Nude, strong, powerful: The very best acting roles of Maria Bello
While some feminists punish the act of stripping, at Film Daily we think there’s nothing more revolutionary than choosing what to ensure or reveal. The truth is that we live in a world designed for men, where our bodies and erotism have been entirely built under a male gaze. For this reason, it’s not only important but necessary to regain power over our bodies, as women.
Maria Bello is an American actress & writer that is known for her strength and confidence since she has been part of several iconic nude scenes in movies. As you can imagine, she has been quite criticized too, the truth is that as women all actions are doubly punished, which is why we need to dignify them with pride. Public figures like Bello are fundamental pieces to transforming the way we inhabit our bodies.
Honestly, representation is everything, but the world we live in, is definitely complex. This goes further than having women consciously deciding on the way they represent themselves, but the industry that does that job, which is extremely patriarchal. Let’s take a look at Bello’s cinematic trajectory and her most iconic nude scenes.
Maria Bello’s trajectory
Maria Elena Bello was born on April 18th, 1967 in Pennsylvania. She intended to be a lawyer, but what were supposed to be just-for-fun acting classes during her senior year ended up determining her real career. Some of her most memorable movie roles are Permanent Midnight (1998), Payback (1999), and Coyote Ugly (2000). Nonetheless, she’s been part of many other great projects.
It all began in 1996 when she got a leading role in the television series Mr. & Mrs. Smith. A Year later she joined the successful series Emergencies (1997-1998), which made her gain popularity and led her to the world of cinema successfully. Nonetheless, Bello had already debuted in cinema with the film Maintenance in 1992. By 1998 she was sharing credits with Ben Stiller in Permanent Midnight.
Although Bello isn’t the most known actress, she has managed to maintain a good acting career. Still, in 1998 she made an appearance in Payback, a film co-starring Mel Gibson, directed by Brian Helgeland. By 2000 she starred in Coyote Ugly, directed by David McNally & Jerry Bruckheimer, which expanded her fame internationally.
Other important films she’s been involved in are: Silver City (2004), A History of Violence (2005), Thank You For Smoking (2005), and World Trade Center (2006). In 2011 she played Taylor Lautner’s mother in No Exit. In 2016 Bello participated in the series Trial and appeared in The Fifth Wave, and Never Turn Off the Light.
In 2017 she joined the television series Navy: Criminal Investigation (2017-2021), playing the character of Jack Sloane. Despite being a great actress, this last year Maria Bello has found a comfortable place as a producer & screenwriter. Last year The Woman King film produced by her premiered. Yet, let’s talk about her nude scenes.
Maria Bello’s nude scenes
Bello has played nude scenes in films like Duets (2000) The Cooler (2003), A History of Violence (2005), Downloading Nancy (2008), and The Company Men (2010). However, Bello has shown to be a fan of taking hot pictures of herself, which we absolutely love. Bello’s nude scenes have been iconic since she showed bush because guess what, women have pubic hair!
This queen has also been standing for bisexual representation since she lives her romantic life openly both with women & men. Regaining power means being socially & personally conscious of our bodies and using all our resources to walk toward pleasure, and Bello has definitely done so.
