Jean Bell

{{Short description|African-American model and actress}} {{Infobox Playboy Playmate  |image =  | caption = | imagesize = 150px | name = Jean Bell | issue = October 1969 | birth_name = Annie Lee Morgan | birth_place = [[St. Louis, Missouri]], U.S. | birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1944|11|23}} | death_date = | death_place = | height = {{height|ft=5|in=4}} | preceded = [[Shay Knuth]] | succeeded = [[Claudia Jennings]] | website = }}

'''Jean Bell''' (born '''Annie Lee Morgan''' on November 23, 1944), also known as '''Annie Judis''', is a former ''[[Playboy]]'' [[Playboy Playmate|Playmate of the Month]], and one of the first African American women to feature in this role. She later had a career as an actress in movies, most prominently in ''[[TNT Jackson]]'', in which she played the title character, and supporting roles in ''[[Mean Streets]]'' and ''[[The Klansman]]'', as well as occasional TV appearances. She is now a fitness influencer, with over 100,000 followers on instagram.

==Biography== Bell grew up in [[Houston, Texas]], along with three younger sisters and attended [[Texas Southern University]], majoring in business administration. Jean was the first [[African American]] woman to participate in the Miss Texas Pageant, which is part of the [[Miss Universe]] competition. She aspired to professional bowling or acting.<ref name=PlayBoyOnline>{{cite web|url=http://www.playboy.com/jean-bell|title=MISS OCTOBER 1969:JEAN BELL|website=www.playboy.com|publisher=Playboy|access-date=2015-11-01|quote=I would love to bowl in a professional tournament or pursue a career in acting.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323060342/http://www.playboy.com/jean-bell|archive-date=2018-03-23|url-status=dead}}</ref>

When she appeared in the October 1969 issue of ''Playboy'', Bell was only the second African-American woman to be the [[centerfold]] (the first being [[Jennifer Jackson (model)|Jennifer Jackson]], in March 1965). Her centerfold was photographed by Don Klumpp. A few months later, Bell became the first black person to grace the magazine cover. [[Darine Stern]], who is often erroneously credited with this distinction, was actually the first black woman to appear alone on the cover of ''Playboy'', in the October 1971 issue. Bell was featured with four other playmates on the January 1970 cover.

After Bell's appearance in ''Playboy'', she enjoyed a brief acting career, working on such films as ''[[Mean Streets]]'' and ''[[The Klansman]]'' (for some roles she was credited as '''Jeanne Bell'''). Her most popular role was the title character in 1975's ''[[TNT Jackson]]''.

Bell dated [[Richard Burton]] and helped him quit drinking, thus being credited with reuniting him afterwards with [[Elizabeth Taylor]]. An [[Earl Wilson (columnist)|Earl Wilson]] column in September 1975 revealed Bell's three-month friendship with the actor. She visited Burton at his villa in [[Céligny, Switzerland]], during her effort to help him "dry out". With his assistance Bell acquired a place of her own in [[Geneva, Switzerland]]. Around that time, Bell worked at Splendors Gentlemen's Club in Houston as "Bunny". <ref> {{cite news |author=Earl Wilson |publisher=Syracuse Herald-Journal |date=1975-09-01 |title=Earl Wilson Says |page=18}}</ref>

Bell posed nude again for ''Playboy'' in the December 1979 pictorial "Playmates Forever!", and subsequently disappeared from public life.

In 1986 she married Gary Judis, then-Chairman of the Board of the California Independent Mortgage Brokers Association, after an eight-year courtship.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=3rADAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22gary+judis%22&pg=PA54 Actress Jeannie Bell, Multi-Millionaire Wed], [[Jet (magazine)|Jet]], November 24, 1986, p. 54</ref> They were married for 44 years until he died in 2022.<ref>[https://lasentinel.net/blaxploitation-legend-wins-another-guinness-world-record-at-79.html Blaxploitation Legend Wins Another Guinness World Record at 79], [[LA Sentinel (newspaper)| LA Sentinel]], November 24, 2022</ref>

