Lisa Kelly is an American trucker who has been featured on the History channel reality television series Ice Road Truckers and its spinoff series IRT: Deadliest Roads. From Seasons 3–5, Ice Road Truckers has followed Kelly and her fellow drivers as they make their way along the icy Dalton Highway from Fairbanks to Deadhorse, frequently towing "oversized" loads. Kelly has also made appearances in Seasons 1–2 of IRT: Deadliest Roads. Kelly was notable as the only female trucker featured in the series until Maya Sieber joined in Season 5. Originally from Michigan, she now resides in Wasilla, Alaska.
Kelly was born on 8 December 1980, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her family moved to a mini farm in Sterling, Alaska when she was six years old. She returned to Grand Rapids, Michigan for college, attending Cornerstone University for one semester before deciding it was not for her.
Prior to her appointment as an Ice Road Trucker, Kelly worked as a school bus driver and motocross rider. She also worked at gas stations, and a pizza company and was a state freestyle motocross champion. After these ventures, she decided to settle on a long term-career and trained as a trucker because it 'looked interesting'. She subsequently got a job driving for Carlile Transportation, an Alaskan haulage company. Being a woman, Kelly says this was a difficult achievement. "I had to work twice as hard. I had to pull my weight and everybody else's and get the job done as fast, or faster".
Kelly is one of the truckers for the History Channel's Ice Road Truckers on the Alaskan Ice Road. She first appeared in season 3 (Seasons 1 and 2 had been set in Canada) in 2009, as the only woman. She subsequently took part in season 4 (in 2010) and season 5.
She also took part in the History Channel's Ice Road Truckers: Deadliest Roads along with Rick Yemm, Dave Redmon and Alex Debogorski trucking in the Himalayas in India; in a later season, she drove in Bolivia and Peru.
Journalist Kaye O'Hara claims that Kelly was offered a contract to return to the show for season six, but she declined it. According to show's producer Kelly was taking a year off.
In 2008, Kelly married her husband Traves, after dating him for four years. He is full Aleut Native Alaskan and an avid dirtbiker. They currently do not have any children. Her hobbies include motocross, horse riding, skydiving and hang gliding. She owns a miniature horse, named Rocky and a cat named Tanzi. Prior to the filming of Ice Road Truckers: Deadliest Roads, in the Himalayas, Kelly had decided that she would find and carry around a puppy for the show. On the show she named this puppy Rampur Jackson, and the dog's feeding/watering on the road was primarily handled by her Indian helper, Tashi. The dog was given away to one of the show's producers upon completion of filming.
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