Kara Joy Reed was born in Avon Township, Michigan, and was raised in Auburn Hills, Michigan. She graduated from private school with a 4.0 GPA and went to Oakland University on academic scholarships to earn a BA degree in Theatre Performance with a minor in Spanish Language. After college, Kara got her start in film by taking advantage of the boom in Hollywood films made in Michigan. In "Ides of March", Kara had the privilege of working in close quarters with George Clooney and Ryan Gosling while playing a member of Morris' (Clooney's) campaign staff, and can be seen several times throughout the movie. Kara lost her mother to Progressive Supranuclear Palsy in August of 2012. She says her mother was her first and biggest fan, and always knew that she would be a performer because the most often uttered phrase of her childhood was, "Watch me, Mommy! Watch me!"