Kristen Bell is a famous actress, and she’s recently started training Jiu-Jitsu in classes alongside her daughter and under the guidance of Cesalina Gracie. Bell is perhaps best known for her starring roles on The Good Place and Veronica Mars, or from any one of the dozens of films she’s been in throughout her career. As far as children are concerned, Bell is probably more well-known as the voice of Elsa from Frozen. Now she’s joined the ranks of celebrity BJJ enthusiasts, and she’s in incredibly good company like purple belt Mario Lopez and frequent competitor Tom Hardy.
Kristen Bell revealed that she had started training Jiu-Jitsu with her daughter in a recent interview with Real Simple:
“I started taking mother-daughter Jiu-Jitsu classes last year with Cesalina Gracie, our trainer, who is the closest physical representation to Wonder Woman you’ve ever seen. I could break your arm.”
The instructor she’s referring to, Cesalina, is a member of the Gracie family, and the granddaughter of Carlos Gracie Senior. Her mother was Carlos Senior’s daughter, Karla Gracie. It’s pretty safe to say then that Bell is in good hands as she starts to learn the sport. She even explained what happened in her first few lessons and how the sport was explained to her:
“Jiu-Jitsu is all about leverage—it’s about using connection and distance. And doing it with my daughter brought us closer together. The first two classes were about using your voice, because if no one can hear you, you’ll never get any of your wants, hopes, or dreams. You have the right to take up the space that you take up, and to properly communicate with someone—to say yes or no.”
Kristen Bell hasn’t just started opened up about her training Jiu-Jitsu though and much like other celebrity BJJ enthusiasts like Russel Brand, she’s also explained the benefits that the sport has provided for both her and her daughter:
“Yeah, it’s been a ton of growth for both me and my daughter, who was struggling socially before we started, and has come so far and is doing things that just make my heart explode. She stopped a fight on the yard at her school! It’s kind of phenomenal.”
