Paul Anthony Kelly (born October 1, 1988) is a Canadian model and actor based in the United States. He is best known for portraying John F. Kennedy Jr. in the first season of the FX anthology miniseries Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette. == Early life and career == Kelly was born in the small Canadian town of Port McNicoll, Ontario in 1988. He moved to Toronto to work as a model. From there he moved to New York City where he became interested in acting, signing with an agency called Innovative Artists, though did not find work in that field for a decade save for a project called The Venery of Samantha Bird that was ultimately never released (in part due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike). As a model, he worked for brands like Brooks Brothers. Despite having no professional acting experience (outside of the unreleased series), he was cast as John F. Kennedy Jr. in Love Story shortly before filming was scheduled to commence after producers auditioned over 1,000 candidates with no luck. He was cast directly after a successful chemistry read and screen test with actress Sarah Pidgeon. == Personal life == Kelly is married to Syd Widziszewski-Kelly with whom he had his first child in early 2026. They live in Portland, Oregon after having previously lived in Pasadena, California, an area that was significantly affected by the January 2025 Southern California wildfires. Kelly is a permanent resident of the United States as of 2025. == References ==