Moira Kelly
 |
This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. It includes attribution to IMDb, which may not be a reliable source for biographical information. Please help by adding additional, reliable sources for verification. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2009) |
| Moira Kelly | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 6, 1968 Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1991 – present |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Spouse | Steve Hewitt (2000–present) 2 children |
Moira Kelly (born March 6, 1968) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Kate Moseley in the 1992 film, The Cutting Edge, as well as single mother Karen Roe on the teen drama One Tree Hill and for voicing Nala in The Lion King.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Kelly was born in Queens, New York, the daughter of Irish immigrants. Her father, Peter, was trained as a concert violinist, and her mother, Anne, is a nurse. Kelly is the third of six children and was raised in Ronkonkoma. She was brought up Roman Catholic.[1] Kelly attended Connetquot Senior High School in Bohemia, Long Island, graduating in the class of 1986.[citation needed] Later she attended Marymount Manhattan College.[citation needed]
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 faithful Catholic, Kelly had to decide between acting and her childhood ambition of becoming a nun.[2]
[edit] Career
Kelly made her professional acting debut in the made-for-TV movie Love, Lies and Murder, playing a teenage murderer. She went on to have small roles in the films The Boy Who Cried Bitch 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.[2] 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."[3]
She has since appeared in the movies 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.[citation needed]
In 2007, Kelly appeared in the independent teen drama film Remember The Daze. In 2009, she joined the cast of Heroes, and will star in the epic dark comedy/mystery, City of Shoulders and Noses.
[edit] Personal life
In 2000, Moira Kelly married Steve Hewitt, a Texas businessman. They have two children, Ella and Eamon.[citation needed]
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | The Boy Who Cried Bitch | Jessica | |
| Love, Lies and Murder | Cinnamon | TV movie | |
| Billy Bathgate | Rebecca | ||
| 1992 | Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me | Donna Hayward | |
| The Cutting Edge | Kate Moseley | ||
| Chaplin | Hetty Kelly / Oona O'Neill | ||
| 1993 | Daybreak | Blue | TV movie |
| 1994 | The Lion King | Adult Nala | (voice) |
| With Honors | Courtney Blumenthal | ||
| 1995 | The Tie That Binds | Dana Clifton | |
| Little Odessa | Alla Shustervich | ||
| 1996 | Unhook the Stars | Ann Mary Margaret | |
| Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story | Dorothy Day | ||
| Changing Habits | Susan "Soosh" Teague | ||
| 1998 | To Have & to Hold | Annie Cornell | 13 episodes |
| Love Walked In | Vera | ||
| Hi-Life | Susan | ||
| The Lion King II: Simba's Pride | Adult Nala | (voice) | |
| Dangerous Beauty | Beatrice | ||
| Monday After the Miracle | Helen Keller | TV movie | |
| 1999–2000 | The West Wing | Mandy Hampton | 22 episodes |
| 1999 | Henry Hill | Cynthia | |
| Drive, She Said | Nadine Ship | ||
| 2002 | The Twilight Zone | Elizabeth Wicker | Episode: "Found and Lost" |
| Hack | Vanessa Griffin | Episode: "My Brother's Keeper" | |
| 2003 | The Safety of Objects | Susan Train | |
| 2003–2009 | One Tree Hill | Karen Roe | starring, 90 episodes |
| 2004 | The Lion King 1½ | Adult Nala | (voice) |
| 2006 | Two Tickets to Paradise | Kate | |
| 2007 | Remember The Daze | Mrs. Ford | alternate title: The Beautiful Ordinary |
| 2008 | Law & Order | Catherine Donovan | Episode: "Betrayal" |
| 2009 | Heroes | Abby Collins | Episode: "Chapter Three: Building 26" |
| 2010 | Numb3rs | Mary Paulson | Episode: "Growin' Up" |
| City of Shoulders and Noses | Mary Oliveri |
[edit] References
- ^ Giles, Jeff (1993-01-03). "Moira Kelly; Playing Two Roles in 'Chaplin' While Dreaming of Joan of Arc". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/03/movies/up-coming-moira-kelly-playing-two-roles-chaplin-while-dreaming-joan-arc.html?pagewanted=1. Retrieved 2010-05-20. "She is an ardent Roman Catholic..."
- ^ a b Buchanan, Jason. "Moira Kelly > Biography". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmovie.com/artist/moira-kelly-37546/bio. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
- ^ "A Message from Marrs". This Rock. February 1993.
[edit] External links
- Moira Kelly at the Internet Movie Database
- "The Lion Queen": An Interview with Moira Kelly by Aaron Wallace at UltimateDisney.com
- 1968 births
- Actors from New York City
- American film actors
- American people of Irish descent
- American Roman Catholics
- American television actors
- American voice actors
- Living people
- Marymount Manhattan College alumni
- Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- People from Queens
