Sanaa Kelley is a California-based Foley artist who has been making a prolific income and career by turning everyday sounds into cinematic magic. Best known for her work in Shogun (2024), Ted Lasso (2020) and Cry Macho (2021), she has showcased the skills of creating magic with sounds that appear very common in normal life. From squishing noise while washing hands with soap and birds’ wings flapping to footsteps, have you ever wondered how these sounds come to life? Casually ignored on common days, a foley artist like Sanaa Kelley has shown how sound design has an incredible role in this. The foley artist, with an impressive 29 years of industry experience, has even bagged a number of accolades in her career. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ReelFoleySound-Sanaa Kelley (@reel_foley_sound) Sanaa Kelley’s Journey In Hollywood Hailing from Morocco, Kelley moved to California in pursuit of work. Eventually, she landed in the entertainment industry, which again paved the path for finding her interest in creating Foley sounds. However, in an interview with Voyage LA, she admitted that initially, she “had no idea Foley was even a thing”. It was only until she found out that someone was pursuing the same career that she got invested in. “When they said it was making sound for film, TV, animation, video games, and more, I immediately thought, ‘I can do that,’” Kelley said. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ReelFoleySound-Sanaa Kelley (@reel_foley_sound) At the beginning of her career, she faced a tough journey. “When I tried it, I was terrible. The Foley artist told me, ‘Some people have it, some don’t.’ Ouch,” she confirmed, adding, “Most said no, but one finally said yes, probably because I promised I was great at sweeping and making coffee.” Through her immense hard work, she not only developed her skills but also improved them by recreating scenes from memory. Sanaa Kelley’s Career Progression The California-based artist then founded her own studio, Reel Foley Sound, in Costa Mesa, and embarked on a transformative journey to build a successful career in Hollywood. “I’m a Foley artist, which means I create all the everyday sounds you hear in film, TV, animation, and games. What sets us apart is our heart. We don’t just make noise. We perform it,” Kelley elaborated. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ReelFoleySound-Sanaa Kelley (@reel_foley_sound) Sanaa Kelley’s Work So Far Besides working on movies, series, and more, Kelley also posts behind-the-scenes recordings to keep her social media followers updated on her incredible work and aware of Foley. In the 29 years of her work, with her immense dedication to Foley, she has already earned an Emmy Award for FX/Hulu/Disney’s Shogun, five Emmy nominations, and 25 MSPE Golden Reel nominations for Ted Lasso, The Walking Dead, The Right Stuff, and The 100. She has also bagged a Golden Reel Award as part of the sound editing team for All the Wilderness. Additionally, she has proved her versatility with her work in The Flight Attendant, Bad Monkey, Lisey’s Story, Pretty Little Liars, Only Murders in the Building, The Midnight Club, Minx, Cry Macho, Those Who Wish Me Dead, Chevalier, and White Men Can’t Jump. She has even entered the animated projects genre by working in films like Avatar: The Last Airbender, Rugrats, and Jurassic World: Chaos Theory.