Hollywood star now 'lives and breathes' Arsenal after becoming Gunners fan

Martin Macdonald

• 2 Apr 2026 10:30 CDT
• 2 min read

News

Arsenal already has its fair share of A-list celebrity fans as the likes of Colin Firth, Idris Elba, Daniel Kaluuya, Robert Pattinson, Anne Hathaway and Lewis Hamilton have all previously confessed to a love for the Gunners.

Jamie Bell is doing his best to spread Arsenal fandom, too, as he has forced his passion onto his fellow Hollywood actor wife, Kate Mara, who hails from New York City.

The pair met while on the set of Fantastic Four and have been married since 2017. They have two children.

Bell has been an Arsenal fan since his youth and Mara says she now 'lives and breathes' the club due to her husband's influence.

“Jamie lives and breathes the New York Giants – and me and the kids, whether we like it or not, live and breathe Arsenal,” she told The Independent.

“I feel like the English football season never ends!”

Mara's family have been involved in sports for decades. her father and his siblings own the New York Giants, while her mother’s side of the family owns the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“I support both teams...” she confesses.

How Bell became an Arsenal fan

Bell previously told The Guardian that his love for Arsenal came from a simple act of his mum picking a jersey for him when he was a young boy.

"I had no idea about football when I was dancing," he said.

"So I asked this kid if I could borrow his Premier League sticker albums, and I learned every page, every player. I couldn't watch the games because we didn't have Sky, so that book was like the Bible. And then I had to pick a team.

"So I thought the easiest way was to just wear a jersey, and that's who you support, no questions asked. So my mum picked me one of those old Arsenal away shirts, really hideous yellow. But she liked it. She could have picked a red one and I'd be a Man United fan."

Arsenal are hoping to win their first Premier League title in over two decades in 2025/26 and they are currently nine points clear of Manchester City in second, with the latter having a game in hand.

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