Travis Kelce

Early life

Travis Michael Kelce was born on October 5, 1989, in Westlake, Ohio. He is the younger son of Ed Kelce, a former sales representative in the steel industry, and Donna Kelce (née Blalock), a former bank executive. His older brother is Jason Kelce, who played center for the Philadelphia Eagles for 13 seasons. The brothers are of partial Croatian descent through their mother, whose ancestors were from Brod Moravice and Velike Drage in the Gorski Kotar region, near the Slovenian border, with their maternal great-grandmother Marie Stajduhar acknowledged to have been born to Croatian immigrants. Their other maternal great-grandmother, Helen Henrietta Sadlowski, was born to Polish immigrants, while a maternal great-grandfather named Frank Petranek was born to Czech immigrants.

Kelce attended Cleveland Heights High School in his hometown of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. He was a three-year letter winner as quarterback for the Tigers. As a senior in 2007, he ran for 1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns and threw for 1,523 yards, 21 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. His 2,539 yards of total offense garnered him All-Lake Erie League honors.

College career

Considered a two-star recruit by Rivals.com, Kelce accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Cincinnati over offers from University of Akron, Eastern Michigan, and Miami University. He joined his brother, Jason Kelce, who was the starting left guard for the Bearcats. After redshirting in 2008, he appeared in 11 games in 2009, playing at tight end and quarterback out of the wildcat formation. He tallied eight rushes for 47 yards and two touchdowns and had one reception for three yards. He was suspended for the 2010 season after testing positive for marijuana, a violation of team rules. Returning for the 2011 season, he played tight end, recording 13 catches totaling 150 yards and two touchdowns. In 2012, his last collegiate season, he set personal season highs in receptions (45), receiving yards (722), yards per receptions (16.0), and receiving touchdowns (8). Kelce earned first-team all-conference honors and in March 2013, was named the College Football Performance Awards Tight End of the Year. Kelce graduated in 2022 with a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies degree, he received his diploma during an April 2024 podcast event at the Fifth Third Arena with his brother Jason.

Philanthropy

Noted for being generous with his time and resources, Kelce has received several awards for his philanthropic efforts. He received the Chiefs' Ed Block Courage Award in 2014. In 2020, the Chiefs nominated him for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. That same year, fans voted him the winner of the NFL's Charity Challenge Award.

In 2015, Kelce created a foundation called Eighty-Seven & Running in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, with the goal of "empowering underprivileged youth". The foundation organizes an annual fundraising event in Kansas City, including an auto show and a fashion show, to raise money for various causes there and in Cleveland. Some of its other activities have included:

2018: With Operation Breakthrough, a Kansas City-based nonprofit, opened a Robotics Lab accessible to nearly 300 elementary to high school students.

2020: Gave $500,000 to buy and transform a Kansas City building into a coworking space to help disadvantaged children explore careers in STEM under a workforce development program called "Ignition Lab".

2020: Gave $140,000 to Operation Breakthrough and the Heights Schools Foundation in Ohio to help them during the COVID-19 pandemic.

2021: Created the "Catching for a Cause" initiative which pledges to donate money for every catch and touchdown that Kelce makes during the football season.

2022: Endowed a Health and Wellness fund that supports the University of Cincinnati's Sports Psychology and Counseling Department and the school's 450 athletes.

2024: Donated 25,000 breakfast meals to students from Operation Breakthrough.

2024: Helped an elderly former athlete by paying for repairs to her Kansas City home of 56 years.

Kelce supports various non-profit organizations and initiatives, including Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Read Across America Day, and has donated autographed items to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Kelce has made several appearances at Kansas City hospitals and schools to support local charities. In 2019, he hosted a meet and dance event to raise funds for the "Rose Brooks Center", a Kansas City-based organization that provides shelter to women, children, and their pets in situations of domestic violence. He and his brother Jason have also donated to the Heights Schools Foundation to buy equipment and fund afterschool activities. In 2019, Kelce participated in a charity celebrity softball game to raise funds for the Lake Health Foundation. In 2024, he donated $100,000 to the family of two children who were seriously wounded in the 2024 Kansas City parade shooting. Kelce is among the Kansas City celebrities who have hosted the Big Slick charity event and gala, which benefits the Cancer Center at Children's Mercy Hospital; in 2024, Kelce and teammate Mahomes contributed game-worn Chiefs jerseys to a lot of NFL items that went for $250,000 at the charity auction. Days before his wedding, Kelce and now wife Taylor Swift donated $26 million to various charity groups across the United States.

Activism

Kelce has been a vocal advocate for social justice. In 2017, he became one of the highest-profile white NFL players to kneel during the national anthem in protest against police brutality, racism, and social inequalities in America. After the shooting of Jacob Blake by police officer Rusten Sheskey, Kelce, along with teammate Patrick Mahomes, spoke publicly in support of social justice. He has pledged support for the Black Lives Matter movement including in Kansas City. In 2019, Kelce and other NFL players joined students in virtual class discussions around the U.S. to discuss Black Boys, a Malcolm Jenkins-produced documentary that examines social and emotional effects of racism against Black men.

Kelce has also shown support to the LGBT community. In 2021, he called for more acceptance of homosexuality in American football, saying, "Anybody in this world [can play]."

Entertainment

In January 2016, Kelce starred in the E! Entertainment Television dating show Catching Kelce, choosing Maya Benberry as the winner. In 2020, Kelce appeared as a fictionalized version of himself in the first episode of the comedy series Moonbase 8. Kelce was featured in Kelce, a feature-length documentary about his brother Jason's football career and private life that was released on Amazon Prime on September 11, 2023. Within 24 hours, it was the most-watched movie among U.S. subscribers to the streaming service. In May 2023, he signed with Creative Artists Agency for off-the-field representation while keeping his agent for his NFL representation. Kelce hosted Saturday Night Live on March 4, 2023, and appeared in a sketch with his brother Jason and SNL cast members Heidi Gardner and Chloe Fineman. He also made a cameo appearance on the October 14, 2023, episode. In 2024, it was announced that Kelce will host a reboot for the game show Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? on Amazon Prime Video. The show was titled Are You Smarter than a Celebrity? with a 20-episode season. In 2024 Kelce was cast in his first major acting role in Ryan Murphy's FX horror series Grotesquerie where he starred opposite Niecy Nash-Betts, Courtney B. Vance, and Lesley Manville.