Actress Celia Kaleialoha Kenney was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Ed Kenney, a restaurateur, and Kristen Kenney, an artist. She is the granddaughter of legendary Hawaiian Entertainers, Beverly Noa and Ed Kenney.

She started her acting career at a young age, appearing in the Academy Award-nominated film The Descendants. She has studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, the Stella Adler Studio, the Atlantic Acting School, and the American Repertory Theater. She graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in English and Theater in 2020, where she became one of the first female cast members of the centuries-old Hasty Pudding Theatricals and received the Johnathan Levy Award for Most Promising Undergraduate Actor.