1. FROM HER EARLY DAYS ON ER TO THE RECENT THRILLER
PRISONERS AND THE INSPIRATIONAL MCFARLAND, USA, MARIA BELLO
HAS BEEN A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH. THE FEARLESS,
AWARD-WINNING MOVIE STAR (AND NOW AUTHOR) SHARES
SOME HARD-EARNED INSIGHTS ABOUT IDOLS AND LABELS (HUMAN,
NOT DESIGNER), FAMILY, AND PURPOSE
M A R I A’S
MOME N T
B Y M I C H E L E S H A P I R O
P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y J I M W R I G H T
2. Widely acclaimed for her Golden Globe–nomi-
nated performances in The Cooler (2003) and The
History of Violence (2005)—the latter snagged her
a New York Film Critics Circle award—Bello just
landed a plum role in the sci-fi film The 5th Wave,
an adaptation of the bestselling young adult sci-fi
novel by Rick Yancey, which, unlike the low-budget
indies that compose much of Bello’s resume, has
Hunger Games–like mania potential.
She and her shorn locks will fly to Atlanta in
a few days to start filming opposite überpopular
teen star Chloë Grace Moretz. “I play Resnick,
who’s like the witch in Hansel & Gretel,” she says.
In her choice of roles, Bello is decisive: “When I
read a script, I’ll know immediately I want to do it
if I can see the character in my head.”
She’s uncommonly gracious during our talk,
but these days, Bello is more apt to ask questions
than answer them. Now in a relationship with
Clare Munn, Bello has been questioning every-
thing from what constitutes a partner (her son’s
father, Dan McDermott, is still actively involved
in raising teenager Jack) to what it means to be
an Italian-American. In the last few years, Bello
dusted off old journals in hopes of finding answers,
but instead she was faced with the magnitude of
her endeavor during the eight months it took to
complete her essay collection. “There are always
more questions—so many layers,” she observes.
“I’m constantly peeling back those layers to get
to a better place.”
Q. Is Whatever … Love Is Love the first book
you’ve written?
A. I wrote a novel 15 years ago that never got pub-
lished. I was such a kid back then. My mom said
she always knew I’d be a writer. I was reading
novels by age 8, and I would make cartoon scripts
of people talking to each other. I have actually
been writing since age 13. I’ve written pilots for
TV shows and screenplays. I had to earn the title
of actor. And maybe one day I’ll earn the label of
writer as well.
Q. Who are your artistic inspirations?
A. I have black-and-white photos framed on the
wall above my bed of Georgia O’Keeffe, Edna St.
Vincent Millay, Beatrice Wood—all women artists
who led authentic lives. I always wanted to be one
of those women. I’ll often study Georgia O’Keeffe’s
facial expression in the photo—the way she’s look-
ing out with so much hope and light in her eyes—
and I’ll think, I want to be like that.
Q. What attracts you to a particular project?
A. It depends on the role and the people with whom
I’ll be working. I just finished The Confirmation with
Clive Owen and Matthew Modine. It was directed
by Bob Nelson, who wrote Nebraska. He’s such a
humanist. It was the first movie he directed, and his
voice and humanity definitely came through. Also, I
like working with kids more and more. I did Wait Till
Helen Comes last fall with The Book Thief’s Sophie
Nélisse, who’s 15, and her younger sister Isabelle,
who’s 11. I fell in love with them. They think Clare
and I are fashionable. We took them vintage clothes
shopping and went to the mall together. Isabel
sends photos of outfits with the clothes we bought.
More and more, I like working with kids.
Q. And you just worked with Kevin Costner in
the well-received McFarland, USA.
A. It’s a true story about an ’80s cross-country
coach who gets a job in McFarland, a poor place
filled with Mexican farm workers. They won the
championship for nine years. Telling that story
has a really positive message and values. I feel like
media can heal or harm us. It can help to heal us,
bring us together, and show diversity. This film
shows a slice of life in the Latin community.
Q. You memorably appeared as Vivian Arliss in
a two-episode arc on Law and Order: Special
Victims Unit in 2010. What made you do it?
