Her biggest memory from the set of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008) was playing football in the desert with 15 stunt performers dressed as mummies.
Her mother, a cancer survivor, was in New York with Maria during the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Because her mother was a nurse, she volunteered to help the victims.
She became good friends with Mariska Hargitay when she had a recurring role as Cynthia Hooper on ER (1994) between 1997 and 1998.
She works with "Save the Children," which feeds children in need.
She comes from a Polish and Italian family.
It was revealed that she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of twenty-eight.
I flirted with a waiter at a family birthday party. The waiter became her fiancé [July 26, 2008].
She practices Muay Thai (lethal) kickboxing.
She had always wanted to be an action hero, but two weeks before turning 40 she had given up on that dream because she thought there would be no action roles for a woman her age. However, Rob Cohen called her on her birthday and offered her a role in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008).
She is one of Carrie-Anne Moss's best friends. Maria is the godmother of Carrie-Anne's first son, and Carrie-Anne is the godmother of Maria's son Jack.
She lives in Venice, California with her 5-year-old son Jackson Blue. Jackson's father, Dan McDermott, lives a few blocks away.
She is one of Amy Brenneman's best friends.
She was a cheerleader at Archbishop John Carroll High School in a Philadelphia suburb.
In an article she wrote herself for The New York Times, she revealed that she had suffered from a life-threatening illness in the summer of 2012.
Maria and her boyfriend, TV executive Dan McDermott, welcomed their first child, Jackson Blue McDermott.
Her father, Joe Bello, was a contractor, and her mother, Kathy Bello, was a teacher and school nurse.
She was considered to play Jean Grey in X-Men (2000), but the role went to Famke Janssen.
In 2006 she was invited to join AMPAS.
She was a bridesmaid at Andrea Bendewald's wedding, where Jennifer Aniston was the maid of honor.
She has two brothers, Joseph and Christopher, and a sister named Lisa.