Karen Dunbar

Karen Dunbar
Born (1971-04-01) 1 April 1971
Ayr, Scotland
Occupation Actress, comedian
Known for Chewin' the Fat
The Karen Dunbar Show
Happy Hollidays
Commonwealth Games 2014
Website Official website

Karen Dunbar (born 1 April 1971) is a Scottish comedian and actress. She appeared in Chewin' the Fat and The Karen Dunbar Show.

Early life

Dunbar was born in Ayr but moved to Glasgow at an early age.[1] Karen Dunbar attended Ayr Academy, a secondary school in Ayr.

Career

Dunbar first came to the attention of mainstream audiences in the BBC Scotland comedy series Chewin' the Fat and was subsequently given her own show by the channel, The Karen Dunbar Show.

In Christmas 2007, Dunbar made her first appearance in pantomime, at the King's Theatre in Glasgow, playing Nanny Begood in Sleeping Beauty. Further pantomime roles include the dual role of the Good Fairy and the Wicked Stepmother in Cinderella (2008–09) and Widow Twankey in Aladdin (2009–10). She appeared as a critic on "Britain's Got More Talent" on 27 May 2008. She played the fairy godmother in Cinderella (2012–13) and appeared in the 2013-14 season as a new character, the Slave of the Ring, in Aladdin.

Also known as a comedy actress, she has tackled serious roles, most notably to date her performance in the poetic monologue A Drunk Woman Looks at the Thistle adapted by Denise Mina from Hugh MacDiarmid's poem, A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle.

In 2009, she starred in a 6-part series of the Scottish comedy Happy Hollidays.

In 2014 she was lead compère at the XX Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.

She is currently starring in Henry IV at the Donmar in London. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd.

Karen is also famous for performing Tam O'Shanter on Burns Nights every year.

In October 2017 Karen appeared in BBC Scotland's River City for a special one-off appearance. She played the part of Francesca Simpson, estranged wife of Pete Galloway (played by Andy Gray).

Personal life

Dunbar is a lesbian.[2][3][4][5] She featured on the Scotsman's "Pink List" of LGBT people contributing to Scotland's cultural life in 2014[6] and was awarded the Role Model of the Year award at the Icon Awards which celebrate Scotland's LGBTI community in 2015.[7] She spoke about her experiences of homophobia and the acceptance she found in Glasgow's LGBT community in a BBC documentary: "I Belong to Glasgow" screened in 2014.[8][9][10] She spoke in 2016 about her plans to marry her female partner.[11]

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1999-2002 Chewin' the Fat Various Regular appearances
2003-2006 The Karen Dunbar Show Various All episodes
2008 Britain's Got More Talent Guest; critic 28 May 2007 episode
2009 Happy Hollidays Joyce Mullen Six part television series
2017 The Late Show with Ewen Cameron Guest
2017 River City Francesca Simpson Episode: 10 October 2017

Theatre

Year Title Role Notes
2007 Sleeping Beauty Nanny Begood
2008-09 Cinderella Good Fairy
Wicked Stepmother
2009-10 Aladdin Widow Twankey
2012 Cinderella Fairy Godmother
2013-14 Aladdin Slave of the Ring
2015-17 Henry IV Vernon

References

  1. ↑ English, Paul. "Chewin' The Fat star Karen Dunbar tells of gay hate ordeal and how her pet cat was drowned". dailyrecord. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  2. ↑ English, Paul. "Scots comedy actress Karen Dunbar 'over the moon' as she announces wedding plans". dailyrecord. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  3. ↑ "Comedian, top cyclist and Herald writer honoured at gay, lesbian and transgender community's big night out". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  4. ↑ "Top politicians among nominees for Scotland's first LGBTI Awards". PinkNews. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  5. ↑ English, Paul. "Scots comedy actress Karen Dunbar 'over the moon' as she announces wedding plans". dailyrecord. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  6. ↑ "The Pink Scotland List: the pride of the nation". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  7. ↑ "Comedian, top cyclist and Herald writer honoured at gay, lesbian and transgender community's big night out". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  8. ↑ "Karen Dunbar: why I Belong to Glasgow". Evening Times. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  9. ↑ "I Belong to Glasgow - Karen Dunbar - BBC One". BBC. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  10. ↑ English, Paul. "Chewin' The Fat star Karen Dunbar tells of gay hate ordeal and how her pet cat was drowned". dailyrecord. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  11. ↑ English, Paul. "Scots comedy actress Karen Dunbar 'over the moon' as she announces wedding plans". dailyrecord. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
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