A relatively fresh-to-screen face, Olwen Kelly sprung to the limelight following an unusual performance onscreen. The Irish star may not be one of the easily recognizable faces in the industry yet but her outstanding portrayal of a corpse in the 2016 horror flick The Autopsy of Jane Doe has undoubtedly established her as a star to watch out for. Kelly, who is also a yoga enthusiast, started her career as a model and while at it, she landed an acting role and has not slowed down in her diverse pursuits since then.
Although yet to claim an award for her acting prowess, she made a name for herself in the film industry just two years into acting and has continued to gain enormous media attention with her successful works in the entertainment industry.
Olwen Kelly First Came To The Limelight For Her Modeling Gigs
If Olwen’s academic records are anything to go by, it is safe to say she was not initially art-inclined while in school. For her tertiary education, the actress ironically studied Science at NUI Maynooth. But, right after college, Olwen Kelly relocated to London in 2012 in order to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.
Endowed with the looks, she first began as a model and signed under the Dublin Model agency. She recorded enviable feats as a model, appearing in several publications, as well as ads and campaigns for top industry brands like TK Maxx, Next, among others.
The Rising Star Ventured Into Acting After Appearing In A Film Commercial
After a few years in the modelling industry, Kelly caught the acting bug and made a switch to Hollywood. This happened after she came across an advertisement on Gumtree requesting for an actress to feature in a film commercial which was part of an application for funding and was organized by the Irish Film Board. Going through the ad description and believing she was best fit for the job despite not being an actress, Kelly took up the gig and luckily for her, the ad was successful in gaining funding.
As a result, she landed her first acting role in the 2014 dark horror film, Darkness on the Edge of Town, that was eventually picked by Netflix US and starred Brian Gleeson, Emma Eliza Regan and Emma Willis. Two years later, she followed it up with a feature on the small screen in the TV series Why Life Sucks When You’re in Your 20’s: It’s Contagious. After landing her break out role of a cadaver in The Autopsy of Jane Doe in 2016, Olwen Kelly appeared in Just Model Things in the next year.
More so, she starred as Jessica in The Winter Ridge, a British psychological thriller drama film that was released at the Hollywood Florida Film Festival in February 2018. It tells the story of a young detective who tracks down a serial killer targeting specifically the vulnerable and elderly whilst dealing with the personal tragedy of his wife being coma-ridden. In the same 2018, Olwen portrayed the character of Kristen in a sci-fi thriller short film titled Ascension.
Following her role in the movie, the actress had to undergo uncommon training as she learnt how to speak Russian, as well as swim underwater despite having a phobia for that. She is additionally among the cast of the upcoming drama film, The Obscure Life of the Grand Duke of Corsica which is slated for a release in 2021.
She Had Her Big Break With An Unorthodox Performance
It was in the year 2016 that Olwen Kelly got her first major breakthrough. The Irish actress garnered a lot of plaudits for her role as a cadaver in The Autopsy of Jane Doe. The 2016 film which chronicles the story of a father-and-son coroner team who faced horrors for dissecting the body of an anonymous woman has undoubtedly, established Olwen as a talented and versatile actress.
The movie was not only a commercial success but also brought the Irish actress widespread acclaim for her role as the corpse of Jane Doe. Though Kelly did justice to the role, it was quite tasking as she had to sometimes lay still for eight hours in a day while filming the horror movie for six long weeks. Having been a yoga enthusiast, the Celbridge-born model successfully portrayed the role of a corpse in The Autopsy of Jane Doe film. Kelly credits her ability to lie perfectly still for so long while filming the horror movie to her yoga skills and modelling experience.
Unlike many actors who achieved their breakout role by engaging in dialogues, Olwen Kelly was able to achieve a career breakthrough with an acclaimed corpse role; having no lines, no clothes and no audition. Following the premiere of the movie at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2016, Kelly has since gone on to become a known name in the creative industry. While she may not be one of the easily recognizable faces in Hollywood yet, her acting career has arguably gained momentum after her outstanding role in The Autopsy of Jane Doe.
It is presumed that the talented Irish star, whose acting career is far from over, has a lot more to offer with several other projects still in the works.
The Actress Followed In The Footsteps Of Her Mom To Establish A Career In Entertainment
The Celbridge-born actress has not publicly disclosed her exact birthdate. However, Olwen Catherine Kelly is believed to have been born sometime in the late 1980s in Dublin, Ireland. Going by public records, it is apparent that the Irish star is a pretty private person. There is a scarcity of information regarding her parents, family, childhood, and education.
However, we do know that Olwen is not the only product of her mother’s womb. She is one of the five children born to parents whose identities have not been made public knowledge. It is also common knowledge that the actress inherited her entertainment genes from her mother who was a musician back in the days. Besides the fact that Olwen and her siblings (three brothers and a sister) were raised by their parents, there is no other information readily available about the actress’s family and early life.
Kelly Is Currently Married To Sam Brown
Olwen Kelly is obviously one of those public figures who prefer to separate their professional and personal life, choosing to keep the latter under the radar. However, going by her Instagram posts, it is apparent that the Irish model and actress is married and has one child, a daughter named Lucy Rose “Lulu” Brown who was born in July 2020.
She began dating her now-husband, Sam Brown in 2019, although when and where the two tied the knot is not yet available. Kelly often refers to Sam as her hubby in most of her Instagram posts and has not revealed what he does for a living. Despite the uncertainty shrouding the couple’s relationship timeline, they are presumed to have found true love in each other’s arms and continue to wax strong as a couple.
