For nearly two decades, Kristen Bell has been gracing our screens with her wonderful combination of charisma, beauty, and comedic timing. Not many other women in Hollywood can match her in those three departments because she’s just that impressive at what she does. One thing that sets Bell apart from other actresses is the versatility she’s shown throughout her career.
Kristen Bell has been a leading lady on the big screen, done great as part of an ensemble, headed several successful television shows, and she’s done very well with voiceover work. Almost anywhere you look, you can find something relating to Bell. With that in mind, we’ve looked at her career and narrowed it down to her 10 most iconic roles.
Burlesque
When it came to film, 2010 was a busy year for Kristen Bell. She starred in two short films and four that were feature-length. One of those was Burlesque, which saw a small-town girl chase her dreams to Los Angeles, taking her to a burlesque club run by a former dancer. This was a supporting role for Bell, who played Nikki, the lead performer at the club.
When the protagonist Ali (Christina Aguilera) gets a spot as a dancer at the club, it irritated Nikki. She ultimately got replaced by Ali because she was a drunk who couldn’t take the stage. It set the tone for a rivalry that was a ton of fun to watch because of how well Bell and Aguilera played off each other.
When In Rome
2010’s When in Rome is an interesting movie to look at in terms of Kristen Bell’s career. On the negative side of things, it scored just 16% on Rotten Tomatoes and isn’t considered to be a very good film by a lot of viewers. However, it remains notable for one important aspect. This marked the first time Bell was cast as a leading lady in a genre that worked to her strengths.
Prior to this, Bell’s first lead movie role was 2006’s Pulse. The romantic comedy genre is much more suited to her talents. Here, Bell played Elizabeth Ann Martin, an art curator who becomes the object of affection for several suitors after an interaction with the “fountain of love.” She was a delight and the film grossed more than $40 million, proving she could do well as a box office star.
Gossip Girl
Our first foray into the world of television for Kristen Bell. This CW Network series ran for six seasons and focused on the lives of teenagers on the Upper East Side of New York City following the mysterious return of the previously missing Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively). Bell had an fascinating role in this show.
Each episode was narrated by an all-knowing blogger known as the “Gossip Girl.” That was who Bell portrayed. That meant that viewers only heard her throughout the series other than a Season 6 episode where she appeared as herself. Chalk it up to another case of Bell showing off her versatile skill set.
Heroes
In the back half of the 2000s, NBC ran a sci-fi series called Heroes that was an instant hit. It followed a group of people who discover that they have special superhuman abilities. The first season was both a critical and commercial success, but the writer’s strike caused a handful of problems with the sophomore run. However, Kristen Bell was one of the few aspects praised.
Bell arrived during the second season as Elle Bishop, a young woman with the power of electrokinesis. Elle began as a sociopathic villain who was the daughter of the man who ran an organization designed to study enhanced individuals. She gradually became more likable and formed bonds with fan favorites like Claire and Sylar. Elle became so popular that her eventual death was met with heavy criticism from fans. Bell brought a lot to the role and earned herself a Saturn Award nomination for it.
Bad Moms
Once again, the world of comedy proved to be Kristen Bell’s bread and butter. 2016’s Bad Moms starred Bell alongside Mila Kunis and Kathryn Hahn. They played a trio of mothers who begin having wild fun and going against the idea of what a traditional mom should act like. The three women worked incredibly well together and helped this to $183.9 million at the box office, which is the most for a live-action film starring Bell.
Each of the three titular mothers has a unique personality. Bell played Kiki, a stay-at-home mom with a domineering husband who made her take care of the house and children all by herself. Kiki ultimately turns things around and makes her husband help her out. Bell looked like she had the time of her life in the role.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
It’s not often that an actor will portray a film’s titular character and not be the lead. That was the case for Forgetting Sarah Marshall, where Kristen Bell played the Sarah Marshall listed in the title. The film was more about her ex-boyfriend Peter Bretter (Jason Segel, who also wrote the screenplay) and his attempts to get over their relationship.
This was another situation where Bell’s comedic chops got to shine. We got to see her have a hilariously awkward drunk conversation on a double date, see her play off of Russell Brand at his funniest, and showcase her yoga skills in some side-splitting moments. She also gave us a great amount of emotional range that you might not often get in this kind of comedy.
House Of Lies
Other than working as the narrator on Gossip Girl, Kristen Bell had mostly moved away from television for a few years. That changed in 2012 when she nabbed a leading role as Jeannie van der Hooven on Showtime’s House of Lies. The series followed a group of closely-knit managing consultants as they engaged in some cutthroat business deals.
The show was met with heavy praise for the writing, directing, and acting. Lead actor Don Cheadle even took home a Golden Globe for his work. Bell was always right there with him in terms of quality performances, and the chemistry they showed together was electric. They worked as both romantic interests and business equals/rivals at times. Bell played the role for all 58 episodes and 5 seasons it ran.
Frozen
The biggest movie that Kristen Bell has ever been a part of was Disney’s 2013 blockbuster Frozen. It grossed an incredible $1.276 billion, making it one of only a handful of original films to cross that barrier. That’s a huge deal when you consider that Bell is the top-billed star, providing the voice work for the lead character Anna.
Anna is a young princess and the younger sister to Elsa (Idina Menzel), who possesses the magical ability to control ice and snow. Two things that made this film work so well was the bond between sisters, which Bell and Menzel nailed, and the music. Bell did her own singing and hung tough with the beautiful voice of Menzel. It was another skill Bell was allowed to display.
The Good Place
When The Good Place first premiered on NBC back in 2016, audiences were given plenty of surprises. The show centered around Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) as she enters a heaven-like utopia known as “The Good Place,” even though she’s not supposed to be there. By the time the first season ended with one of the best plot twists in television history, fans were hooked for good.
Since then, The Good Place has arguably been the best comedy on TV. Bell is fantastic as Shellstrop and watching the character grow over each season has been wonderful. She has extraordinary chemistry with fellow cast members Ted Danson, William Jackson Harper, and the rest of the crew. The show is set to end after four seasons, but if that final season is up to the quality of the three prior ones, it could end as the best work of Bell’s career.
Veronica Mars
There honestly could be no other choice. Veronica Mars is the role that made Kristen Bell into a household name. In it, she plays the titular private detective who looks into mysteries that sometimes spanned the course of an entire season. While the series never burst into a ratings phenomenon, it garnered a cult following of loyal fans.
That loyalty led to a Kickstarter funded feature-length film several years after the series was initially canceled. It also helped Veronica Mars get a revival on Hulu this year. A major reason why the show is so beloved is Bell’s incredible performance as Mars. When an actor leads a show that keep fans clamoring for more, they’re clearly doing something right.
