Transformation

Most actresses—even those with Hollywood-trim-and-tan bodies—would blanch at the suggestion of filming a nude or sex scene. But Golden Globe nominee Maria Bello embraces the subject. “I never had a problem with sex or nudity in my movies,” she has said. “Sex to me is the most natural thing in the world. Real sex is about real women with round bodies.” This sentiment is evident in some of the excruciatingly raw scenes she plays opposite Viggo Mortensen in her new movie, A History of Violence. But make no mistake: Bello is no schlub herself. Nearly 40, she’s got the cherubic face and lithe body of a woman half her age. And for someone who claims to never brush her hair or know a thing about makeup, she’s got a pretty high wow factor. Onscreen she’s played hard, gritty roles—the tough-talking nurse on TV’s ER, a junkie in Permanent Midnight and a hooker in the Mel Gibson vehicle Payback—but off she has a chameleonlike look that can change from pearls-and-cardigan sorority sister to rough-and-tumble street-chic chick. Her most anticipated look yet? The one she’ll have as she walks the red carpet at this year’s Golden Globes.

1999: Bello adds floral accents to her blond locks for the premiére of Payback.