Nathalie Kelley is a Peruvian-born Australian actress, known for her role as Neela in the 2006 action film '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'', and for her roles in various television series including ''

Body of Proof ''Body of Proof'' is an American medical/ crime comedy-drama television series that ran on ABC from March 29, 2011, to May 28, 2013, and starred Dana Delany as medical examiner Dr. Megan Hunt. The series was created by Christopher Murphey an ...

'' (2011–2012), '' Unreal'' (2015), ''

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW on September 10, ...

'' (2016–2017), ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'' (2017–2018) and '' The Baker and the Beauty'' (2020).

Early life

Kelley was born in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

, Peru, to a Peruvian mother and an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

father. They moved to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

when she was three. From a young age, she dreamed about being an actress. She attended

North Sydney Girls High School , motto_translation = Towards Higher Things , established = , type = Government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school , gender = Girls , oversight = New South Wales Department of Education , principal = Megan Co ...

Career

In 2005, ''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcas ...

'' executive producers

Brad Kern Brad Kern is an American television producer and writer. He was the executive producer/showrunner of CBS TV procedural '' NCIS: New Orleans'' since midway through season two until the end of season four. Previously, he served as executive produce ...

Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923 June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer and occasional actor. His productions included the TV series ''Family'' (1976–1980), '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), '' The Love Boat'' (1977–198 ...

and E. Duke Vincent developed a one-hour pilot for

The WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...

titled ''Mermaid''. Kelley was cast as the series protagonist Nikki, a mermaid who is rescued by a young man when she washes ashore in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. The pilot was not picked up as a result of The WB and UPN merging into

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

; the resulting network passed on the show. In June 2006, Kelley received her breakout role as Neela in the film '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'', the third installment of ''

Fast & Furious ''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The franchise also includes short films, ...

'' franchise. In March 2008, Kelley appeared in the low-budget drama crime film '' Loaded'' alongside Jesse Metcalfe. In March 2011, Kelley had a small role in the retro comedy film '' Take Me Home Tonight'', which starred Topher Grace,

Anna Faris Anna Kay Faris (; born November 29, 1976) is an American actress. She rose to prominence for her work in comedic roles, particularly the lead part of Cindy Campbell in the ''Scary Movie'' film series (2000–2006). She has appeared in a number ...

and fellow Australian Teresa Palmer. The film was shot in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

in 2007 but its release was delayed by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

for unknown reasons. The following month, Kelley appeared as the protagonist in the low-budget horror film ''

Urban Explorer Urban exploration (often shortened as UE, urbex and sometimes known as roof and tunnel hacking) is the exploration of manmade structures, usually abandoned ruins or hidden components of the manmade environment. Photography and historical inter ...

'', which follows a group of four urban explorers who explore an underground world beneath metropolitan Berlin. In 2010, Kelley played the love interest in the music video for the Bruno Mars song " Just the Way You Are". In August 2011, Kelley signed on in a major recurring role in the second season of the ABC crime drama television series ''

''. Kelley appeared as Dani Alvarez in ten episodes and made her final appearance in the episode " Going Viral Part One". In 2012, Kelley played a vampire princess in the video clip "Luna Llena" from Puerto Rican reggaeton duo Baby Rasta & Gringo. In 2014, she won a regular role in the Lifetime series '' Unreal''. From 2016 to 2017, Kelley appeared as Sybil in the final season of

television series ''

''. Kelley starred as Cristal in the first season of The CW's ''Dynasty'' reboot, from 2017 to 2018. In 2020, she debuted in the lead role of Noa Hamilton in the ABC series '' The Baker and the Beauty''.

Personal life

Kelley used to date Zach Roerig, her co-star from ''The Vampire Diaries''. They separated in 2017. Kelley began dating Jordan "Jordy" Burrows in 2018. That April, she confirmed in an

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

post that they were engaged, and they married on 29 April 2018. They separated in 2020.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, Nathalie 21st-century Australian actresses Actresses from Sydney Australian film actresses Australian people of Argentine descent Australian people of Peruvian descent Living people People educated at North Sydney Girls High School People from Lima Peruvian emigrants to Australia Peruvian people of Argentine descent Year of birth missing (living people)