As host of the Daily Show (not to mention major awards shows like the Grammys), Trevor Noah is easily one of the most recognizable people in the world. He’s smart, hilarious, and super successful, so it’s no surprise that he surrounds himself with other very impressive people, like his girlfriend, actress, Minka Kelly.
Trevor and Minka have been linked on and off for a few years now, and here’s a rundown of everything you need to know about the actress (and her ’ship with Noah).
Minka Kelly was first linked to Trevor Noah in August 2020.
Reports that Minka and Trevor were a ~thing~ first surfaced in August 2020, but sources made it clear at the time that they had already been dating for a while at that point. At the time, a source told People that they were “very happy” and that it was “a very serious relationship.”
“They’ve been dating for a while, well before [coronavirus] quarantine started,” a source told Us Weekly in September 2020.
They split in May 2021—but not for long.
In May 2021, multiple sources reported that Minka and Trevor had called it quits, citing conflicting work schedules as the cause of the split.
“Minka and Trevor have broken up,” a source told Entertainment Tonight of the breakup. “Their work commitments and careers are very different and they both felt like they should take time apart.”
The ET source added that Minka was “leaning on friends, traveling and keeping busy since their split” and that Trevor had “been doing his own thing too.”
Just days after news of their breakup made the rounds, however, they were spotted having lunch together in St. Barts, leading to pretty immediately speculation that they were giving the romance another try. By June 2021, sources close to the couple were hinting that they were indeed back on, with one telling Us Weekly, “It’s not like they’re rushing down the aisle any time soon,” but that they were “happier” as a couple.
Minka and Trevor didn’t go Instagram official until December 2021/January 2022.
Even after they reconciled, Minka and Trevor kept things *very* low-key and didn’t make their ’ship IG official until December 2021 (for Trevor) and January 2022 for Minka, when they took a trip to Trevor’s native South Africa together.
On December 31, 2021, Trevor shared a group picture from a birthday dinner that featured Minka by his side at the table:
And on January 9, 2022, Minka shared a group picture of her own from the trip, which featured her and Trevor prominently and was captioned, “Take a trip to South Africa. Find friends like these. Have the holiday of a lifetime. Thank you, Mzansi 🙏🏼❤️.”
Minka has a successful acting career.
Like Trevor, Minka is very successful at what she does. She’s an actress who has been working steadily since the early 2000s, but her big break came in 2006 when she was cast as Lyla in Friday Night Lights (although she later admitted in a tribute IG post for the show’s 13th anniversary that she didn’t think it would be a hit at all).
Minka’s résumé also includes appearance on shows like Parenthood, What I Like About You, Jane the Virgin, and Titans. Oh, and she’s currently appearing on a little HBO megahit called Euphoria that you might have heard of.
She wasn’t always set on acting though.
Before she discovered her passion for acting, Minka was working toward a career in health care. When she first moved to California, Minka had several different jobs, including time spent working as a nurse.
“Before Friday Night Lights, I had so many different jobs—I worked at a check-cashing company, like Check ’n Go, and at a doctor’s office in Beverly Hills,” she told InStyle in 2018. “And then for four years, up until I started on FNL, I was a scrub nurse at California Hospital. And honestly, that was the most exciting job I’ve ever had! I was good at it too.”
She has culinary credentials too.
In addition to being an incredible actress, Minka is a star in the kitchen too. She participated in a six-month culinary program at the New School of Cooking in Culver City, California, and graduated in June 2015, according to ABC News. Naturally, she flexed about it on IG (who wouldn’t?).
She was pressured to get free plastic surgery early in her career.
In a 2011 interview on Late Night With David Letterman, Minka revealed that when she was new to the industry, a former Playboy Playmate offered to manage her career—and to help set her up with “free” plastic surgery.
“I was 19. She was very seductive and said that she wanted to manage me and that I had a lot of potential,” Minka explained (per Today). “She said that she could get me a job at this doctor’s office in return for plastic surgery which I would need to be a Playboy Playmate. All I needed was lipo, fake breasts, a few veneers and all kinds of stuff,” she added with a laugh.
Minka says she accepted the job at first but only made it “about a month” before she realized she didn’t want any surgery after all.
“When I told her that I didn’t want that, she said I would never be Playmate of the Year and I said, ‘I think that’s okay. I’m okay with that.’”
Trevor Noah isn’t her first famous BF.
Considering how talented, gorgeous, and grounded she is, it’s not surprising that Minka Kelly pulls. Her list of famous exes include, in no particular order, Scrubs and Clueless star Donald Faison, Grey’s Anatomy’s Jesse Williams, Captain America himself Chris Evans (who she dated off and on for years, first linking up in 2007 and then reconnecting in 2012, 2013, and 2015), a brief fling with John Mayer, and a three-year relationship with Derek Jeter. DAMN. GIRL.
Kayleigh Roberts
Kayleigh Roberts is the weekend editor at Cosmo, focused on celebrity news and royals. She’s a Ravenclaw who would do great things in Slytherin. To learn more about her, google “Leslie Knope eating salad GIF.”
