Moira Kelly was born in
Queens
,
New York
on March 6, 1968. She is the daughter of a trained concert violinist, Peter, and a nurse, Anne, who are Irish immigrants. Kelly is the third of six children and was raised in
Ronkonkoma, New York
. She was brought up as a Catholic.
[1]
Kelly attended
Connetquot Senior High School
in
Bohemia, Long Island
, graduating in the class of 1986. Later, she attended
Marymount Manhattan College
.
[2]
In her youth, Kelly was cast in a small role in her high school's 1984 production of
Annie
. Due to illness, the girl playing Miss Hannigan was replaced, causing a series of cast changes leading to her choice of career. A devout Catholic, Kelly had to decide between acting and her childhood ambition of becoming a
nun
.
[3]
Kelly made her professional acting debut in the fact-based made-for-TV movie
Love, Lies and Murder
, playing teenager Cinnamon Brown, who was coerced by her father into killing his wife and her stepmother, Linda Brown. She was originally going to have a starring role as
Polly Pry
in
Trey Parker
and
Matt Stone
's
Cannibal! The Musical
, but Kelly was convinced not to do so by her agent out of concerns it could potentially ruin her career, and was ultimately replaced with
Toddy Walters
, though she was still credited in the end credits under her initials "M.K." as "the Dropout".
[4]
She went on to have small roles in the films
The Boy Who Cried Bitch
,
Hi-Life
, and
Billy Bathgate
before being cast as
Donna Hayward
in
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
. For that film, she went home and got permission from her priest because of an explicit sex scene.
[3]
In the same year, she starred opposite
D. B. Sweeney
in the romantic comedy
The Cutting Edge
and played two roles opposite
Robert Downey Jr.
in
Chaplin
. According to a
TV Guide
interview, before taking on her role in
Daybreak
, Kelly once again asked her priest for advice: "Being a Catholic, I wondered if it would be against my religion to play a girl who has premarital sex." The priest told her "it was okay, as long as my artistic intentions were true and I wasn't doing it for the notoriety or the money."
[5]
She has since appeared in the films
With Honors
,
Little Odessa
,
The Tie That Binds
, and
Dangerous Beauty
, amongst others, and provided the adult voice of
Nala
in
Disney
's
The Lion King
,
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
, and
The Lion King 1½
. In her independent film career, Kelly had the starring role of activist
Dorothy Day
in
Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story
and starred alongside
Glenn Close
in
The Safety of Objects
. She played
Helen Keller
in the made-for-TV movie
Monday After the Miracle
, which broadcast on November 15, 1998, on
CBS
.
Kelly starred in the CBS drama
To Have & to Hold
opposite
Jason Beghe
before playing
Mandy Hampton
in the first season of
The West Wing
. In 2003, Kelly began playing single mother
Karen Roe
on the teen drama
One Tree Hill
. She also directed two episodes of the series: "Resolve" (2007) and "I Slept with Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me" (2006).
[
citation needed
]
In the fifth season, she ceased to be a regular cast member, but made guest appearances in the 100th episode and the sixth-season finale. She has made guest appearances in television shows such as
Heroes
,
Law & Order
, and
Numb3rs
. Kelly has also appeared in the films
Remember the Daze
,
A Smile as Big as the Moon
,
Taken Back: Finding Haley
, and
Girl in the Bunker
.
On August 5, 2000, Kelly married Steve Hewitt, a Texas businessman. They have two children, a daughter Ella and a son Eamon.
[6]
Kelly previously maintained a residence in
Wilmington, North Carolina
, for eleven years.
[7]
Year
|
Title
|
Notes
|
2006-07
|
One Tree Hill
|
Television series; 2 episodes
|
- ^
Giles, Jeff (1993-01-03).
"Moira Kelly; Playing Two Roles in 'Chaplin' While Dreaming of Joan of Arc"
.
The New York Times
.
Archived
from the original on 2016-03-04
. Retrieved
2010-05-20
.
She is an ardent Roman Catholic...
- ^
Giles, Jeff (January 3, 1993).
"UP AND COMING: Moira Kelly; Playing Two Roles in 'Chaplin' While Dreaming of Joan of Arc"
.
New York Times
.
Archived
from the original on 7 June 2019
. Retrieved
7 June
2019
.
- ^
a
b
Buchanan, Jason.
"Moira Kelly > Biography"
.
Allmovie
.
Rovi Corporation
.
Archived
from the original on 2019-12-14
. Retrieved
2010-01-08
.
- ^
"Chapter 5 - Moira, Moira, Moira",
The Making of Cannibal! The Musical, by Jason McHugh
Archived
2019-08-05 at the
Wayback Machine
Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^
"A Message from Marrs".
Archived
2009-10-22 at the
Wayback Machine
This Rock
. February 1993.
- ^
"Moira Kelly"
.
Archived
from the original on 2013-03-27
. Retrieved
2013-07-10
.
- ^
Ingram, Hunter (15 July 2019).
"
'The Lion King's' original voice of Nala bows down to Beyonce"
.
Jacksonville Daily News
.
Archived
from the original on 10 August 2019
. Retrieved
9 August
2019
.
- ^
"
'The Cutting Edge' at 30: D.B. Sweeney talks toe picks, the Pamchenko and how the figure skating rom-com changed his life"
.
www.yahoo.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-01-27
. Retrieved
2023-01-27
.
- ^
"Why The Cutting Edge still holds a gold medal in movie history"
.
fansided.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-01-27
. Retrieved
2023-01-27
.
- ^
"
'Twin Peaks': Where's Donna? Lara Flynn Boyle's Odd History With the Show"
.
www.thewrap.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2020-06-27
. Retrieved
2023-01-27
.
- ^
"Brendan Fraser's 7 best roles before his Oscar-nominated turn in 'The Whale'
"
.
www.wral.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-01-27
. Retrieved
2023-01-27
.
- ^
"Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story"
.
variety.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-01-27
. Retrieved
2023-01-27
.
- ^
"15 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE WEST WING"
.
www.empireonline.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-01-27
. Retrieved
2023-01-27
.
- ^
"Hilarie Burton says 'One Tree Hill' costar Moira Kelly 'saved my life' by telling her to 'run' from the toxic set"
.
www.insider.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-07-03
. Retrieved
2023-01-27
.
- ^
"Drop Dead Diva Review: The Last Hurrah"
.
www.tvfanatic.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-01-27
. Retrieved
2023-01-27
.
- ^
"Who plays Melanie Cortez in Panic? ? Moira Kelly"
.
www.popbuzz.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-01-27
. Retrieved
2023-01-27
.