The 28-year-old from Bangor in County Down and her guide, Charlotte Evans, were first on the Rosa Khutor course and clocked one minute 28.72 seconds.
“It was nerve-wracking but I’m delighted with the result,” Kelly told BBC Sport.
Events: Visually impaired super combined, slalom, giant slalom, Super-G, downhill
Games Attended: Sochi 2014, Vancouver 2010
Achievements:
Britain’s first Winter Paralympic gold medallist after winning the Super-G in Sochi
Silver medallist in Super-G at 2013 World Championships in La Molina, Spain
Fourth in Giant Slalom at Vancouver Paralympics in 2010
“Normally when we compete, even in big events like World Championships, there is nobody interested in what we are doing,”
“But here there has been a lot of hype and pressure, as well as expectation, and maybe we let some of that in.
“Today we just decided to ski and see what happens.
“I have to thank Charlotte for getting me to the line. We just threw ourselves at it. I prayed for the strength to ski and have fun.”
Charlotte added: “I was yelling a lot and she wasn’t doing what I told her, but finally it paid off. It didn’t feel as good as we wanted to on the course, but who cares.
“We won a gold medal and it feels amazing.”
Kelly, who has oculocutaneous albinism, a condition with affects the pigment in her hair, skin and eyes, started skiing for the first time when she was 17 on a trip to Andorra and began working with Charlotte, from Kent, in late 2010, just months after finishing fourth in the Giant Slalom at the Vancouver Games with previous guide Claire Robb.
The pair communicate on their way down the slopes via bluetooth headsets as they travel at speeds of up to 100km/h.
Since linking up together, they have won silver and bronze medals in the 2011 and 2013 World Championships as well as World Cup honours.
The Unied Kingdom has had athletes competing in every Winter Paralympics since the first event in 1976 in Sweden and the three medals won so far surpasses the minimum target of two set by UK Sport ahead of the event.