After playing the dancer Helene on the London stage, Kelly reprised the role alongside Shirley MacLaine and Chita Rivera for the 1969 film adaptation of, directed by Bob Fosse in his feature debut She sparkled in the numbers "Hey, Big Spender" and ""The only time I feel complete expression is when I'm dancing," Kelly said in a 1968 interview before she embarked on the movie. "Then, I have no problems, no worries, no hang-ups.
Kelly earned an Emmy nomination in 1984 for portraying public defender Liz Williams on the first season of the NBC sitcomand received another in 1989 for playing Theresa, one-half of a lesbian couple, on the ABC miniseriesOne of three daughters of a jazz musician, Kelly was born in Jacksonville, Florida. She was raised in the Sugar Hill neighborhood of Harlem, attended the High School of Music & Art and Juilliard and danced with companies headed by Martha Graham and Alvin Ailey.