The role was originated by actress Gina Tognoni, who debuted on February 20, 1995, and played the character in her last appearance on August 24, 2011.

[6] During Tom's run, the actress and her One Life alter-ego crossed over to the All My Children several times starting from March 22, 2004 until February 21, 2005 during a "baby switch" storyline involving both series.

In 2005 and 2007, Tom was nominated for Supporting Actress Emmys in the role, the latter for an episode where Kelly confesses to romantically bonding with the son of impotent husband Kevin Buchanan who was portrayed by Dan Gauthier; in 2007, Tom lost her award bid to original Kelly Cramer actress, Gina Tognoni, who had been nominated for her role at the time, Dinah Marler on Guiding Light, which she had begun portraying in 2004.

[7] In August 2006, it was announced that Tom had decided to exit from her contract to return to Los Angeles to pursue other acting opportunities.

In June, it was reported that Tognoni was in talks with several soaps, including The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful as her post-Guiding Light gig.

[15][16] Tognoni released a statement concerning the cancellation of the soap, saying:[17] It makes my heart sad and I am at a loss for the words to describe how I feel when I think about the cancellation of ONE LIFE and ALL MY CHILDREN [...] Over this past year I have met so many faces at events and countless loving and honest comments on Facebook and Twitter.

I will miss working with a team of actors, directors, producers, cameras, makeup, wardrobe, hair, lighting, sound and every great effort that was made to keep this show going.

The passenger in the other car is Kelly's cousin Blair Cramer, who loses her unborn baby (later named Brendan Thornhart).

Wracked with guilt, Kelly hides her involvement; the secret is soon revealed, and she and Blair are estranged for a long time.

Kelly's boarding school friend Grace Monroe comes to town in 1999 and becomes engaged to Joey's brother Kevin Buchanan, but is tragically drowned the same year.

Their marriage strained, it is soon revealed that Kevin's new political career had pushed a lonely Kelly into an affair with a man named Nick Carson in Texas.

Meanwhile, Kelly's half-brother Paul Cramer finds himself delivering the babies of both his ex-wife Babe Carey and her friend Bianca Montgomery during a rainstorm in nearby Pine Valley on March 24, 2004.

Paul stages a crash with his MEDEVAC helicopter and takes Babe's son for Kelly, who is desperate for a child to save her marriage and has not yet told Kevin about the miscarriage.

Paul initially tells Babe that the child had died in the accident; threatened at the scene by the powerful family of the child's father, Paul quickly changes his plan, giving Bianca's daughter to Babe and telling Bianca that her baby had died instead.

Kevin's son Duke, now an adult, consoles Kelly and soon falls in love with her; they sleep together once before a tornado hits Llanview.

Kevin has a change of heart, and convinces her to stay; he is at her side when she gives birth prematurely to a son, and they name the baby Zane.

In February 2010, Kelly returns to Llanview and receives devastating news that her mother Melinda has died of a heart attack.

A devastated Kelly falls into bed with John McBain, who is newly separated from Joey's sister Natalie.

On May 11, 2011, while waiting for John, Kelly is stabbed twice in the abdomen by a deranged Marty, who leaves her for dead on the bathroom floor.