Maria Arena Bell
| Maria Arena Bell | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Maria Arena March 10, 1963 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Known for | Former executive producer and head writer of The Young and the Restless |
| Spouse(s) | William J. Bell, Jr. |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | |
Maria Arena Bell (born March 10, 1963) is an American novelist, television and freelance writer, as well as a Los Angeles-based philanthropist and patron of the arts. She is the former head writer and executive producer of the CBS Daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless.
Bell is married to Bill Bell Jr., the eldest son of Y&R creators William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell. They have two children, Liam and Sabrina. Her sister is Marissa Arena who had previously appeared on Y&R as Marissa Barton from 1998-2003.
Bell serves on several nonprofit boards in the arts including P.S. Arts where she serves as president-at-Large and has helped raise funds to provide arts to 11,000 low-income, Los Angeles public school children. Bell chairs the National Arts Awards for Americans For The Arts (a nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington DC), and through the Bell Family Foundation supports the NAA Bell Family Foundation Young Artist Award. At The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Anageles (MOCA) Bell has served as the Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees since 2009, and has helped raise more than eleven million dollars to support MOCA and its programs. In addition, she sits on the boards of Center Dance Arts, Dicapo Opera Theater, and the American Friends of The Musee Des Arts Decoratifs, Paris. Bell is also a committed and active board member of The Melanoma Research Alliance and Marlborough School, Los Angeles.
In the fall of 2012, Bell was nominated by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and subsequently sworn in on December 11, 2012 as Commissioner to the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Committee.
Bell began her writing career for The Bold and the Beautiful in 1988 under legendary writer William J. Bell. There, she helped create the character Sally Spectra who was loosely based on her step-father who worked in the Los Angeles garment industry.
Bell later developed primetime shows for NBC and CBS.
Before returning to daytime, Bell was an essayist for publications such as "T" the New York Times Style Magazine, "C" Magazine, Aspen Magazine, and Aspen Peak Magazine.
Bell returned to The Young and the Restless in November 2007 and was named head writer in March 2008, and co-executive producer in September 2009. She was then elevated to Executive Producer of the series in December 2010.
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