Career
After spending a decade ranked in the top 10 on the Association of Software Professionals World Championship Tour (WCT), Kennelly took a break from the tour in 2007 to explore her passions for acting and music She is now pursuing careers as a DJ and actress while continuing her surfing career as a Big Wave surfer for Billabong. Kennelly turned professional at age 17 and soon began surfing in the World Qualifying Series (WQS).
After finishing 2nd in the world on the WQS Tour in 1997, she was accepted to the World Championship Tour and quickly began earning victories at some of the tour"s biggest events.
2003 was a breakout year for Kennelly as she peaked at number 1 in the WCT rankings before ending the year ranked as the 2nd best female surfer in the world. Kennelly maintained a spot in the top 10 of the Association of Software Professionals rankings through 2007, with numerous top finishes and groundbreaking female performances.
This included a 2nd-place finish at the Billabong Pro Maui, a team gold medal at the 2007 Summer X Games, and a record-setting ride in 2005 as the first ever woman to tow in at Teahupoo. After leaving the World Championship Tour in 2007 to pursue acting, Kennelly returned to surfing as a professional freesurfer.
Later that year, Kennelly had a tow-in at Puerto Escondido that is considered to be arguably the best barrel by a female to date.
In 2011, Kennlly chased one of the biggest swells to ever hit Teahupoo. During that infamous "Code Red" swell, she displayed the best barrel riding by a female at Teahupoo. Three days later while riding in a memorial heat for Andy Irons during the Billabong Pro Men"s WCT, Kennelly suffered a massive facial injury.
After getting barreled, she was pushed down to Teahupoo"s notoriously shallow reef and received a severe gash to the side of her face.
She was inducted into the Surfing Walk of Fame as that year"s Woman of the Year in 2013. The Walk is in Huntington Beach, California.
Kennelly began her acting career with a role in the 2002 film, Blue Crush, and later landed a recurring role on the Home Box Office series, John From Cincinnati. She has also been featured in the documentaries, 7 Girls, and Step Into Liquid.
Following her role on John From Cincinnati, Kennelly began touring the world to pursue her music career as a DJ. She has played shows in Spain, Brazil, France, Australia, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and several United States cities.
This includes Las Vegas, where she opened for Snoop Dogg at the Sony PlayStation 14th Annual Gran Turismo Awards. On December 3, 2013, at, Keala gave a presentation on desire and surfing: "I"m Keala Kennelly and I"m a surfer."
She is openly lesbian.