From a musical family on both sides, Kela Parker is a Berkeley-born “art folk” original—grounded, offbeat, and quietly magnetic. Her first love was music and she excelled at guitar and piano young – though singing took a while to catch up and she was often caught lip-syncing in middle school choir! Following her passion for music from Rachmaninoff and Chopin to Thelonious Monk and Joni Mitchell, Parker earned her Masters in Music Composition in 2016 from Vermont College of Fine Arts (a CalArts satellite).

After discovering her love of acting, Parker found that the storytelling she had always loved about songwriting also connected her to scene study and narrative. In film and television, Parker demonstrates a flexible versatility that allows her to adapt seamlessly to a variety of projects and genres, from horror comedy shorts to political melodramas, in both comedic and dramatic roles. Often playing powerful professionals, morally murky women, and darkly comedic characters in indie films, she has also established herself in the booming vertical space. As a voice actor, Parker has voiced characters in animated features including North (dir. Bente Lohne, starring Mads Mikkelsen), and the new animated series Max and the Multiverse (dir. Court Reinland). She is known for bringing personality and life to quirky characters, from angels to dogs and cats to high-strung teachers.

For much of her career Parker has worked as a singer-songwriter, pianist, and guitarist who has performed her “art folk” across the United States, from Portland’s Aladdin Theatre to New York’s Rockwood Music Hall and Los Angeles’ legendary Viper Room. Her style blends experimental arrangements, emotionally incisive lyrics, and gestural flare, creating a distinctive and emotive sound. She has independently released multiple albums since 2011, starting with 2011’s ‘Houswife,’ followed by ‘Searching & Sewing’ (2013), and ‘The Dreamer & The Dream’ (2018), and ‘Bits & Pieces’ (2026) and ’Hard Spelling’ (2026).

As a producer and writer, Kela started her work in production for an independent documentary film company in Portland, Oregon, and her first job on set in Los Angeles was as location manager for ‘American Horror Story.’ Since then she has collaborated on radio shows with hosts such as Bootsy Collins (The Bootsy Collins Show), Jenn Marino (Rock Classics with Jenn), and Kelly McCartney (Record Bin Radio), contributing both pre-production research and creative content, in-studio production skills, post-production editing and show delivery for Apple Music. Her behind-the-scenes work reflects a deep understanding of storytelling, technical production, and audience engagement, complementing her work as a performer.

Throughout her career, Parker has consistently combined her talents across multiple disciplines to create meaningful artistic experiences. Whether acting on screen, voicing animated characters, performing live music, recording in the studio, modeling for major brands, or producing media content, her work reflects a commitment to authenticity, artistic expression, and versatility, earning recognition for both her range and depth as an artist.