Melissa Bell (actor)

{{short description|Australian actress and fashion designer (born 1972)|bot=PearBOT 5}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Melissa Bell

| image =

| imagesize =

| caption =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1972|11|7}}{{cite magazine|date=30 November 1991|title=Chatterbox|magazine=TV Week|page=71}}

| birth_place = Sydney, Australia

| occupation = Actress, fashion designer

| yearsactive = 1988–present

| known_for = {{bulleted|Neighbours (TV series) as Lucy Robinson|E Street (TV series) as Bonnie Tait|Paradise Beach (TV series) as Emily Harris}}

| spouse = {{plainlist|

{{marriage|Jason Redlich|1996|1998|end=div}}
{{marriage|Gary Dickinson|2000|2016|end=died}}
{{marriage|Grant Thompson|2022}}

}}

| children = 4

}}

Melissa Bell (born 7 November 1972) is an Australian actress and fashion designer. She is best known for her roles of Bonnie Tait in E Street, Lucy Robinson in Neighbours, and Emily Harris in Paradise Beach. Bell also made appearances in Home & Away and Water Rats.

Career

=Acting=

Bell had earlier appeared in the soap opera E Street in the guest role of Janine. She left the role of Lucy in Neighbours to return to E Street to play a new character, the eco-crusader Bonnie Tait. After E Street ended Bell made several brief returns to Neighbours.

She also acted in another soap, Paradise Beach, playing surfer Emily Harris.{{cite book |title=Super Aussie Soaps: Behind the Scenes of Australia's Best Loved TV Shows |last=Mercado |first=Andrew |year=2004 |publisher=Pluto Press|location=Australia |isbn=1-86403-191-3 |pages=297 }} In 1994, after returning from overseas, Bell secured guest roles in Over the Hill and G.P..{{cite magazine|last=Brown|first=David|date=30 July 1994|title=Inside Info|magazine=TV Week|page=6}} She later appeared in several lifestyle programs, such as Celebrity Overhaul.[http://health.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=28580 Celebrity Overhaul: Melissa Bell], Nine Network.

=Fashion design=

Bell later become a fashion designer, selling kaftans and party wear from a boutique in Double Bay, Sydney.[http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22177428-5012919,00.html Wing's eye on Bell's view], The Daily Telegraph, 7 August 2007.

Personal life

Bell was married to Jason Redlich from 1996 to 1998.{{cite news|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/HUSBAND+TRIED+TO+KILL+ME+CLAIMS+OZ+SOAP+QUEEN+MELISSA%3B+PUNCHED%3A+He...-a061022701|title=Husband tried to kill me claims Oz soap queen Melissa; Punched: He struck as I cradled our four-week-old son|last=Dowdney|first=Mark|date=31 January 1997|work=Daily Record|via=The Free Library|access-date=7 November 2022}} They have one son. Following the end of her marriage, Bell suffered from body dysmorphic disorder and depression.{{cite news|url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/sydney-confidential/melissa-bell-admits-she-suffered-body-dysmorphia-leading-to-thousands-of-dollars-of-plastic-surgery/story-fni0cvc9-1227127798716|title=Melissa Bell admits she suffered body dysmorphia leading to thousands of dollars of plastic surgery|date=18 November 2014|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=10 December 2015}} In 2000, Bell married Gary Dickinson. They had three children and lived on the Gold Coast. In November 2015, Dickinson, then 57, suffered a heart attack which left him in a coma.{{cite web|url=http://www.womansday.com.au/celebrity/australian-celebrities/neighbours-star-melissa-bells-heartache-14282|title=Neighbours star Melissa Bell's brave battle to save her husband's life|last=Koch|first=Phillip|date=8 December 2015|work=Woman's Day|access-date=10 December 2015}} Dickinson died on 13 February 2016.{{cite news|url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/television/neighbours-star-melissa-bell-reveals-heartbreak-after-husband-gary-dickinson-battled-for-life/news-story/74fec3801a5c3cfdf1356c2347f137eb?nk=cfb429b18655ca0e93ccfee99540e4e4-1456192774|title=Neighbours star Melissa Bell reveals heartbreak after husband Gary Dickinson battled for life|date=21 February 2016|access-date=23 February 2016}} In 2020, Bell became engaged to Grant Thompson,{{cite web|url=https://www.newidea.com.au/melissa-bells-wedding-joy|title=Neighbours star Melissa Bell's wedding joy: 'How I found happiness again'|last=Burrell|first=Zoe|date=9 August 2021|work=New Idea|access-date=7 November 2022}} and the couple married in 2022, with Bell wearing the dress her Neighbours character wore in her on-screen wedding.{{cite web|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/neighbours/a41883480/neighbours-melissa-bell-wedding-dress/|title=Former Neighbours star Melissa Bell ties the knot in dress she wore on the soap|last=Julians|first=Joe|date=7 November 2022|publisher=Digital Spy|access-date=7 November 2022}}