Kelly Willyard
- Music Department
- Actress
Kelly Willyard is an American Actress, Singer, Songwriter and Voice Over Artist. She grew up in a suburb of Dallas, Texas. She is the youngest of three. She is best known for her T.V. work on Gideon's Crossing, The Webber Show, Titans, Touched by An Angel, And Beautiful People. She is also known for her Songs The Fighter Pilot, which won 1st runner up in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest Country Category and So Many Men, So Little Time, which won a notable Honorable Mention in the Country Category. She is s member of the Grammy's and BMI in addition to the Screen Actors Guild.
Kelly was introduced to the entertainment industry at the age of 4. She was acting and singing in musicals and performing 1940's classic standards. She performed at the Wylie Opry in Texas. It was here she gained the confidence to audition for the select musical theater group called Younger Generation in Plano, Texas. During her time in the " Younger Generation" they performed at Texas Stadium and she was also able to perform for George H. Bush at the Texas Sesquicentennial.
Upon graduating from Plano East Sr. High School she was accepted into University of Colorado- Boulder, where she obtained a B. A. in Music- Voice with a concentration on Musical Theater and Opera. While attending the University of Colorado- Boulder she took a myriad of theater courses and fell in love with the art of acting.
After college she moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career and began taking classes from actor Cliff Osmond. Soon after arriving in Los Angeles, there were multiple union strikes occurring and her TV/Film career was not taking off. In order to obtain more notoriety, she entered into the Ms. Petite International Pageant where she was Ms. Petite California 2000. She also decided to enroll in U.C.L.A extension music courses. After one of the professors heard her sing he strongly encouraged her to reconsider pursuing her singing career as a country artist. She studied with renowned Seth Riggs in Los Angeles and it was also at this point she began songwriting with her mother and her brother. She later cut her own Album " Kelly Willyard" which includes her own songs.
Kelly's break back into acting occurred when she was discovered singing at Hallenbeck's in Hollywood, California in the early 2000's. It was here a Producer of the show " Touched by An Angel" heard here sing. They were looking for a country artist for several episodes and couldn't find anyone until they heard Kelly Willyard. She was booked and Taft Hartley into the Screen Actors Guild.
Showbiz has deep roots in her family. Her great Grandfather was a vaudeville Performer and played along side Jimmy Durante. Her brother David is an accomplished drummer and owns MusicianLink in Silicon Valley which allows Musicians to Jam live over the internet. Incidentally, David came up with the idea for Musicianlink, when he and his sister would song write over the phone. He felt there must be a better way to write songs and Jam live, hence MusicianLink was born. Kelly and her brother Jim are both investors in MusicianLink.
Kelly Willyard trained with top vocal coaches and producers such as Seth Riggs and Jan Smith. She has been trained on the renowned Ivana Chubbuck acting technique.
Off camera, Kelly is happily married to Steven Gasper who is an executive and entrepreneur. They were married in Beverly Hills, California in 2007. They have two children who are boy /girl twins. Her children are also trained and working actors.
Additionally, Kelly is passionate about Animal welfare and donates to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Humane Society of the United States, Mercy for Animals, ASPCA, World Wildlife Fund. She also has been a member of both the Los Angeles and Atlanta Junior League which assists women and children in need.
Kelly was introduced to the entertainment industry at the age of 4. She was acting and singing in musicals and performing 1940's classic standards. She performed at the Wylie Opry in Texas. It was here she gained the confidence to audition for the select musical theater group called Younger Generation in Plano, Texas. During her time in the " Younger Generation" they performed at Texas Stadium and she was also able to perform for George H. Bush at the Texas Sesquicentennial.
Upon graduating from Plano East Sr. High School she was accepted into University of Colorado- Boulder, where she obtained a B. A. in Music- Voice with a concentration on Musical Theater and Opera. While attending the University of Colorado- Boulder she took a myriad of theater courses and fell in love with the art of acting.
After college she moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career and began taking classes from actor Cliff Osmond. Soon after arriving in Los Angeles, there were multiple union strikes occurring and her TV/Film career was not taking off. In order to obtain more notoriety, she entered into the Ms. Petite International Pageant where she was Ms. Petite California 2000. She also decided to enroll in U.C.L.A extension music courses. After one of the professors heard her sing he strongly encouraged her to reconsider pursuing her singing career as a country artist. She studied with renowned Seth Riggs in Los Angeles and it was also at this point she began songwriting with her mother and her brother. She later cut her own Album " Kelly Willyard" which includes her own songs.
Kelly's break back into acting occurred when she was discovered singing at Hallenbeck's in Hollywood, California in the early 2000's. It was here a Producer of the show " Touched by An Angel" heard here sing. They were looking for a country artist for several episodes and couldn't find anyone until they heard Kelly Willyard. She was booked and Taft Hartley into the Screen Actors Guild.
Showbiz has deep roots in her family. Her great Grandfather was a vaudeville Performer and played along side Jimmy Durante. Her brother David is an accomplished drummer and owns MusicianLink in Silicon Valley which allows Musicians to Jam live over the internet. Incidentally, David came up with the idea for Musicianlink, when he and his sister would song write over the phone. He felt there must be a better way to write songs and Jam live, hence MusicianLink was born. Kelly and her brother Jim are both investors in MusicianLink.
Kelly Willyard trained with top vocal coaches and producers such as Seth Riggs and Jan Smith. She has been trained on the renowned Ivana Chubbuck acting technique.
Off camera, Kelly is happily married to Steven Gasper who is an executive and entrepreneur. They were married in Beverly Hills, California in 2007. They have two children who are boy /girl twins. Her children are also trained and working actors.
Additionally, Kelly is passionate about Animal welfare and donates to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Humane Society of the United States, Mercy for Animals, ASPCA, World Wildlife Fund. She also has been a member of both the Los Angeles and Atlanta Junior League which assists women and children in need.
