[11][12] Her mother worked various jobs, including as a stripper and bartender, and often struggled to make ends meet throughout Kelly's childhood.

[15] To earn extra money, her mother tried to smuggle drugs across the Mexico–United States border, but was caught and jailed for a period of time.

[17] Before Kelly began junior high school, she and her mother relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico to be near her father figure, David Gonzalez's, extended family.

[18] Her exposure to the medical field spurred her to attend school for a year studying to become a surgeon's assistant; afterwards she worked as a scrub nurse.

During the four years she spent in the vocation she continued auditioning for film and television roles and appeared in commercials for Old Navy and Clearasil.

[22] In 2006, Kelly starred in the horror slasher film The Pumpkin Karver as Tammy Boyles, and had a bit role in State's Evidence.

In 2007, she reunited with Friday Night Lights creator Peter Berg in the film The Kingdom in a cameo role as Ms. Ross alongside Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner.

[23] In 2009, she also appeared in the final scene of the film 500 Days of Summer as Autumn, a potential new love interest to Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character.

She played the role of Francesca "Frankie" Foster, who moves to Washington, D.C. to work for a senator and befriends a group of eager up-and-comers.

In December 2010, ABC announced that Kelly was cast in the planned reboot of the crime drama series Charlie's Angels.

She accepted a role in the Off Broadway play Love, Loss, and What I Wore for an April 27–May 29, 2011,[29] run with Conchata Ferrell, AnnaLynne McCord, Anne Meara, and B.

[33] In September 2017, it was announced that Kelly had been cast on the DC Universe series Titans in a recurring role as Dawn Granger / Dove.

In May 2018, Kelly appeared in the video game Detroit: Become Human as North, the right-hand woman and potential love interest of protagonist Markus.

[35] Euphoria's show creator Sam Levinson specifically wrote the role of Samantha for Kelly, offering her the part in 2021.

[36] On October 13, 2022, Deadline announced that Kelly will co-star alongside Maggie Grace and Dermot Mulroney in the upcoming psychological thriller Blackwater Lane, an adaptation of the 2017 novel The Breakdown by B.A.

[44][45] On December 5, 2023, Forbes announced that Kelly will play concert pianist Quinn, opposite Josh Duhamel, in Netflix's upcoming drama series Ransom Canyon.

[47] Filming for the show concluded in June 2024 after six months in Kelly's hometown Albuquerque, New Mexico and Las Vegas, Nevada.

[48] The following month, she was cast in Netflix's original romantic comedy film Champagne Problems (2024), where she plays an executive, who travels to Paris and finds an unexpected romance.

[56] Kelly was chosen as the fittest woman at the Gold's Gym 2nd Annual Hollywood’s Hottest Bodies Awards.

[63][64][65] She has graced the cover of numerous fashion and lifestyle magazines, including Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Self and Health.

[66] After Kelly's mother died in 2008, she decided to focus on helping others, saying: "I found that the only way to fill that hole in my heart was to be of service.

[68] Kelly joined an eight-day, four-country United Service Organizations tour in December 2011 with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey, Robert Horry, Jordin Sparks, Thomas Miles, and Sergeant Major Bryan Battaglia.

[73] "I was affected on such a deep and profound level when I heard that one woman chose to go into the sex industry because she had to pay for sister's breast cancer treatment," Kelly said in a 2015 People interview.