Kara Tointon

Kara Tointon (born 5.8.1983)

Kara Tointon is a British actress who played the role of Dawn Swann in the popular TV soap opera Eastenders.

Kara Tointon: Childhood

Kara Tointon was born to Carol and Ken Tointon in Essex. Her sister Hannah is also an actress. Both girls attended St. Michael's school, in Leigh and then St. Hilda's school in Westcliffe-on-Sea, both in Essex. Kara was diagnosed as dyslexic at the age of seven.

Kara took part in speech and drama lessons at school, taking London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art exams, as well as entering local music festivals and performing poetry recitals. Tointon also attended the Morgan Academy of Performing Arts. From the age of 15, she dated Jason Bourne of Busted, until she landed her role in Eastenders.

Kara Tointon: Acting Career

Kara Tointon had her first professional acting experience when she landed the role of Brigitta in a production of The Sound of Music at the Cliffs Pavilion. She then got a paid job as one of the children in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Tointon's first TV appearance came when she was an extra on Eastenders, playing the friend of Sonia Fowler, who was played by Natalie Cassidy. She then went on to play the part of the student Pauline Young in the debut series of Teachers. The series also starred Tamzin Malleson, James Lance and Matthew Horne.

In 2001, Kara Tointon featured in Mile High, a British TV series and also appeared in Dream Team, a Sky1 and Sky3 football drama. She then appeared in films such as Just My Luck, which starred Lindsay Lohan and Chris Pine and The Football Factory, which starred Danny Dyer. She also took part in a number of adverts, for companies such as McDonalds.

Tointon joined the cast of Eastenders at the same time as Tiana Benjamin, Matt Di Angelo, Kellie Shirley and Charlie Clements. She left the show in August 2009, at the same time as Ricky Groves. After leaving the show, she appeared in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves with her partner, Eastenders star Joe Swash in Bristol. The couple split up during the show's run.

In the summer of 2010, BBC Three aired a documentary entitled Kara Tointon: Don't Call Me Stupid, about her dyslexia.

Later in 2010, it was announced that Kara Tointon had been selected as one of the contestants on that year's series of Strictly Come Dancing. Her partner for the show was Artem Chigvintsev. The judge Alesha Dixon awarded Tointon the first score of 10 of the series. Matt Baker and Pamela Stephenson were in the final with Tointon, who finally won the series. Other notable contestants included Goldie and Ann Widdecombe.