Minka Kelly's career as an actress got a boost in 2010 when Esquire magazine named her "Sexiest Woman Alive." Prior to that she was known mostly as cheerleader Lyla Garrity in the first four seasons of the television series Friday Night Lights. Kelly worked as a surgical assistant while trying to break into show business, and she first began getting guest spots on television in 2004. The success of Friday Night Lights opened doors, and Kelly began getting work in films as well, most notably a small role in 2007's The Kingdom, a small (but significant) role at the end of the 2009 romantic comedy (500) Days of Summer (starring Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and a co-starring role in the 2010 thriller The Roommate (with Leighton Meester). The New York press announced in early 2010 that Minka was engaged to baseball star Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees.

Extra credit: Minka Kelly's father is Rick Dufay, who played rhythm guitar for Aerosmith in the early 1980s.