Elijah Kelley (born August 1, 1986) is an American actor, singer, and dancer. He appeared in films such as '' 28 Days'' (2000), '' Take the Lead'' (2006), '' Hairspray'' (2007), '' Red Tails'' (2012), ''

Lee Daniels' The Butler ''The Butler'' (full title ''Lee Daniels' The Butler'') is a 2013 American historical drama film directed and co-produced by Lee Daniels and with a screenplay by Danny Strong. It is inspired by Wil Haygood's '' Washington Post'' article "A B ...

'' (2013), NBC's live-musical event '' The Wiz Live!'' (2015), as Ricky Bell in ''

The New Edition Story ''The New Edition Story'' is an American biographical three-part miniseries about the contemporary R&B, R&B group New Edition, from their rise to fame as a boy band from the Orchard Park Projects of Roxbury, Massachusetts, to becoming a successfu ...

'' (2017), and ''

Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

'' (2017).

Early life

Kelley was born and raised in LaGrange, Georgia. He attended Long Cane Middle School and

Troup County High School Troup County High School, originally called Troup County Comprehensive High School, is a public college-preparatory and tech-preparatory school located in LaGrange, Georgia, United States. It is a member of the Troup County Board of Education, an ...

, where he participated in the school's show choir for years. As a child, he starred in

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance bar, temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pembe ...

commercials and played a role in the film '' Mama Flora's Family''. He also performed in a church choir and gospel band with his family. His parents, determined to keep their son down to earth, went with him when he moved to

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 ...

after graduating from high school.

Career

In 2007, Kelley starred in the film adaptation of ''Hairspray''. Both his performance and the film received positive reviews. On December 2, 2011, Kelley sang "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the ...

" prior to the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Divisi ...

Championship Game at

Autzen Stadium Autzen Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in the northwest United States, in Eugene, Oregon. Located north of the University of Oregon campus, it is the home field of the Oregon Ducks of the Pac-12 Conference. Opened in 1967, the stadium h ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, ...

. In 2015, Kelley was cast in the role of the

Scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesle ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's production of '' The Wiz Live!'' He was cast as singer Ricky Bell for the 2017 BET Biography Miniseries ''

''. He was credited for his help in considering Luke James, who is a long time musical associate of his to audition for the producers of the miniseries to be cast as the bandmate

Johnny Gill Johnny Gill Jr. (born May 22, 1966) is an American singer and actor. He is the sixth and final member of the R&B/pop group New Edition and was also a member of the supergroup called LSG, with Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat. Gill has released e ...

. In 2017, Elijah was cast alongside Luke James as a recurring role for the 2nd season of

Lee Daniels Lee Daniels (born December 24, 1959) is an American film and television producer, director and screenwriter. His first producer credit was ''Monster's Ball'' (2001), for which Halle Berry won the Academy Award for Best Actress, making Daniels ...

musical drama ''

'' on FOX.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Soundtracks

*2007: ''Hairspray'' Soundtrack *2008: '' DisneyMania 6'' *2008: '' Sex and the City: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' Vol. 2

''Hairspray'' singles

*"Run and Tell That" *"Come So Far" *"Without Love" *"You Can't Stop the Beat"

''DisneyMania 6'' singles

*"He Lives in You"

''Semi-Pro''

*"Shining Star"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, Elijah 1986 births Living people African-American male actors American male film actors Male actors from Georgia (U.S. state) People from LaGrange, Georgia 20th-century American male actors American male child actors 21st-century American male actors American male television actors American male voice actors 21st-century African-American male singers