How Martha Stewart Helped Make Arielle Kebbel's “Marshals ”Role Feel Like 'Kismet' (Exclusive)

Julia MooreSun, May 24, 2026 at 11:00 AM UTC

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Arielle Kebbel as Belle in 'Marshals'; Martha Stewart attends the NYC premiere of 'Dutton Ranch'
Credit: Saunders/CBS; Michael Loccisano/Getty -

When Arielle Kebbel got the description for her Marshals character, Belle, and saw it included Martha Stewart, she knew she was right for the part

Kebbel tells PEOPLE why Stewart's inclusion in the description felt like "kismet," and reveals she's neighbors with the star

The season 1 finale of Marshals airs Sunday, May 24, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS

The rumors are true: Martha Stewart played a role in Arielle Kebbel joining Marshals.

Kebbel, 41, plays Belle in the CBS Yellowstone spinoff, one of Kayce Dutton's (Luke Grimes) Marshal teammates.

When she first got the character description for Belle, the role was described as "Martha Stewart in cowboy boots." It later changed slightly to specify that the cowboy boots were Ariats, which was actually even better in Kebbel's eyes.

"My first pair of boots ever were Ariats when I was like 5 years old because I was riding horses and horse showing. So I thought like, OK, I love a good cowboy boot, but now that it switched to Ariats, I love it even more because 5-year-old Arielle is like, 'Yes,'" she tells PEOPLE.

It felt like "kismet" that the role would align so closely with her own experiences.

"There was never a time where I ever thought I would get a character description that had her name in it," Kebbel says. "And then the second that it did, it was like, here's a show [in a universe] that I've wanted to be a part of for so long, and then the one character that's right for me, this is the description. It was one of those things where I couldn't help but smile."

Arielle Kebbel as Belle in 'Marshals'
Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS

There was also the fact that she unknowingly became neighbors with Stewart, 84, during the pandemic, when she moved to upstate New York.

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"When people started hanging out in the community again, and I realized she lived one street over from me, I was like, 'Wow, that's cool,'" Kebbel says. "She does so much for the community, and it was really inspiring to see. There's always events that she's doing to help the community, to support the community. There's no one like her."

All of those aspects also meant Kebbel "put extra pressure on myself" to make sure she got the role. "My manager, Steven, I think he deeply knew it too. He was kind of like, 'If she doesn't get this, I don't know what I'm going to do.'"

"It was a really sweet cherry on top to something that I had deeply wanted for a while," she says of Marshals. "Looking back, there were some really cool kind of magic signs from the universe along the way that this was in my zeitgeist. By the time I got to Fort Worth to test for [Belle], of course, I was nervous, but I had this greater sense of, OK, the universe has kind of set this up for me. I just have to go hit it out of the park."

Marshals has been an entirely new experience for Kebbel after more than two decades in the industry. "The truth is, in my entire career this is the first time that I'm experiencing this kind of response," she said. "I think I'm digesting it in real time, and it has yet to fully sink in."

"I'm used to working really hard and moving on to the next project and not really even thinking about what success looks or feels like. It's more just like, 'I worked really hard. I did that one. I had great experiences. Let me move on to the next.' Or, sometimes, not-great experiences. There's both."

Arielle Kebbel as Belle in 'Marshals'
Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS

"I think there's a piece in me that's a little scared, and I think, too, I am very grateful that the whirlwind around this show is happening now," Kebbel continued. "I started as a young little pup, and I'm not sure how I would've handled certain things back in the day. It's funny how the universe winks at you when you're ready."

The season 1 finale of Marshals airs Sunday, May 24, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

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