The Shady Side Of Minka Kelly
Best known for her roles on the TV series Friday Night Lights, Parenthood and most recently The Path, Minka Kelly has stepped out of the limelight of her famous father, former Aerosmith guitarist Rick Dufay, and carved out a successful career for herself in Hollywood.
However, the stunning brunette has a darker side to her clean-cut showbiz persona. Here are a few facts about the former Lyla Garrity that might be considered shady.
She might have filmed a sex tape
In 2012, TMZ reported that a 30-minute sex tape featuring Minka Kelly existed and was allegedly being shopped around town to the highest bitter.
According to the report, the alleged tape was shot in New Mexico with Kelly and an ex-boyfriend. It was described as being filmed in a "semi-professional manner" and "secured by a tripod and hooked up to a TV monitor" so that the couple could watch. "Minka is very aware of the camera," the report added.
The tape never surfaced, potentially because there was debate over whether Kelly was a minor when it was filmed. TMZ says that the tape features two songs featured on Brandy's album Never Say Never, which was released 16 days before Kelly's 18th birthday in 1998.
Ah, investigative journalism.
She was linked to Jesse Williams at a very awkward time
Just days after Jesse Williams' split from wife Aryn Drake-Lee hit the tabloids, the Grey's Anatomy hunk's name was being linked to none other than Minka Kelly. Sites like TMZ were quick to point out that Williams was featured in an Instagram photo posted to Kelly's account in January 2017, although sources claimed they were simply working on a video game together in Paris. For his part, Williams seemingly denied the rumors by wearing a "Don't Believe the Hype" jacket at LAX.
Still, that didn't do much to stop the tabloids from gossiping. One source for Page Six went so far to claim the actors were "definitely seeing each other."
"They started seeing each other last year," the source alleged. "He ended things with his wife this year. He'll be in Paris with Minka later this week. People know [about the relationship], but weren't saying anything because he was still married."
She had a tough relationship with her mom
In 2011, Kelly opened up to Cosmopolitan (via US Weekly) about the "pretty complicated" relationship she had with her mother, Maureen Kelly, who was a stripper.
During the interview, she recalled how her mother would wake her up when she got home from the club and take her grocery shopping. "That was like our big Friday," she said. "She would want me to skip school [the next morning]... I was like 'No, Mom, I've gotta go to school!'"
Speaking to Yahoo, Kelly also discussed the difficulties she faced moving from one place to another. "We moved all over the place," she said. "It wasn't easy going to so many schools, but you get a thick skin and you learn how to be adaptable. There are a lot of pros along with the cons, I guess, in anything."
Fortunately, Kelly, who also admitted to having a tough relationship with father Rick Dufay, was able to make peace with her mother as she was losing her battle to colon cancer. "By the time she passed I was holding her," she told Cosmopolitan. "I was with her until her last breath. We made it."
She once said she hates dating, but dates a lot
Since skyrocketing to fame on Friday Night Lights, Kelly has dated quite a few dudes; according to tabloid gossip, she's been linked to everyone from Captain America hunk Chris Evans, to How I Met Your Mother alum Josh Radnor, to Sean Penn, to baseball pro Derek Jeter (more on him later) and That '70s Show alum Wilmer Valderrama (him too).
The list is impressive on one hand, but also a tad bizarre coming from a star who once confessed to being turned off by the idea of dating altogether. "I really don't like dating," she told Men's Fitness. "I think it's awkward and uncomfortable and inauthentic. You're on your best behavior, trying to impress the other person ... If you want to date me, just be my friend and ask me if I want to hang out."
It's also weird considering the fact that, in that same interview, she doesn't even consider love a priority. "A man has to be passionate about something," she told the magazine. "He has to be focused and genuine. He has to have drive ... I really believe that our careers are our first loves. And I think a career should be as important for him as it is for me. And that we should be able to understand that we come second."
Of course, that interview was published shortly after her breakup from serial dater and not-exactly-beloved singer John Mayer. So, who wouldn't be feeling down on men?
She dated her best friend's ex
In 2016, rumors swirled that Kelly had rekindled her romance with Wilmer Valderrama, with whom she reportedly dated in 2012, despite repeated denials.
Getting back together with an ex can often be awkward, especially when that ex is also the ex of one of your best friend, aka This Is Us star Mandy Moore.
Fortunately, Moore didn't seem to have a problem with the rumored romance. "We're all close friends. No, it's not weird and I love them both," Moore said on an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.
"We're like very, very close friends," Moore continued. "(We dated) for a year – he was my first boyfriend when I was 15. We can still be friends."
Did she feud with Kate Hudson?
Of all of Minka Kelly's famous boyfriends, perhaps the most famous was New York Yankee Derek Jeter. The couple dated for about three years, right up until their "amicable" breakup in 2011.
But apparently, not everything about the experience was indeed amicable. Enter Kate Hudson, who had a very brief, if very public fling with another Yankee, Alex Rodriguez, in 2009. The fling reportedly did not sit well with Kelly, who by then had been dating Jeter for about a year.
"There's been visible coldness between Minka and Kate," sources told Page Six. "I don't know if it's a personal thing, or just an extension of the ongoing A-Rod-Jeter rivalry."
"People are choosing sides," added another source.
Whatever the case, the alleged feud didn't last long; Hudson and A-Rox split by December 2009, according to Us Weekly.