Elijah Kelley was born on 1 August 1986, in LaGrange, Georgia USA, of African-American descent, and is an actor, singer and dancer, probably best known from appearing in the films “28 Days”, “Take the Lead” and “Hairspray”.
So just how rich is Elijah Kelley now? According to sources, Kelley has earned a net worth of over $1 million, as of early 2017; his wealth has been established through his involvement in the entertainment industry.
Elijah Kelley Net Worth $1 Million
Kelley grew up in LaGrange, where he attended Long Cane Middle School and Troup County High School. His talents were recognized already during his childhood years, when he became a member of a gospel band, and he subsequently appeared in a number of Coca-Cola commercials. When he was 12, he landed a role in the television film “Mamma Flora’s Family”, and while in high school, he was a member of a show choir.
Upon matriculation, Kelley decided to pursue a career in acting, sohis family moved to Los Angeles to be nearcloser to acting action. He soon made his film debut, playing Darell in the 2000 comedy/drama film starring Sandra Bullock and Viggo Mortensen , “28 Days”. The same year saw him landing parts in the films “Heavens Fall” and “Rome & Jewel”, paving his was to recognition in the acting world. His net worth began to grow.
Opportunities continued to come his way and he soon expanded his resume to television gigs. In 2005 he appeared as Jaymon in the popular crime drama television series “The Shield”, as well as in the popular sitcom “Everybody Hates Chris”, playing a waiter. The following year he appeared in the series “Numb3rs”, and shortly after landed a starring role in the drama dance film “Take the Lead”, playing Danjou. a young man who has troubles with dancing,. The role reinforced his rising popularity in a great way, as he started to be recognized through his acting talent after this role, which also considerably improved his wealth.
In 2007, Kelley was cast as the skilled dancer named Seaweed, in the musical romantic comedy film “Hairspray”, based on the Broadway musical, and the film proved to be a sizable hit, earning several awards, his performance boosting his popularity, and his net worth as well. Reportedly, at the audition Kelley overcame several R&B stars for the role; and it then brought him appearances in “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “HBO First Look”. Kelley also contributed several songs to the film’s soundtrack, including “Without Love” and “You Can’t Stop the Beat”. Both “Take the Lead” and “Hairspray” offered an ideal showcase for Kelley’s talent when in comes to dancing and vocal performances too.
Other film parts followed in 2012, landing parts in two war films, “Red Tails” and “Boys of Abu Ghraib”, and the following year saw him playing Charlie Gaines in the historical drama film “The Butler”.
In 2015 Kelley landed his first voice role, providing his voice for the character of Sunny the Elf in the computer-animated musical fantasy comedy film “Strange Magic”. The same year he appeared in the NBC production of the musical “The Wiz Live!”, and his most recent television involvement was the part of Ricky Bell in the 2017 biographical miniseries “The New Edition Story”.
Aside from the “Hairspray” soundtrack, Kelley has also contributed to the soundtrack of the “Sex and the City” film, and has sung at the “Disneymania 6”.
When it comes to his personal life, Kelley has been quite secretive about it, and so there are no details available regarding his relationship status, although sources believe he is still single.
Kelley is known to be involved in philanthropy though; he has established a non-profit organization, Elijah Kelley Foundation, aimed at providing help for underprivileged children to follow their dreams in arts and entertainment.
