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Kelly entered the modeling scene fresh from school with Elite Toronto and Vogue Models & Talent (Hamilton, Toronto). 2000, a "modeling venture gone awry" took her to Asia. She shifted her focus from the fashion market in Osaka, Japan, to ESL in Daegu, South Korea, where she began teaching English. A year later, she returned to Canada to finish grad school, but the travel bug bit again quickly. In 2002, Kelly resumed her creative career in Seoul, South Korea, first as a model and later as a voice and on-camera performer. 

 

The following years abroad afforded Kelly opportunities in various professional fields, including casting, PR, performance, education, animal welfare, event management, journalism, and entrepreneurship. To read an article profiling Kelly as a prominent woman in Korean entertainment, aptly titled "Finding the Joy in Work," click here.

 

As a fashion model, Kelly toed the line between 'commercial and edgy,’

often described as 'overly theatrical.' She transitioned into

acting, beginning with voiceover work and then on-camera commercial work. While in Seoul, Kelly was fortunate to engage in multiple roles surrounding production: English Broadcasting Station (EBS) hired her as a writer and show trainee in addition to her acting work on the ESL program "Actual English," and she had the rare opportunity to co-create and star in the popular ESL franchise "Full Sentence English" at JEI TV.  

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Kelly's first foray into live TV saw her portraying a comical "awkward plain Jane" host on the health and exercise-focused segment "Move it!" - part of Arirang's "KoreaToday" prime-time English morning show. Of her broadcasting work, Kelly's collaboration with  EBS Radio is uniquely dear to her: "Sunday Story-time with Kelly" was a light-hearted and family-focused radio show in the wake of the 2014 Sewol disaster - a tragedy that claimed the lives of 326 people, many of whom were children. She regularly hosted televised segments for Korean media giants Arirang (world affairs) and EBS News, embracing the challenges of live TV and sharpening her interviewing skills. 

 

On the audio side, Kelly was blessed with daily work in professional sound studios, typically averaging 8 hours a day thanks to Seoul's blossoming ESL content industry. In addition to ESL, she enjoyed voiceover roles in commercials, games, films, documentaries, and several award-winning animations - including one special effects film that debuted at Cannes Film Festival 2018 (shown in English), titled "Follow the White Rabbit". Despite her late start in professional singing, she became known for her "natural resonance" when performing children's character voices. Working with her partner Lucian, Kelly regularly co-wrote and produced children's songs in her home studio.

 

Regardless of her location, Kelly remains a dedicated activist and advocate for the ethical treatment of Seoul's entertainers. In 2013, Kelly founded Expat Entertainers Korea (EEROK), a private Facebook group recognized as Seoul’s most critical online community for protecting and educating expat artists. Over the past few years, she and her colleagues have received significant media coverage for their success in exposing the need for political reform in the Korean entertainment industry. 

 

Press kit available upon request.