Kara Tointon used to be a fixture on British screens with EastEnders and the star even lifted the Strictly Come Dancing trophy back in 2010.
However, even though the star still regularly appears on our screens, she actually lives in Norway with her two children, Frey, six, and Helly, four. It's unclear when the star upped sticks and moved to Norway, but she made the confession last year when she spoke about filming for the second series of The Teacher.
Here's all we know about Kara's life abroad, including her recent health scare…
Life abroad
Kara opened up about her move in 2024, telling the Mirror: "Now I have children so my priority is to be at home as much as possible. I live in Norway now - we've upped sticks and we're there. At the moment, we're settling into Norwegian lifestyle and loving it, so I'm lucky."
She later told MailOnline: "It happened really naturally as we were spending more and more time over here. It's so easy to get back to London and it just seems to work. It's such a beautiful country and a great place to bring up children and I'm definitely adapting to the Scandinavian lifestyle.
© Instagram"We live at the most southern point and in the summer it's just beautiful. You'd never think of going to Norway for a beach holiday but we've spent most of the summer on the boat. The colour of the sky is incredible and the scenery is hypnotising."
The actress shares her two children with Norwegian chiropractor Marius Jensen. The pair reportedly split in 2022 and photos have emerged of Marius kissing another woman.
© InstagramNorway clearly holds a special place in the star's heart, as she was initially planning her wedding in the European nation. "We are hoping next year, perhaps in Norway or maybe in London," she told HELLO! in 2018.
"My mum hasn't been too well over the last year or so and I want her to be able to enjoy it. Seeing her with Frey and dealing with everything she has to right now is overwhelming and I couldn't be more proud. I just want her to be back to herself again. That's our priority."
Secret health battle
Kara was abroad when she underwent a double mastectomy after discovering that she carries the deadly BRCA1 gene, which increases the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
Speaking in an Instagram video, she shared: "You may have heard of the BRCA genes 1 and 2 and as a carrier it means I am at a greater risk of both breast and ovarian cancer. Back in 2018 when my mum was undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer, I was asked to take a genetics test.
© Instagram"There is a history of both cancers in my family on my mother's side, but for various reasons, including generational trauma of which I'll talk more about another time, we hadn't looked into it until that point. But it was put to us, we took the test, and it was confirmed that my mum and I both carried the gene."
The star also revealed that she'd undergone a second surgery, making the decision after realising that her family was "complete".
© InstagramKara explained: "They believe that ovarian cancer begins in the fallopian tubes so by removing them first, checking [them] out, you can remove the ovaries later.
"We are finding out more and more about personal genetics and most people believe in surveillance, but after doing this for a couple of years, having MRIs, waiting for a biopsy, we decided that this was the right decision for me and my family.
© Instagram"It wasn't an easy decision, but one I am very glad that I made and I can now with hindsight talk about it properly."