Now known as Annie Judis, she still regularly works out at the gym and is a strong advocate for a healthy active life style at any age. On Feb. 23, 2019, she was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the World's Oldest Competitive Rope Skipper at the age of 75<ref>[https://lasentinel.net/multi-talented-jean-bell-judis-still-blazing-trails-at-76.html Multi-talented Jean Bell Judis Still Blazing Trails at 76], [[LA Sentinel (newspaper)| LA Sentinel]], January 23, 2020</ref> and has since broken that record multiple times.<ref>[https://thenewbev.com/blog/2022/02/jean-bell-speaks/ JEAN BELL SPEAKS!], [[New Beverly Cinema]] blog, February 4, 2022</ref><ref>[https://lasentinel.net/blaxploitation-legend-wins-another-guinness-world-record-at-79.html Blaxploitation Legend Wins Another Guinness World Record at 79], [[LA Sentinel (newspaper)| LA Sentinel]], November 24, 2022</ref> She also paints and has designed illustrations for children's books by Cal Wilson.<ref>[https://lasentinel.net/multi-talented-jean-bell-judis-still-blazing-trails-at-76.html Multi-talented Jean Bell Judis Still Blazing Trails at 76], [[LA Sentinel (newspaper)| LA Sentinel]], January 23, 2020</ref> She is considered a fitness influencer, and has over 100,000 followers on instagram. She set another world record in November 2024 by holding a dead hang position for two minutes at age 81.<ref>[https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2025/1/81-year-old-fitness-influencer-back-in-records-book-for-oldest-to-hold-dead-hang-position 81-year-old fitness influencer back in records book for oldest to hold dead hang position], Guinness World Records, 30 January 2025</ref>

== Film and television work ==

===Films=== * ''[[The Choirboys (film)|The Choirboys]]'' (1977) .... Fanny Forbes * ''[[Casanova & Co.]]'' (1977) .... Fatme * ''[[The Muthers]]'' (1976) .... Kelly * ''Disco 9000'' (1976) (as Jeanie Bell) .... Karen * ''[[TNT Jackson]]'' (1975) .... Diana "TNT" Jackson * ''[[Policewomen (film)|Policewomen]]'' (1974) .... Pam Harris * ''[[The Klansman]]'' (1974) .... Mary Anne * ''Negro es un bello color'' (1974) .... Joyce * ''[[Three the Hard Way (film)|Three the Hard Way]]'' (1974) .... Polly * ''[[Mean Streets]]'' (1973) .... Diane * ''[[Black Gunn]]'' (1972) .... Lisa * ''[[Trouble Man (1972 film)|Trouble Man]]'' (1972) .... Leona * ''[[Melinda (film)|Melinda]]'' (1972) .... Jean

===Television=== * ''[[Starsky and Hutch]]'' - "Starsky and Hutch Are Guilty" (1977) .... Kate * ''[[Baretta]]'' - "Carla" (1977) .... Midge * ''[[Kolchak: The Night Stalker]]'' - "Primal Scream" (1975) .... Rosetta Mason * ''[[That's My Mama]]'' - "Clifton's Big Move" (1974) .... Ginger * ''[[Police Woman (TV series)|Police Woman]]'' - "Seven-Eleven" (1974) .... Marie * ''[[Sanford and Son]]'' - "Lamont, Is That You?" (1973) .... Judy Ann * ''[[The Beverly Hillbillies]]'' ** "Hotel for Women" (1970) .... Sugar Jean Bell ** "Three-Day Reprieve" (1970) .... Sugar Jean Bell ** "Shorty Spits the Hook" (1970) .... Sugar Jean Bell ** "Marry Me, Shorty" (1970) .... Sugar Jean Bell

==Trivia== In [[Quentin Tarantino]]'s ''[[Kill Bill]]'' movies, [[Vivica A. Fox]]'s character uses the [[Pseudonym|alias]] "Jeannie Bell", a reference to Jean Bell.

==See also== * [[List of people in Playboy 1960–1969]]

==References== {{reflist}}

== External links == * {{playmate|jean-bell|Jean Bell}} * {{IMDb name|id=0068270|name=Jean Bell}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Jean}} [[Category:1944 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Actresses from St. Louis]] [[Category:Models from St. Louis]] [[Category:American film actresses]] [[Category:1960s Playboy Playmates]] [[Category:African-American Playboy Playmates]] [[Category:African-American female models]] [[Category:African-American actresses]] [[Category:21st-century African-American people]] [[Category:21st-century African-American women]] [[Category:20th-century African-American people]] [[Category:20th-century African-American women]]