Kate O'Mara

Kate O'Mara – Actress (F)
Kate O'Mara Vamp Until Ready: A Life Laid Bare (2003) Signed Autobiography Hardcover Book In Stock, Reviewed & Photos

Biography / Gallery

Kate O’Mara (born Kate Carroll) arrived in the world on 10 August 1939 in Leicester, England. The performing arts ran in her blood: her mother was actress Hazel Bainbridge, and her father, John Carroll, served as a flying instructor with the RAF.

Educated at the renowned Aida Foster School, Kate initially took an unexpected path, working as a speech therapist in a Sussex girls’ school. But the pull of the stage proved irresistible. At 24 she made her professional debut in a production of The Merchant of Venice (1963), launching a career that would span theatre, film and television.

Classical theatre roles kept her busy for several seasons before television discovered her. During the early 1970s she became a cult favourite among fans of gothic horror, appearing in Hammer’s The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) and The Vampire Lovers (1970), where she perfected the art of the darkly seductive femme fatale. Despite these memorable appearances, her film work remained selective rather than prolific.

Television, however, embraced her completely. Over the decades she became a familiar face in British households, slipping effortlessly into schemers, seductresses, and strong-willed women. She ventured into American primetime in 1986, stealing scenes as the delightfully venomous sister of Joan Collins in Dynasty. She brought the same wicked sparkle to roles in Doctor Who, Absolutely Fabulous, and the long-running UK soap Crossroads.

In the 1980s she co-founded The British Actor’s Theatre Company, touring extensively and keeping her classical roots alive. She also turned to writing, publishing two books: When She Was Bad (1991) and Good Time Girl (1993).

Her private life often drew tabloid attention. In the 1990s it emerged that she had given birth to a son, Chris Linde, in the 1960s—a child she was forced to give up for adoption and who later contacted her after selling his story to the press. Kate’s romantic life also made headlines, particularly her relationships with younger men, including her third husband Richard Willis (18 years her junior) and later partner Mark Noble (20 years younger).

She stood 5 ft 4, married and divorced three times, and was mother to another son, Dickon (born 1963), whose father she chose never to reveal publicly. Dickon later became a set designer for her theatre company.

Recommended Reading:
Kate O'Mara – Vamp Until Ready: A Life Laid Bare (2003) — Signed Autobiography (Hardback). Unsigned copies also available.