But even her admirers wonder whether she can prevail over a billion-dollar worldwide celebrity media machine bolstered, at least in the USA, by a free press under the Bill of Rights.
"Good for them, " says Howard Bragman, veteran PR maestro and vice chairman of Reputation.com. "But I have some severe doubts about what they'll actually accomplish. They have a handful of important media on their side, but not the vast majority."
Still, celebrities have won some initial rounds. They've persuaded California lawmakers to pass another anti-paparazzi law, which took effect in January. This one makes it a crime, punishable by a year in jail and a $10,000 fine, for anyone to harass a celebrity's child to take a picture, even in a public place.
Two more laws are in the pipeline; two others are already on the books, and though one of those was thrown out at the trial court level, it's now on appeal.
Opponents in media contend these laws are unconstitutionally broad, and they promise to fight them in court once someone is arrested and charged. Their fear is that legitimate news-gatherers will be swept up by the law, says Gregg Leslie, legal defense director for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
In August, Jennifer Garner and Halle Berry showed up in Sacramento and tearfully described how paparazzi had stalked, shouted at, provoked and chased their children in public to get pictures.
"(Lawmakers) don't have a strong argument other than the fact that their celebrity constituents want this," says Mickey Osterreicher, general counsel of the National Press Photographers Association. "(Celebrities) want their cake and eat it, too. They want free publicity, and they want to be left alone when they're out in public, and the rest of the world doesn't have that choice."
Bell and Shepard are attacking the other end of the celebrity gossip food chain: publishers, editors and ultimately consumers. They've attracted support from A-listtargets such as Jennifer Aniston, Bradley Cooper, Ellen DeGeneres, Amy Poehler,Ben Affleck (Garner's husband), Amy Adams and Scarlett Johansson.
Last month, Bell and Shepard started a campaign on Twitter demanding all media pledge allegiance to their #NoKidsPolicy, promising not to publish photographs of celebs' children without their parents' permission.
"Parents sign a permission slip for their child to be photographed at their school. I don't see this as any different," Bell says.
