Minka Kelly: Everything you need to know about Trevor Noah’s new ‘makoti’

All eyes are on American actress Minka Kelly after her boyfriend, Trevor Noah, brought her home over the festive season.

Many are taking this as a sign that their relationship is getting serious, because he not only brought her home but he took her along on the annual trip he usually takes with his friends Anele Mdoda, Xolisa Dyeshana, Khaya Dlanga, and Sizwe Dhlomo.

Minka has featured in many of the pictures the friend group has been posting during their holiday with Anele even captioning one of the pictures “makoti” which is a Nguni term used to refer to a bride-to-be or a bride.

Colloquially, friends and family usually use the term affectionately to refer to a loved one’s partner, even if marriage may not necessarily have been discussed. 

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Due to the fact that Trevor Noah is one of many of the country’s proud exports, doing well in their chosen field on the world stage, South Africans are collectively enamoured with the media personality. As such, they feel somewhat invested in his personal life and they are, therefore, happy to see that things are going as well on the romantic front as they are on the professional front. 

So, it’s only natural that Trevor’s South African family wants to get to know umakoti.

Who is Minka Kelly?

Minka is an actress and model whose acting career began on the NBC drama series Friday Night Lights, which she starred in between 2006 and 2009. 

She has since appeared in films such as 2009’s 500 Days of Summer, 2011’s Charlie’s Angels, and 2013’s Almost Human.

The actress has also starred in television series such as Parenthood, Entourage, and HBO Max’s Titans where she plays superhero, Dove. Titans is also currently available on Netflix. 

Minka was born in Los Angeles, California, and she is Hollywood royalty of sorts. She is the only child of former Aerosmith guitarist Rick Dufay and the late Maureen Dumont Kelly.

ALSO READ: Trevor Noah brings his American girlfriend to SA

After high school, she worked as a receptionist at a surgeon’s office, a surgeon’s assistant, and a scrub technician at different points in her 20s, while trying to get her career in the entertainment industry going.

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Her relationship with Trevor isn’t her only high profile relationship as she has previously dated actor Chris Evans, former New York Yankees baseball player Derek Jeter, and Grey’s Anatomy actor Jesse Williams.

According to Page Six, Minka and Kelly began dating in August 2020 but broke up in May 2021 after nine months together. Elle Magazine even reports that they lived together in the beginning while getting to know each other.

The split didn’t last long, however, as they seemingly reconciled the following month and were spotted out at several places.

He reportedly bought a home for them to share and has since put the home back on the market.

The pair spent their December in South Africa, mostly in the Western Cape and she even gushed about the experience on her Instagram account. 

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Here are 5 tidbits about the Trevor’s new love interest:

• Minka was born in Los Angeles, California and is the only child of former Aerosmith guitarist Rick Dufay and the late Maureen Dumont Kelly.
• She has had an abortion and in May 2019 wrote in an Instagram post that “It was the smartest decision I could’ve made”.
• Minka was secretly engaged to American former professional baseball player and ex of Mariah Carey, Derek Jeter. But Minka ended the relationship a year later.
• She is now famous for being on the Friday Night Lights show, but acting was never her true passion. She was actually studying to become a surgical technician.
• Minka happens to think that brutal honesty is a good policy, but says one doesn’t have to be particularly nasty about it. She once told tabloids that the truth might hurt, but it’s a quick pain that can fade and even create determination and a stronger sense of character.

Additional reporting by Hayden Horner

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