Karen Jane Wallace was born on 25 September 1971 in the London Borough of Enfield to James Wallace, a telecommunications engineer, and his wife Annette (née Leach), a secretary.[1][2][3] Wallace is of Irish ancestry, by way of Cork and Dublin.[4] Her parents divorced when she was aged three and she and her sister were raised by their father, however she would see her mother at weekends.[3] She adopted her stage name after her late grandmother.[5]
Wallace is known for playing the role of Kat Slater in BBC One soap opera EastEnders.[8] She initially portrayed the role between September 2000 and December 2005.[9] In 2007, Wallace said she hadn't ruled out a return to EastEnders.[10] In February 2010, it was announced that Shane Richie was returning to play Alfie Moon, leading to large amounts of speculation as to whether Wallace would also be returning. On 9 February 2010, the BBC confirmed that Jessie would be returning to EastEnders, reprising her role as Kat Slater. Kat and Alfie's return scenes aired in September 2010.[11][12]
In April 2015, the BBC announced that Wallace and Richie would depart from the show temporarily to appear in a six-part BBC One drama series, Kat & Alfie: Redwater.[13] In the series, Kat and Alfie visited Ireland in the "search for answers to some very big questions". Speaking about the show, Wallace commented: "I have always loved working on EastEnders so when I heard of this new drama to take Kat and Alfie outside of Walford, I couldn’t believe our luck. To be exploring the next chapter for Kat as well as working alongside my best mate, Shane, is a dream come true and a huge compliment."[14] However, Wallace and Richie later revealed on This Morning in January 2016 that Kat and Alfie would not be returning to EastEnders after the six-part drama, and the characters departed at the end of that month.[15][16] In December 2017, it was announced that Wallace would reprise the role of Kat in EastEnders the following year, and she returned to the show permanently in March 2018.[17][18]
Other work
Wallace after a performance of The Perfect Murder at the Theatre Royal in February 2016
Wallace toured the UK in the 25th Anniversary production of Stepping Out by Richard Harris, playing the role of Sylvia.[28] Wallace appeared as Pat Phoenix in The Road to Coronation Street, a one-off drama exploring the origins and conception of Coronation Street, to mark the show's 50th anniversary in December 2010.[29]
In 2014, Wallace reprised her role as Marie Lloyd in the music video for Tim Arnold's single "The Piccadilly Trot".[30] She later appeared on Arnold's album The Soho Hobo on a duet that he wrote called "Soho Sunset".[31]
In May 2015, Wallace performed a duet at Soho Theatre with singer-songwriter Tim Arnold to mark the release of his album The Soho Hobo. The song marks her first recording on a pop album and was written especially for her by Arnold.[32][33] Wallace was also cast as the Fairy Godmother in the White Rock Theatre production of Cinderella.[34] In July 2015 it was announced that Wallace would appear alongside Richie in a stage adaptation of The Perfect Murder by Peter James at the Theatre Royal in February 2016.[35]
When she began appearing in EastEnders, Wallace's personal life became the focus of many tabloid newspapers.[37] She entered the soap cast in the later stages of a three-year relationship with Majorca based ex-criminal, Paul Whitworth. After being warned by BBC executives, she split with Whitworth, and had a holiday romance with 25-year-old American, Andy Burton, who immediately sold his story.[6]
In November 2003, Wallace was suspended from EastEnders by the BBC for excess drinking, partying and adverse publicity; she returned to the soap, but was then stopped by police and arrested for drink driving, being one and half times over the limit.[38] The BBC offered her counselling and while attending county court for sentencing, she was accompanied by a policeman, Dave Morgan, in case she was accosted by fans. The couple started dating, and then moved in together after Wallace confirmed she was pregnant. Wallace gave birth to daughter Tallulah Lilac on 2 November 2004, but the couple split up shortly afterwards, with Wallace's lawyers placing a gag order on Morgan.[39]
In a tabloid story that surfaced in September 2007, whilst Wallace was filming Wild at Heart in Johannesburg with her cousin Jonathan and daughter Tallulah, her best friend, Stefan, suggested she still regularly took ketamine.[40] Wallace admitted, at one point, taking drugs, but denied taking them since the birth of her daughter.[41]
In January 2020, Wallace was suspended from EastEnders again by the BBC with a two-month suspension incurring due to an "incident while filming".[42]
In March 2022, Wallace became a grandmother for the first time, after her daughter gave birth to a son.[43]
In June 2022, Wallace was arrested after she assaulted a police officer outside a nightclub in Bury St Edmunds.[44] She was released without charge but received a conditional caution.[45][46] In response, Wallace was issued a warning for "unacceptable behaviour" by EastEnders bosses.[47]
