8:39 PM
john rey
We first fell in love with Minka Kelly when she was shaking her pompons with Panther pride as head cheerleader Lyla Garrity on the epically underrated series Friday Night Lights. Kelly’s character has since graduated, but unfortunately her career has not. With all the tools of a leading lady (charisma, sex appeal and acting chops), Kelly has been stuck in Hollywood’s version of purgatory; a string of guest roles on mediocre shows, and an inability to transition to the big screen. With the 30-year-old’s window of opportunity dwindling fast, Esquire magazine decided to name Kelly its coveted “Sexiest Woman Alive,” a title that was previously awarded to more established actresses like Scarlett Johansson and Angelina Jolie. Could this be the career CPR Kelly has been looking for, or was it just an excuse for the folks at Esquire to get Derek Jeter’s girlfriend in her underwear? Either way, we win.
Minka Kelly Quote
" It blows my mind that anyone could be unkind to anyone. The guy clearing our plates is a person. I don't care if you're sweeping the floor. I don't care if you're cleaning my toilet."
90 SEX APPEAL
There’s no denying that Minka Kelly is sexy. She’s like, five-alarm sexy. Minka Kelly is so sexy she’s zexy. From her days as quarterback-kissing Lyla Garrity on Friday Night Lights, to her brief appearance as a light at the end of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s tunnel in the indie smash (500) Days of Summer, Kelly has been igniting school boy crushes in men of all ages (go on, ask your dad). But much like her character in FNL, Kelly only goes for star athletes, in this case Derek Jeter, who she’s been dating since 2008. We wonder how the notoriously private Yankee feels about his girlfriend appearing on the cover of Esquire -- bare midriff and all -- as their most recent “Sexiest Woman Alive.” Tell you what, Derek: Give us one of your World Series rings and we promise not to look. Maybe.
65 SUCCESS
Minka Kelly’s career got off to a promising start when she landed a lead role in Peter Berg’s small screen adaptation of his big screen hit Friday Night Lights. The aspiring nurse and struggling actress suddenly found herself part of a young, talented, smoldering ensemble on a critically acclaimed show that no one watched.
After she left the show, Kelly’s career never picked up the steam that many had predicted, and save for bit parts in films like The Kingdom, (500) Days of Summer and the NBC series Parenthood, Kelly was almost as well known for being Derek Jeter’s girlfriend as she was for her acting career. Then, like an angel sent from heaven, Esquire magazine decided to name Kelly its “Sexiest Woman Alive” providing the actress with a flurry of press and name recognition along the way. With past cover girls that include Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson and Kate Beckinsale, as well as her first big screen leading role in the thriller The Roommate, Minka Kelly’s road to superstardom just got a bit shorter. Did we mention she's also playing Eve French in the upcoming TV series Charlie's Angels?
MINKA KELLY BIOGRAPHY
As Lyla Garrity on Friday Night Lights, Minka Kelly was a picture of perfection: head cheerleader, dating the high school quarterback, born again Christian, and eventual college student. It was hard to believe that Kelly’s own upbringing didn’t somehow mirror her coming of age on the show. Well, not quite.
Kelly was born out of wedlock; her mother was an exotic dancer in Vegas and her father a sometime guitarist for Aerosmith. Kelly was raised by her mother in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and her childhood was, in her own words, “pretty rough” (Stinka Smelly rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it?). But with the support of her mother -- with whom she was close -- Kelly graduated high school and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in show business.
Minka Kelly Says No To A Career In Modeling
During a model casting, Minka Kelly was approached by a former Playmate, who offered to manage the young ingenue. The plan was to have Kelly work as a receptionist at a plastic surgeon’s office until she earned herself a pair of fake breasts, making her a shoo-in for Playboy’s Playmate of the Year honors. The only problem was that Kelly liked the way she looked, and canceled the surgery days before it was scheduled. Instead, she decided to pursue a career in nursing, and save for a few small roles on some bargain-bin television shows, Kelly seemed destined for a life of changing diapers and bedsheets.
Minka Kelly Stars On Friday Night Lights
In an industry that fetishizes youth, a 26-year-old Minka Kelly was already over-the-hill when she was cast as head cheerleader Lyla Garrity in NBC’s football drama Friday Night Lights, especially since she was charged with the task of playing a high school student. But play her she did, with as much conviction, poise and heart as some of Hollywood’s most seasoned actresses. Even The New York Times called the young actress’ performance “heartbreaking.”
When Kelly left the show after four seasons, she had all the momentum of most young actresses coming off hit shows, except that she was already pushing 30, and the offers weren’t coming in. Bit parts opposite Jamie Foxx in The Kingdom and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in (500) Days of Summer proved that Kelly was equipped with the tools to command the big screen, but the offers just weren’t coming.
Minka Kelly Is Named Esquire’s Sexiest Woman Alive
Past winners of Esquire’s “Sexiest Woman Alive” have starred in films like Match Point, Monster’s Ball and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. They’ve worked with directors like Woody Allen, Oliver Stone and Paul Haggis. They’ve been nominated for and won Oscars. This year’s winner has appeared in episodes of American Dreams, What I Like About You and Parenthood. Her current claim to fame is her relationship with one of the winningest baseball players of all time, Derek Jeter. OK, so maybe we’re being a little hard on Minka Kelly. Her figure is near perfect and her face is liable to start wars, but isn’t she just a more syrupy version of another brunette whose name rhymes with Fegan Mox?
Perhaps her selection was Esquire’s way of “thinking outside the box” or maybe no A-list actress was willing to appear on the cover, for fear that it might forever relegate them to that dreaded “sexpot” category, vanquishing all aspirations of a serious acting career (even Angelina Jolie has trouble playing anything other than a seductress). Whatever the case may be, we’re sure Minka Kelly isn’t complaining.
Minka Kelly On Charlie's Angels
The best reason to look forward to fall TV? Minka Kelly will star as Eve French on Charlie's Angels.
