Angie Bell

Bell was born in Adelaide.[2] She attended Gawler High School, where she learned the tenor saxophone and came to the attention of jazz musician Don Burrows. She subsequently won a scholarship from Rotary International to study music in Denmark. When she returned to Australia she enrolled in the Elder Conservatorium of Music, studying jazz, saxophone, and voice.[3]

Prior to entering politics, Bell worked as a professional musician for 35 years.[3] She also worked as a sales agent across several Australian states before settling in Queensland in 2002, where she worked with the National Retail Association as a consultant and workplace trainer.[2] From 2010 she worked for Paint Place as visual merchandising manager (2010–2015) and national business development manager (2015–2018). Bell attended Griffith University as a mature-age student, completing a graduate certificate in marketing. In 2014 she wrote a book on rebranding and marketing for small businesses.[2][3]

Bell joined the Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) at the age of 45.[3] She served as president of LNP Women Queensland from 2017 to 2019.[2]

In April 2019, Bell won LNP preselection for the Division of Moncrieff, replacing the retiring MP Steven Ciobo. According to The Australian, she defeated eight other candidates in an "upset victory".[4] She retained Moncrieff for the Liberals at the 2019 federal election, with a small positive swing to the party.[5]

Bell is in a long-term relationship with her partner Ros, who has four adult children.[3] She is the first openly gay woman to represent a major party in the House of Representatives, the second overall after independent Kerryn Phelps, and the fifth gay woman in federal parliament.[6]