SAG-AFTRA / AEA / Women in film
Kelleia is a singular dancer, actor, director, choreographer whose work lives at the intersection of world-making, emotional interiority, and theatricality. Known for her electric movement language and cinematic instincts, she creates experiences that feel like living films — visceral, intimate, and undeniably human.
Her career as both maker and performer spans film, television & theatre — each credit shaping the artist she is today. She won Best Director at the Hollywood Fringe Festival for I Want to Bury My Testimony; co-wrote and IS directing the upcoming gonzo sex comedy Mother F*cker!; wrote/directed The Feminine Mystaque, a dark feminist horror flick that earned awards from the Wildcat Spirit Film Festival and FirstTime Filmmaker Sessions. Her work consistently blends humor, rage, myth-making, and feminine power with a mischievous, cinematic edge.
As a performer, she's danced as an absurd Scottish Tart in Eric Idle's live radio-play What About Dick?; portrayed legendary burlesque star Tempest Storm in Gangster Squad; camped it up as a counselor in Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp; was "wishing and hoping" in the iconic opening of My Best Friend's Wedding; and originated the role of Billie Veruka Wynette on Broadway in Urban Cowboy, where she earned the unofficial but fiercely competitive title: Best Mullet on Broadway.
Across mediums, she has built her reputation on an inherent understanding of story, a respect for the unpredictable, the 10,000+ hours of a professional and an ability to solve anything. Her rehearsal rooms are known as brave spaces: joyful, rigorous, and collaborative. She is devoted to artists and is committed to shifting the narrative of what bodies, ages, and stories belong at center stage.
A lifelong artist with a 40-year relationship to acting, dancing, creating and teaching, Kelleia is currently developing QUNA, a creative production company focusing on the visceral language of transformation. Whether building a world premiere ballet, crafting the emotional architecture of a character's inner life, or producing films, Kelleia creates art that invites audiences to witness transformation — and maybe experience one of their own.
Her career as both maker and performer spans film, television & theatre — each credit shaping the artist she is today. She won Best Director at the Hollywood Fringe Festival for I Want to Bury My Testimony; co-wrote and IS directing the upcoming gonzo sex comedy Mother F*cker!; wrote/directed The Feminine Mystaque, a dark feminist horror flick that earned awards from the Wildcat Spirit Film Festival and FirstTime Filmmaker Sessions. Her work consistently blends humor, rage, myth-making, and feminine power with a mischievous, cinematic edge.
As a performer, she's danced as an absurd Scottish Tart in Eric Idle's live radio-play What About Dick?; portrayed legendary burlesque star Tempest Storm in Gangster Squad; camped it up as a counselor in Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp; was "wishing and hoping" in the iconic opening of My Best Friend's Wedding; and originated the role of Billie Veruka Wynette on Broadway in Urban Cowboy, where she earned the unofficial but fiercely competitive title: Best Mullet on Broadway.
Across mediums, she has built her reputation on an inherent understanding of story, a respect for the unpredictable, the 10,000+ hours of a professional and an ability to solve anything. Her rehearsal rooms are known as brave spaces: joyful, rigorous, and collaborative. She is devoted to artists and is committed to shifting the narrative of what bodies, ages, and stories belong at center stage.
A lifelong artist with a 40-year relationship to acting, dancing, creating and teaching, Kelleia is currently developing QUNA, a creative production company focusing on the visceral language of transformation. Whether building a world premiere ballet, crafting the emotional architecture of a character's inner life, or producing films, Kelleia creates art that invites audiences to witness transformation — and maybe experience one of their own.
