Bella Jarrett

Bella Jarrett (February 9, 1926 – October 19, 2007) was an American stage, television, and film actress as well as a novelist. Her acting credits include Broadway, Off-Broadway, television series, and films.

Early life Bella Jarrett was born on February 9, 1926, in Adairsville, Georgia. As a child, she decided to learn the hand alphabet that is used by deaf people because she was curious. She attended Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, earning a B.A in 1947 and M.F.A. in 1948. After graduating, she acted in community theater and had an advertising job in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1951 she married M. O. Thornburg, an employee of Atlanta's WAGA radio station.

Career Jarrett began acting in the 1950s with local theater groups in Atlanta, Houston, Boston, and Washington D.C. She had roles in the television series All My Children, The Doctors, and Another World. Her Broadway debut was in the 1970s. She was in multiple Broadway productions which include Once in a Lifetime and Lolita. Jarrett wrote four romance novels, two under the pen name Belle Thorne. Jarrett was part of the Bedside Network in which she read and performed for people who were chronically ill. She was also a member of Call for Action and Mensa International, She died on October 19, 2007, at her home in Greenwich Village.