艾伦·罗·凯利，Kelly was born in Dover, New Jersey. After attending New York City art schools, Kelly commenced his career as an art director in the cosmetics field before becoming a makeup artist and hair stylist in Manhattan's fashion/advertising industry, working behind the camera for fashion magazines, catalogs, television commercials and infomercials. In 1999 Kelly began directing, producing and writing screenplays for horror movies, entering the independent horror scene with his award-winning debut film I'll Bury You Tomorrow (2002). In 2006, Kelly founded SouthPaw Pictures, a film production company based in Paterson, New Jersey. His other directing credits include Gallery of Fear (2013), The Blood Shed (2007) and Tales of Poe (2013). He performed in drag in these and other films, such as Vindication (2006), Satan Hates You (2010) and Razor Days (2012).