Kenan K. Holley, a two-time Emmy Award winner, hails from Houston, Texas. He graduated from Duke University in 1998, where he was a four-year letterman on the Duke football team. Holley's impressive filmmaking career began at NFL Films, where he became the first African-American producer to join the company, under the guidance of renowned sports documentarian Steve Sabol.
He later moved to NASCAR Productions, directing and editing the documentary "Wendell Scott: A Race Story." His talent caught the attention of ESPN Films, who hired him in 2014 as a director/producer for their acclaimed "30 for 30" series.
Holley's first project for ESPN was "40 Minutes of Hell," a film about Nolan Richardson's tumultuous yet successful coaching tenure at the University of Arkansas. His extensive work at ESPN includes the popular series "Snoop & Son," as well as the "30 for 30" films "I Hate Christian Laettner," "Nature Boy," "The Book of Manning," and "Dominique Belongs to Us."
In addition to his work at ESPN, Holley directed the film "Redemption Song," an ESPN production executive produced by Spike Lee. The film tells the inspiring story of the 1974 Howard University soccer team, the only Historically Black College or University (HBCU) to ever win a Division One NCAA National Championship.
Holley currently resides in New Orleans with his wife Erica and their two-year-old daughter Sadie. He is also the father of Quan (20) and Zayd (17) from a previous marriage.
