Lee Phillip Bell

Lee Phillip Bell is a former talk show host and soap opera creator.

Lee Phillip Bell is one of the most notable graduates from what is now known as Riverside-Brookfield High School in Riverside, Illinois. Ms. Bell received a degree in microbiology from Northwestern University. While she worked part time in her family floral shop she accompanied her brother to the local television station where he worked on a local talk show demonstrating flower arrangement. After a time she took over this job from him and pursued other positions at the station (WBBM-TV Chicago) before being given her own show The Lee Phillip Show. This show is notable in that it was the first to show an on air self breast examination. The Lee Phillip Show was also shown in other cities in the early 1960s, usually (but not always) by CBS network affiliates. She was a popular host and received 16 local Emmy Awards, her show ran from 1952 to 1986. Also during the 1950s she hosted as Saturday morning children's program on WBBM-TV titled Lee Phillip's Friendship Show and co-hosted a WBBM Radio weekday afternoon show with Paul Gibson titled The Lady & The Tiger.

She married William J. Bell in 1954, which lasted until his death in 2005. During the early days of their marriage he was writing soap operas like Guiding Light, As the World Turns and Another World with Irna Phillips. Lee would learn about important issues via her television show and pass them along to her husband who in turn weaved them into his storylines.

Along with her husband she co-created the popular CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless in 1973 and its sister show The Bold and the Beautiful in 1987. She also served as executive producer of The Bold and the Beautiful in the 1980s. She won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1975 for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series for Y&R.

In 1977 she was the first woman to receive the Governor's Award from the Chicago chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

She is the mother of William J. Bell, Jr., Lauralee Bell and Bradley Bell and mother-in-law of Maria Arena Bell who are all involved in her soap operas and has 6 grandchildren. Her brother Russ Phillips is the owner of Phillips Flowers & Gifts, one of Chicago's premiere florists.

She and her husband lived in Beverly Hills in a house formerly owned by aviation mogul Howard Hughes and also Cary Grant.

In 2007 Bell was awarded a Daytime Emmy for Lifetime Achievement for her contributions to daytime television.