Biography
When she appeared in the October 1969 issue of Playboy, Bell was only the second African American woman to grace the centerfold (the first was Jennifer Jackson, in March 1965). Her centerfold was photographed by Don Klumpp. A few months later, Bell became the first black person to appear on the magazine's cover. Darine Stern, who is often erroneously credited with this distinction was actually the first black woman to appear on the cover of Playboy on her own in the October 1971 issue. Bell was featured with four other playmates in the January 1970 cover of the magazine.
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 notable role was the title character in 1975's T.N.T. Jackson.
Bell dated Richard Burton and helped him quit drinking and as a result was credited with getting him back together with Elizabeth Taylor afterwards. An 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.
Bell posed nude again for Playboy in the December 1979 pictorial "Playmates Forever!"
Read more about this topic: Jean Bell
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