Chelah was born to hippie parents while surrounded by friends and family on the “farm” Headacres. Her father is Canadian Folk Legend Valdy, with whom Chelah and her Mama Lindsay travelled across the country for the first three years of her life.
Mother and daughter then made the move to Vancouver and put down roots in the community of Kitsilano, where Lindsay established herself as a well respected Yoga teacher. This Vancouver kid grew up at Bayview Elementary followed by Lord Byng Secondary, which was known for a strong drama program.
At eighteen, by-way of modelling, Chelah appeared in a couple of locally shot TV shows and commercials before packing her bags and moving to the Caribbean for a year.
Upon returning home to Canada Chelah took the long route back to acting…restaurant management, interior design, creative director of a magazine, event production, voice agent….until finally, unable to deny the artistic need, she returned to acting in 2002. Chelah then committed herself to full fledged study of her chosen craft, immersing herself as a student in all there was to read, watch & soak up.
She has since appeared in multiple films, television movies, TV series & over 75 commercials. Highlights have been numerous, but at the top of the list has been working with Sir Ben Kinsley, Mandy Patinkin, Laurie Metcalf, Jean Reno, Erika Christensen & Paul Dinello….the list goes on and on.
Despite a busy work schedule Chelah continues to study whenever she can find the time. Teachers Larry Moss, John Cassini, Ben Ratner & Ivana Chubbuck, among others, offer inspiration and new approaches for the moving target of art.
Although often working out of town, Chelah continues to proudly call Vancouver home.