuations, they had nowhere to go. That’s when Bell stepped in. She was staying at a Disney resort and told Gad’s family that they could stay with her! Naturally, she posted a photo with everyone together on social media, to which Gad responded on Instagram with, “So @kristenanniebell literally saved my parents and my entire family tonight from #hurricaneirma… They don't make them like this girl. Thank you Kristin [sic]. You are truly an angel sent from above.”
2. Must Have Been a Wicked Slapshot
When she was only 12 years old, Bell managed to break both of her wrists while playing hockey. Ouch! So maybe she’s a little clumsy, which there’s nothing wrong with, by the way. During the filming of When in Rome, she also managed to burn her leg on a moped.
When in Rome
1. You're Not Alone
Bell confessed in 2016 to having struggled with mental health throughout much of her life. She said that she’s been taking medication for ADHD since she was a kid, and suffers from anxiety and depression. She sends a lot of gratitude to her mom for telling her that if she ever felt like there was something wrong that it was okay to go for help. When Bell was in college, it happened. “I didn’t speak publicly about my struggles with mental health for the first 15 years of my career,” she said in an interview with Time. “But now I’m at a point where I don’t believe anything should be taboo.” She wants everyone to know that “there’s nothing weak about struggling with mental illness. You’re just having a harder time living in your brain than other people. And I don’t want you to feel alone.”
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
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