Cara Theobold (born 25 January 1990) is an English actress who trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Her first acting role was Ivy Stuart in the third and fourth series of television period drama Downton Abbey.

Life and career

Theobold was educated at Outwood Grange Academy before attending the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She initially auditioned for the role of Ivy over Christmas 2011, during her final year. She was allowed to finish her final year of drama school early in order to begin filming the series at Easter. Theobold characterized Ivy as "ambitious" and "a dreamer". She returned for the fourth series of the show in 2013. Her work on the series resulted in her being a co-recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

In 2014, Theobold made a guest appearance on the TV sitcom Scrotal Recall. In 2015 she appeared in two episodes of Last Tango in Halifax as Holly, and an episode of Call the Midwife. She starred as Sarah, a housekeeper at a stately home and one of the main characters, in the third series of The Syndicate which aired in spring 2015.