Rae'Ven Larrymore Kelly


Rae'Ven Larrymore Kelly is an award-winning American film and television actress, singer, independent film and theater producer, humanitarian, social justice activist, National Dean's List scholar, C-SPAN panelist, and former performing arts director in Los Angeles Unified School District and Santa Monica-Malibu School District.

Life and career

Kelly was born in Fairfax, Virginia. She later moved to Atlanta, Georgia for better exposure in her film career. Kelly was taught by Janet Lawing at Covenant Presbyterian preschool in Marietta, Georgia. She graduated Valedictorian from Sunland Christian Academy in Sunland, California and attended Hillcrest Christian School in Granada Hills, California.
She attended Mount St. Mary's College in Brentwood and is a graduate of UCLA in Westwood.
Has been nominated for over 4 NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Youth Performance. In 2009, she won Best Lead Actress at The NAACP Theater Awards in Beverly Hills.
She is goddaughter of late actress and civil rights activist Yolanda Denise King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King and Kelly starred in 3 films together HBO's America's Dream, Odessa, & they shared the same role of Reena Evers, in Ghosts of Mississippi, daughter of assassinated civil rights leader Medgar Evers. Whoopi Goldberg portrayed their mother in the film that also starred Alec Baldwin and James Woods.
She is the adopted granddaughter of Hollywood legends: Cicely Tyson, Bill Cobbs, and TV Comedy Icon Marla Gibbs. Tyson, Cobbs, and Gibbs all adopted Kelly as their granddaughter after playing her grandparents on film.
She performed in several film and television projects such as A Time to Kill and What's Love Got to Do with It as young Tina Turner with Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett. Kelly has also appeared in guest-starring roles on shows like E.R. and Roseanne. In early 2010 Kelly played Marcia in the movie Preacher's Kid.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1991–1993I'll Fly AwayAdlaine Harper19 episodes
1993Class of '61StatieTV movie
1993Living SingleCamilleEpisode: "Living Single... with Children"
1993I'll Fly Away: Then and NowAdlaine HarperTV movie
1994MontyTinaEpisode: "The Principal's Interest"
1994RocRobinEpisode: "You Shouldn't Have to Lie"
1994Sweet JusticeNiaraEpisode: "The Power of Darkness: Part 1"
1994RoseanneGeena WilliamsEpisode: "White Men Can't Kiss"
1994Lily in WinterLouetta CovingtonTV movie
1994Touched by an AngelSerenaEpisode: "Fear Not!"
1996America's DreamLaraTV movie
1996ERMoniqueEpisode: "John Carter, M.D."
1996'Pam FerrisEpisode: "Out of the Past"
1997'Young JeanetteTV movie
1997'Goldina Episode: "King Midas"
1997Ms. ScroogeYoung EbenitaTV movie
1998Maximum BobWanda Grace7 episodes
1999Any Day NowEpisode: "A Parent's Job"
2000Freedom SongDora CharlesTV movie
2000City of AngelsSavannahEpisode: "When Worlds Colitis"
2000'Imani Episode: "The Steadfast Tin Soldier"
2000EstelleEpisode: "Killing Me Softly"
2001Buffy the Vampire SlayerLisaEpisode: "The Body"
2002Even StevensDeniseEpisode: "Your Toast"
2004"Good Girls Don't..."ShaquandraEpisode: "I Never"
2006Hannah MontanaOliviaEpisode: "I Can't Make You Love Hannah If You Don't"
2018–presentFlyCapt. Skylar WyattAlso writer

Awards and nominations