Brief bio
Catherine Lisa Bell was born on August 14, 1968 in London. Her exotic features came from her English father and her Iranian mother, though Catherine herself is American, having lived in California since she was two. She has been doing commercials since she was a kid, and has been modeling most of her adult life -- even dropping out of school to seize a modeling opportunity in Japan. Her image as a model leans toward the sexy, sultry side of her character, and the start of her acting career even touched on that (as a nude body double for Isabella Rossellini in the movie Death Becomes Her). It's good she was never stereotyped for certain roles, for in her most prominent TV role, Lt. Sarah "Mac" Mackenzie from JAG, she showed that she can portray strong female characters, too -- all the while retaining her feminine charm.
She currently plays Denise Sherwood in Army Wives (TV, 2007-2008), but she has also starred in JAG (TV, 1996-2005) and The Triangle (TV mini-series, 2005), a role for which she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress in 2006 in the Saturn Awards. She has also played a small part in Bruce Almighty (Film, 2003). For a quick look at the projects she starred in and the best-known characters she played, you can go here.
On a personal note, she has been married to Adam Beason since 1994, with whom she has a daughter, Gemma, born in 2003. On her spare time Ms. Bell finds time to do all sports that she loves, especially kickboxing, skiing, and snowboarding.
Reference: IMDB.Com entry on Catherine Bell