All The Babes
Kara Tointon
Also known as Kara Louise Tointon
Career
Active 1994 – present
Biography
About Kara Tointon
Kara Tointon is an English actress with a career spanning more than three decades. Born on 5 August 1983 in Basildon, Essex, she grew up in Leigh-on-Sea with her younger sister Hannah, who is also an actress. Diagnosed with dyslexia at age seven, Kara took speech and drama lessons and made her acting debut as Brigitta in a local amateur production of The Sound of Music at the Cliffs Pavilion.
Her television career began in 1994 with a small role in EastEnders, and after appearances in Teachers and Curriculum Bites, she joined the cast of EastEnders in 2005 as Dawn Swann, a part she played for four years. In 2008, she won the Sport Relief edition of Strictly Come Dancing with Mark Ramprakash, and in 2010 she won the main series of the show, partnered with Artem Chigvintsev. That same year, she presented the BBC Three documentary Kara Tointon: Don't Call Me Stupid, which explored the impact of dyslexia; in it she revealed she had a reading age of 12.
Kara has also worked extensively in theatre. In 2011 she played Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion at the Garrick Theatre, opposite Rupert Everett. She later appeared in Absent Friends and Relatively Speaking in the West End. On television, she took roles in Mr Selfridge, The Halcyon, and the ITV live production of The Sound of Music Live in 2015, playing Maria. In 2024 she played Rachel in Captivated, and in July 2025 it was announced she will play Willamae Abernathy in Sunrise on the Reaping, the upcoming Hunger Games film.
Her personal life has seen her become a mother of two sons, both with her fiancé Marius Jensen. In May 2025 she announced she had undergone a double mastectomy and a bilateral salpingectomy after testing positive for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations, a decision influenced by her family history; her mother died of ovarian cancer in 2018. Kara has also supported charities, including taking part in the Great North Run for Share A Star.
Record
Profile details
Personal
- Years Active
- 1994-present (32 years active)
- Birthplace
- Basildon, Essex, England, United Kingdom
- Ethnicity
- Caucasian
Body
- Hair Color
- Brown
- Eye Color
- Brown
- Weight
- 117 lbs (or 53 kg)
- Measurements
- 34–24–34 (B–W–H) · WHR 0.71
- Bra/Cup Size
- 34B show conversions - UK: 34B, EU: 75B, AU: 12B, JP: 75B
- Boobs
- Real/Natural
Extra
- Instagram Followers
- 162k (as of June 2026)
Frequently asked
How did Kara Tointon's dyslexia diagnosis affect her acting career?
Diagnosed with dyslexia at age seven, she had a reading age of 12 and made a documentary about the condition, yet she went on to win Strictly Come Dancing and play leading roles.
What links Kara Tointon to the Hunger Games franchise?
In July 2025 it was announced she will play Willamae Abernathy in 'Sunrise on the Reaping', set for release in November 2026.
Why did Kara Tointon undergo a double mastectomy?
She tested positive for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations, which are linked to higher cancer risk, and because of her family history of ovarian cancer.
Did you know
- Kara won Strictly Come Dancing twice: once in a Sport Relief special in 2008 and again in the main series in 2010.
- Her 2010 Strictly victory earned her a Glitterball Trophy alongside professional dancer Artem Chigvintsev.
- She played Eliza Doolittle in a West End production of Pygmalion, a role originally created for Audrey Hepburn in the film.
- Her mother died of ovarian cancer in 2018, and Kara later tested positive for the BRCA mutation.
- Kara has a sister, Hannah, who is also an actress, and both attended the same schools in Essex.
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