Entertainment: Kelly Oxford

This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Entertainment List Here.

Doing the work every damn day. 

Kelly is wearing Keds' Champion Originals.

In sparkling silver Gucci shoes and her signature oversized black frames, Kelly Oxford is part Glenda the Good Witch, part witty writer. “I wear these everywhere,” she says. Maybe referring to the shoes. Maybe referring to the glasses. It’s a great combo. And so is she. 

If it was possible to be a native Californian-Canadian, Kelly Oxford would be it. Nice, but not too nice. Easy going with a serious affection for hard work. “Doing the work every day,” says Kelly, is the most important step she’s taken in her career. That and doing, “try[ing] not to fuck with anyone else along the way.”  

It seems simple enough, but sparkling shoes aside, not everything in LA glitters; there is no overnight success story. Kelly is no exception.

The Canadian born writer started a blog in 2002, anonymously sharing stories, made the jump to MySpace, and then joined Twitter in 2009. As the social media star’s Twit-tale goes, the little blue bird and her ability to kill it in 140-characters or less, brought her attention. But Twitter can only take a gal so far. It was Kelly and the aforementioned hard work that flew her from the platform to the bank. 

"I see other women as inspiration rather than 'competition.'"

Tweet this.

It was seven years ago when producer and writer Jhoni Marchinko of Will & Grace, and most recently 2 Broke Girls fame, told Kelly that she would help her break into TV. “And she did,” Kelly says. “I was thrown into this business fast. Warner Brothers bought the first screenplay I wrote.” Post-WB purchase, in 2012, Kelly and her family moved from Calgary to Hollywood. “I can say that learning how the business works from the inside has been the biggest change from five years ago.”

The working writer has penned books, like the New York Times bestseller "Everything Is Perfect When You’re a Liar," TV and film scripts, and isn’t too shabby with a hashtag. Last November, post-election she reinvigorated her Twitter base, asking women to Tweet her their stories of sexual assault using the hashtag #notokay. It’s a platform that has given her voice, as well as a voice to serious issues that affect women.

While she gained early attention via Twitter, Kelly has been actively working, writing, and selling TV and film scripts in Hollywood-- not such an easy feat. "This is the cheesiest answer," she says when asked how she supports her peers and moves the needle in the face of a difficult career choice, but, "I see other women as inspiration rather than 'competition.'"  

Though she didn't initially love that her career was boosted by Twitter, these days she forgives herself more, obsesses over dogs and crystals, and swears by the routine of going on walks. She also warns, “Enjoy the congratulations you receive when you sell a project, because no one is patting you on the back while you're doing the work.” 

Her kids keeps her going, so does grinding it out over a keyboard daily, which, includes the task of staying engaged with her online audience— something the writer admits has been a challenge. But she's up for it, knowing that every step taken is one in the right direction.  

“Until the 1960s,” says Kelly, “women were just ‘fathers’ daughters,’ and then ‘wives.’ Anything since then has been a movement toward empowerment."

Styling provided by Reservoir LA. Hair and makeup provided by Glamsquad. Photography courtesy of Light Lab and Woodnote Photography.

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