Acknowledging her daughter's insatiable appetite for the spotlight, Kelly's mother enrolled her in dance school on Saturdays where she learned ballet, tap and acrobatics at the age of five. Her brother enrolled in kung fu at the same time. After class, he would meet up with his rambunctious little sister at home and teach her the day's lessons. Quite the industrious one, Glenn began setting up fights between his fearless sister Kelly and the little boys in the neighborhood -- playing manager and taking bets on his tomboy sister.

Shortly after, Kelly's parents divorced and the two children were sent to their mother's hometown of Kahului, Maui to live with their grandparents. It didn't take long before Kelly found a new way to satisfy her passion for performing: baton twirling and marching in numerous parades.

Two years later, Kelly moved back in with her mother in Honolulu and traded in her ballet slippers for roller skates and competed in everything from figure skating to hockey. Raising two children alone now, Kelly's mother took on many odd jobs to supplement her income as a draftsperson for the City & County of Honolulu. One of her jobs included getting clothes on consignment from a wholesaler and selling them at house parties.

At one of these trips to the wholesaler, Kelly at age 13 managed to convince the seller to give her a job in his new store as a salesperson. Working every weekend and some weeknights, Kelly earned enough money for her school clothes.