Colleen Bell(II)

Bell was born Colleen Bradley on January 30, 1967 in Evanston, IL to Sheila, a partner with an interior design firm, and Edward Bradley, a partner in the law firm of Bradley & Bradley. She graduated with high honors from Sweet Briar College with a bachelor's degree in political economy, a dual major in political science and economics. She spent her junior year abroad at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Bell married her childhood sweetheart Bradley Bell on October 4, 1991 and they share four children together. Bell worked in the production and casting office of The Bold and the Beautiful (1987) since 1991 where her husband is writer and producer, before becoming a full-time mom and focusing on philanthropist activities in the arts community, environmental and social nonprofit organizations as well as the National Democratic Party. Bell served on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Music Center and the Rape Treatment Center at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica amongst many others. In 2012 she was appointed as a trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The same year she returned to work full time and became associate producer at The Bold and the Beautiful (1987), eventually being promoted to rank of producer. On November 6, 2013, President Obama announced that he intends to nominate Bell as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary. Following heated debates, often citing Bell's lack of political experience, she was eventually officially appointed ambassador to Hungary on December 2, 2014. She held this position until January 20, 2017. After returning to the United States, Bell was appointed California Film Commissioner in 2019.