Who is Drake Bell? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Romeo G. Jara

Age: 37 Years, 37 Year Old Males

Family:

father: Joe Bell

mother: Robin Dodson

siblings: Joey Bell, Kellie Bell, Robert Bell, Travis Bell

Actors Musicians

Height: 5'9" (175 cm), 5'9" Males

U.S. State: California

City: Santa Ana, California

More Facts

education: Orange County School of the Arts

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Childhood & Early Life

Drake Bell was born in June 1986 in Newport Beach, California. His father, Robin Dodson, was a professional billiards player. He has three older brothers and one older sister, Kellie.

Drake had a comfortable childhood in an affluent family as his father was a world billiards champion and made good money.

Drake showed interest in movies from a young age. Observing his talent, Drake’s father helped him start a career in acting. Drake acted in a commercial at the age of just five. His first televised commercial was for ‘Whirlpool Home Appliances’.

After completing his school, Drake attended the Orange County High School of the Arts where he was trained in acting.

Apart from acting, Drake also showed interest in playing guitar. He started playing guitar at the age of just twelve. He became an expert guitar player after he took lessons from Roger Daltrey who co-starred with him in the 2001 film ‘Chasing Destiny’.

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Career

Drake Bell made his first appearance on television in the year 1994. He acted in one episode of the famous TV series ‘Home Improvement’.

He got the opportunity to act in a movie with the 1996 hit film ‘Jerry Maguire’. Drake also acted in an episode of the super hit TV series Seinfeld’s episode ‘The Frogger’ in the year 1998.

From 1999 to 2003, Drake continued to act in minor roles in movies, commercials and TV shows. He also featured as a performer in the live action comedy TV series ‘The Amanda Show’. However, all these roles did not bring much recognition to Drake.

In the year 2004, Drake got an opportunity of lifetime when he was cast as a lead actor in the spinoff to ‘The Amanda Show’ called ‘Drake & Josh’. The show boosted the image of Drake overnight since it was named after him.

Drake’s expertise in playing guitar helped in building his career. His ‘Found A Way’ was the theme song for ‘Drake & Josh’.

Drake continued to pursue his interest in music and released his first album ‘Telegraph’ with 12 tracks in the year 2005. Except one, all the tracks of the album were written by Drake. The album was a hit and ran out of print very soon after its release. It was re-released in the year 2007.

In the year 2006, Drake signed up with the recording company ‘Universal Motown Records’ for the release of his second album ‘It’s Only Time’. His second album was a bigger hit than the first one and reached 81st place on Billboard’s ‘Top 200’ list. Drake’s second album performed better in Mexico than in the USA and reached the fourth place in ‘Mexico Top 100’.

Drake’s live album ‘Drake Bell in Concert’ was released in the year 2008. The video did not do well in the US but stood at 81st position in the ‘Top 100 Mexican Album Charts’.

In the year 2012, Drake played the character ‘Shawn’ in the Nickelodeon’s TV film ‘Rags’.

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Drake’s third studio album was released in the year 2013, but it did not perform well.

Drake starred in an animated film ‘A Mouse Tale’, which was released directly on DVD in the year 2015.

Drake’s popularity in Mexico’s market continued to grow. In the year 2016, he did a concert tour in Mexico from February 5, 2016 to February 7, 2016. The tour was a big success and the tickets were sold out within minutes of opening for online sale.

His performance in the TV show ‘Drake & Josh’ continues to be the major work of his career.

Some of his songs from his albums like ‘Down We Fall’, ‘Found a Way’, and ‘Makes Me Happy’ were good hits.

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Awards & Achievements

In the year 2000, Drake was nominated for the Young Artist Award for his performance in the TV film ‘The Jack Bull’.

He won three ‘Blimp Awards’ in the ‘Favourite TV Actor’ category in a line at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.

One of the tracks in Drake’s debut album ‘Telegraph’ was performed in an episode of the hit TV series ‘Zoey 101’. This was considered by the critics to be a good recognition of Drake’s talent at an early stage of his career.

Personal Life & Legacy

Drake met with a major car accident in the year 2005 when his vehicle collided with another vehicle. His fractured his neck and broke his jaw at three places.

Despite a successful career, Drake has faced difficulties in his life. He filed for bankruptcy in California in early 2014 and his house was foreclosed. At the time of filing for bankruptcy, media reports stated that he was in debt for US$ 581,000.

Drake is an alcoholic and was repeatedly arrested for DUI (Driving Under influence). In the year 2016, his driving license was suspended for DUI and he was sentenced for 4 days in Jail.

Drake had inclination towards philanthropy from an early stage in his life. He made contributions to philanthropic organizations like ‘Toys for Tots’. Since 2009, he has supported a non-profit organization called ‘Thirst Project’ which worked for increasing access to clear drinking water.

Trivia

Other than just acting in TV shows and movies, Drake also lends his voice to characters in animated movies. He lent his voice to the main character in the Disney XD’s animated TV series ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’.

He is popularly known by his nickname, The Drakester, amongst the kids.

Drake Bell Biography