MINKA KELLY

Minka Dumont Kelly (born June 24, 1980) is an American actress. She stars in the NBC series Friday Night Lights as Lyla Garrity.
Kelly was born in Los Angeles, California. She is the only child of former Aerosmith guitarist Rick Dufay and the late Maureen Kelly, a former Vegas showgirl. According to Kelly, her childhood was "pretty rough", but her best friend, Melrose Place star Mickey Tarrington helped her through. She resented Dufay, as he had abandoned her and her mother. However, at seventeen, she decided to try and reconcile by inviting him out to New Mexico. She is of Irish and French descent.
After graduating from high school, Kelly returned to Los Angeles with her father to pursue acting as a hobby while she went to school to become a surgical technician. However, after her first acting class she got "hooked" and began pursuing acting as a career. Success came slowly, and she began her career with small roles in various movies and shows, including the film State's Evidence, and a recurring-guest role on the TV program What I Like About You.
In the spring she was cast as Lyla Garrity on the show Friday Night Lights. In preparation for the role, she trained with the Pflugerville High School cheerleading squad. Kelly has received praise for her acting on Friday Night Lights, with the New York Times calling her performance "heartbreaking".
She shot a cameo for The Kingdom, alongside Jamie Foxx. Peter Berg, the creator and pilot director of Friday Night Lights, directed the film. Kelly is the lead actor on the CW's new pilot Body Politic.
Minka joined forces with Alyson Hannigan, Jaime King, Emily Deschanel, and Katharine McPhee in a video slumber party featured on FunnyorDie.com to promote regular breast cancer screenings for the organization Stand Up 2 Cancer.
Kelly dated Donald Faison in 2005, and had a relationship with actor Chris Evans, as well. She dated musician John Mayer from September 2007 to January 2008. Reported in 2009 to be possibly engaged to New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.