The first time I laid eyes on Paul Anthony Kelly, I could've sworn I'd seen him before. (Not just in my dreams.) The Love Story actor has that familiar type of Americana charm only replicated by the likes of Cary Grant and Kelly's breakout role, John F. Kennedy Jr. Turns out, fashion insiders are familiar with his face: While Kelly's new to the screen, he actually has almost two decades of modeling under his belt.
Getty Images only started crediting him as "Paul Anthony Kelly" and not "a model" last summer on the set of FX's Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and JFK Jr. biopic series. That's not to say he's completely absent from the photo agency's records—I just had to look a little harder. Kelly was "scouted" by two talent agents while working at an American Apparel on Queen Street East in Toronto. A contract with Ford Models—who represented Cindy Crawford and Brooke Shields in the '90s—secured him a spot on Vivienne Westwood's Spring 2014 Menswear runway. "I wore eyeliner and I was wearing the tightest jeans and pointy shoes I could find, and it was quite a look," Kelly told GQ this week. "And they saw past it.”
Westwood cast a sun-kissed Kelly—his JFK Jr. pompadour untamed by his natural curls—to walk not once, but twice in the Spring show. The British designer dressed him in an off-white long-sleeve romper, featuring cargo-style pockets atop the shorts. White diamond-shaped embroidery stood out against its crimson red collar and cuffs. Then, Kelly stacked a light gray jacket on top, also with cargo-like elements.
A few Spring 2014 looks later, Kelly returned to the catwalk, this time in a trademark Westwood graphic tee. The white tank top advocated for the "TRUTH" about Chelsea Manning," a former US Army intelligence analyst sentenced to 35 years in prison for violating the Espionage Act. (Kelly's exact tank is still available secondhand for less than $300.) Kelly's white, shoulder-padded tailcoat elevated the top, but not before slim burgundy pants and toe-ring sandals made it bohemian again.
My search for Paul Anthony Kelly's chiseled jawline on other runways remained unsuccessful at publication time. It seems he was more active on the catalog scene, anyway. Recent interviews confirm he posed for print ads at Brooks Brothers, Bonobos, Banana Republic Factory, Rhone, Marine Layer, and Eddie Bauer.
It was during a modeling gig that he discovered his JFK Jr.-coded features. "I used to get it a lot, especially early in my modeling career, when I was working with Brooks Brothers," Kelly told Interview in Dec. 2025. He "didn't really see it then," though. Now he realizes, "they weren't wrong."
Kelly called modeling "great work," but often "felt pigeonholed." New York City-based agency Innovative Artist took him "under their wing for talent and held on to me for like, 10 years, just knowing something would hit," he added. In the summer of 2024, Kelly acted in productions of Mourning Son and You Can't Take It With You , before landing an audition for Love Story in Feb. 2025. Then, producer Ryan Murphy plucked him out of over 1,000 JFK Jr. wannabes to star alongside Sarah Pidgeon.
One of his biggest pinch-me moments must've been when Jonathan Anderson invited him to Dior's Menswear Fall 2026 show, not to walk the runway, but sit in the front row. (He brushed elbows with Robert Pattinson, Louis Garrel, and SZA.) What's more, Kelly played up the JFK Jr. influence in a gray double-breasted suit set.
Paul Anthony Kelly blinked and went from "pigeonholed" model to a fashion guy to watch in a year. His acting chops are certainly on my radar, but personally, I'm holding out hope for his grand runway return.
