Clare Calbraith was born in Cheshire to mother Val. She has two sisters and one brother. After studying law, she went to drama school in Cardiff. Her first major role was in Heartbeat (1992) from 2000 to 2002. Her recent appearances include roles in the ITV period drama series [link'tt4015216], Downton Abbey (2010), and the BBC2 drama The Shadow Line (2011).