Sanaa Kelley is a Foley artist who has spent nearly three decades creating the sounds people often don’t realize are made in a studio. She makes footsteps, clothing rustles, fight noises, and even key clicks, helping shape the sound of award-winning TV shows and films.
Based in California, Kelley founded Reel Foley Sound in Costa Mesa. She has 29 years of experience and has earned an Emmy for Shogun on FX/Hulu/Disney, along with five Emmy nominations and 25 MSPE Golden Reel nominations for shows like Ted Lasso, The Walking Dead, The Right Stuff, and The 100. In 2016, she also won a Golden Reel Award as part of the sound editing team for All the Wilderness. Her work spans projects like The Flight Attendant, Bad Monkey, Lisey’s Story, Pretty Little Liars, Only Murders in the Building, The Midnight Club, and Minx.
Kelley was born and raised in Morocco and later moved to California. She didn’t know Foley even existed until she saw someone doing it. She thought she could do it, but her first attempt didn’t go well. A Foley artist told her, “Some people have it, some don’t.” Instead of giving up, Kelley called every studio she could find. Most said no, but one finally said yes, probably because she promised she was great at sweeping and making coffee. She stayed after hours practicing in the dark, recreating scenes from memory until she got better.
In 2016, she founded Reel Foley Sound, a trusted space for both TV and film Foley work. Her sounds can be heard in movies like Cry Macho, Those Who Wish Me Dead, Chevalier, and White Men Can’t Jump, as well as animated projects such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, Rugrats, and Jurassic World: Chaos Theory. Kelley explained that what sets her work apart is heart. She doesn’t just make noise; she performs it.
Kelley also shares her knowledge with others on TikTok, where she has 2.9 million followers. She posts behind-the-scenes videos to teach what took her years to learn. She said integrity matters most to her, in both work and how she treats people. Having been shut out herself, she strives to be the kind of leader and collaborator she wished she had when starting out.