A. Mariska Hargitay and I have been friends
since she came on ER as a guest star. Back then,
everyone said, “I don’t think you two will like each
THE WAITING AREA OF A HAIR SALON ISN’T THE MOST
CONDUCIVE SETTING FOR AN INTERVIEW, BUT IT WORKS FOR MARIA
BELLO. TRUTH IS, THE ACTRESS, ACTIVIST, AND AUTHOR, WHOSE NEW
BOOK OF ESSAYS WHATEVER … LOVE IS LOVE RECENTLY HIT BOOKSHELVES,
IS PUMPED TO GET HER SIGNATURE BLONDE TRESSES CHOPPED OFF.
48 Summer 2015
3. other.” She was a joyful jokester, and I was kind of
tough in my combat boots. We fell in love instantly.
In fact, she introduced me to Jack’s father, Dan.
She’s partially responsible for my child.
Q. To what do you attribute your longevity in
Hollywood?
A. I’m 47 and I don’t try to look 27. Allowing myself
to be my age doesn’t work against me. There are
plenty of incredible roles for women of all ages on
TV and in film. That’s exciting to me.
Q. Is it possible to balance an authentic life
with working in an industry that is known for
superficiality?
A. The majority of people in my business are
extraordinary individuals. Ninety-nine percent of
them are artists who are open and compassion-
ate. I never feel it’s a crazy business and I have
to ground myself. Then again, I’ve never been a
teenybopper in Star magazine. That’s probably a
different experience altogether.
Q. You’re extremely hands-on with your
humanitarian efforts. Why have you focused
your energies on Haiti in recent years?
A. The first time I went there was seven or eight
years ago, and then again just a few days after
the earthquake, and it was like seeing my part-
ner in pain and bleeding. When I returned home,
some of the women I’ve worked with over the
years—various activists and politicians—pooled
our efforts to see what we could do to help. We
opened a little clinic in the poorest slum in the
Western hemisphere. It was extremely hard to
continue to get funding and to keep it running.
Eventually, we realized that what people need
even more than treatment is information, so we
created a website that women throughout Haiti
can access to get information, like what to do if
they’re a victim of sexual violence. The number
of people in Haiti who go to the site is pretty
extraordinary. It’s really working.
Q. What surprised you about the response
to “Coming Out as a Modern Family,” your
very personal essay about your relationship
with Clare Munn, after it ran in The New York
Times in 2013?
A. I didn’t understand the chord it would strike
with readers. Within the first day, it got 273,000
likes! People came up to me and said, “I never
knew what to call myself—I’m a whatever, too.”
They got that it wasn’t about sexuality. It’s more
about updating outdated labels, such as the term
“partner,” that are so limiting. The book is a con-
tinuation of that conversation. The essay really
begins to explain my evolution in relationships.
They are fluid. As soon as I wrapped my head
around that, my view of relationships changed.
Someone recently said to me, “A partner is some-
one who will take a bullet for you.” I have a lot of
people who’d do that.
Q. How did your family react to the article?
A. They’ve always been open, and have become
even more so throughout the years. I don’t believe
people don’t change. I see my father as a young
man and now as a grandfather at 72. I see how
much he’s challenged himself to become more
conscious. He’s obsessed with Clare now. He has
multiple sclerosis, and he comes to stay with us
for a month every January. She’ll wake up at 6 a.m.
and bring him herbal tinctures, and he’ll joke that
she’s trying to kill him again. I want to be like him
and continue to grow and evolve.
Q. How does your son, Jack, handle your being
away on location so often?
A. I try never to go away for more than three
weeks at a time. Still, it gets progressively harder,
which is why I want to do a TV series in LA. Jack
and I aren’t great at keeping in touch when I’m on
location. He’s 14, and hates to talk on the phone.
We speak a couple times a day, but he will only
pick up the phone if he’s doing homework. Then
he’ll be like, “Mom! It’s so good to hear from you!”
Q. You’ve been through a lot in recent years,
but you seem to maintain a positive attitude.
A. I’m a glass-half-full person. My job in this
lifetime is to use the gifts that God has given me,
and when I do, I feel a gentleness and grace that
is incomparable. l
“I HAVE BLACK-AND-WHITE PHOTOS FRAMED ON THE WALL ABOVE
MY BED OF GEORGIA O’KEEFFE, EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY, BEATRICE
WOOD—ALL WOMEN ARTISTS WHO LED AUTHENTIC LIVES.”
51 Summer 2015
