[4] Peter was working as an architect under contract to an oil company in Iran; Mina had travelled to London to study nursing.

The family eventually moved to California's San Fernando Valley[4] where Bell was exposed to diverse influences.

She also worked as a massage therapist for eight years at the Peninsula Hotel,[5] and her clients included singer Peter Gabriel.

Bell's first television acting role was one line spoken to Gabriel on the short-lived 1990 sitcom Sugar and Spice.

[6] In 1995, she obtained a three-line role in one episode of the NBC TV series JAG, which centers on the work of the United States Department of the Navy's Judge Advocate General office.

NBC canceled the show after which it was picked up by CBS, which restructured the series, incorporating a female Marine Corps lawyer character, Sarah MacKenzie.

[13] On 2 April 2019, CBS announced that Bell would be reprising her JAG role of Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie alongside former co-star David James Elliott for a multi-episode arc in the tenth season of NCIS: Los Angeles.

[22] Since 2012, Bell has lived with fellow Scientologist, photographer and party planner Brooke Daniells, together with their children, in Los Angeles.

[23][24] In 2014, Bell paid US$2.05 million for a single-story ranch house on a 1.2 acres (0.49 ha) lot in the gated Hidden Hills community in the western suburbs of Los Angeles.

[28] In December 2005, Bell helped promote the gala opening of the "Psychiatry: An Industry of Death" museum of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (a Scientology supported group).