Ashley Bell (actress)

Bell was born in Santa Monica, California, the daughter of Victoria Carroll, an actress, and Michael Bell, an actor.^[4]

Following a string of film and television appearances on Boston Public, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, the Mark Polish-penned Stay Cool and a four episode arc on Showtime's The United States of Tara, Bell made her feature film principal debut, starring as Nell Sweetzer, in the 2010 horror film The Last Exorcism. Her performance garnered her a 2011 Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress,^[5] as well as a 2011 MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Scared-As-Shit Performance.^[6]

In 2014, Bell was a cast member in the Broadway revival of Sophie Treadwell's expressionist play Machinal directed by Lyndsey Turner. She played the roles of the Telephone Girl/Young Girl and served as an understudy for the lead, the Young Woman (played by Rebecca Hall).

In 2018, Bell directed the nature documentary Love & Bananas, which details the plight of Asian elephants in South East Asia.^[7] The film was official selection at the Environmental Film Festival and International Wildlife Film Festival.^[8] The film won the 2018 Humane Society Genesis Award for Best Feature Documentary. ^[9] At Earth Day Network's 2019 Climate Leadership Gala, Bell was honored with the Women and the Green Economy Leadership award for her work.

As of 2023, Bell is a member of The Groundlings.^[10]