Kara Mae Royster
Born (1993-10-05) October 5, 1993
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, U.S.
Citizenship
  • United States
  • Canada
Occupation
  • Actress
Years active2012–present
Spouse
Tyler Shaw
​
(m. 2022)​

Kara Mae Royster (born October 5, 1993) is an American actress who holds dual American and Canadian[1] citizenship. She is best known for portraying Yvonne Phillips in Pretty Little Liars, Abby Martin in K.C. Undercover, and Eva in the Dynasty reboot.

Early life

Royster was born and raised in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Her father, former professional baseball player Jerry Royster, is Black, and her mother is white with French Canadian and Irish ancestry.[2] Royster was inspired to get into acting by her older sister, Kristie, who would practice monologues in front of her. Royster took acting classes at Bak Middle School of the Arts and Dreyfoos High School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida.[3] At the age of 15, she convinced her parents to move to Los Angeles, California where she attended Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and majored in theatre.[4][3] In addition to acting, Royster developed an interest in makeup and was the head makeup artist for her high school's theatre department.[5]

Career

Royster's early credits include Faking It on MTV, Liv and Maddie on Disney Channel, and Scream Queens on Fox, in which she had a minor role in one episode.[6][7]

On December 23, 2015, it was announced that Royster was cast in Pretty Little Liars as Yvonne Phillips, the mystery woman Toby Cavanaugh (Keegan Allen) met before the five-year time jump. She was originally slated to appear in three episodes of the back-half of season six.[6][8] Royster appeared as Yvonne in four episodes of season seven.[9][10][11] Her final episode aired on May 2, 2017, titled "Hold Your Piece".[12] In 2016, while filming Pretty Little Liars, Royster made her feature film debut in Mono. She portrayed Christina Madison, the "queen bee, mean girl" of the group.[5] That same year, she landed roles in multiple episodes of K.C. Undercover[5] and Supernatural.[7][13] In an interview with Hush Hush Buzz, Royster revealed, "I had heard of K.C. Undercover before it came out, while I was filming Liv and Maddie, and dropped some hints to the casting director that I really wanted to be a part of the show and get the chance to work with Zendaya."[5]

In 2017, Royster booked a recurring role on The Fosters, Dawn, a flirtatious student who causes jealousy between Callie (Maia Mitchell) and AJ (Tom Williamson).[14] She then starred in the short-lived YouTube Red series, Youth & Consequences, in 2018.[15] It was announced in 2019 that Royster signed on to star in Instafame, a social media thriller, directed by Nick Everhart.[16] In 2020, she starred in the female buddy road comedy-drama film, Unpregnant,[17] and she recurred in the CBS sitcom, God Friended Me.[4] She was also announced to star in Don't Log Off, a comedy-thriller set entirely during the early days of the COVID-19 quarantine;[18] however, the film was never released.

On May 4, 2021, it was announced that Royster was cast in the Dynasty reboot, as Eva, a recurring role officially described as the "newest assistant and protégé" of Fallon Carrington (Elizabeth Gillies). The character was set to arrive later in the fourth season.[19] On December 20, 2021, Royster made her final appearance in the season five premiere.[20] Royster also appeared in two episodes of Jupiter's Legacy.[19]

In 2022, Royster starred the Tubi original thriller film, A Party to Die For,[21] and the BET+ original Christmas film, The Christmas Clapback.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2016 Mono Christina Madison [22][5]
2019 Most Likely to Murder Taylor
2020 Instafame Sasha Curtis [16]
Unpregnant Kaylee [17]
2022 A Party to Die For Jessica [21]
TBA Don't Log Off Katy [18]

Television

Year Title Role Notes Refs
2012 This Indie Thing Nia Episode: "The Awful Truth"
Fred: The Show Girl Episode: "Spirit of the 90's"
Hollywood Heights Remi 4 episodes
2013 Bucket and Skinner's Epic Adventures Jessie Episode: "Epic Copycat"
Stevie TV Jenny Episode: "2.03"
The Goodwin Games Kayla Episode: "Happy Hour"
2014–2016 Faking It Brandi 6 episodes [6][7][19]
2014 The Mentalist Kiley Episode: "Blue Bird"
2015 Liv and Maddie Kennedy Episode: "Repeat-A-Rooney" [6][7]
Hand of God Olga Episode: "A Bird in Hand"
Scream Queens Girl #2 Episode: "Mommie Dearest" [6][7]
2016–2017 Pretty Little Liars Yvonne Phillips Recurring role; 7 episodes [6][8]
K.C. Undercover Abby Martin Recurring role; 8 episodes [7][19]
Supernatural Alicia Banes 3 episodes [7][13]
2017 The Fosters Dawn 4 episodes [14]
Do I Say I Do? Whitney Television film [3][5]
2018 Youth & Consequences Jayne Series regular [23][15]
9-1-1 Daphne B. Episode: "A Whole New You"
Runaways Millennial Wendy Episode: "Earth Angel"
2019 Single Parents KBS Episode: "Summer of Miggy"
Murder in the Suburbs Nikki Leeds Television film
2020 God Friended Me Emily 4 episodes [4][19]
Mile High Escorts Ashley Television film
NCIS: Los Angeles Jojo Ballard Episode: "Cash Flow"
2021 Jupiter's Legacy Janna Croft/Ghost Beam Episodes: "All the Devils Are Here" and "Cover Her Face" [19]
Dynasty Eva Recurring role; 8 episodes [19]
2022 The Christmas Clapback Aaliyah Television film
CSI: Vegas Valerie Bianco Episode: "There's the Rub"

References

  1. ↑ "Kara Royster talks 'Supernatural, Asa Fox and 'Pretty Little Liars'". MovieTVTechGeeks.com. December 16, 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  2. ↑ Moore, Camille (May 6, 2021). "10 Things You Didn't Know about Kara Royster". TVOverMind.com. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "Interview: Kara Royster Talks Pretty Little Liars – Exclusive". PopCityLife.com. August 23, 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Cha Kim, Nic (March 12, 2020). "Monologue Competition Offers Students Shot at Broadway". Spectrum News 1. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Russo, Caroline (July 13, 2016). "INTERVIEW WITH ACTRESS KARA ROYSTER". HushHushBiz. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wagmeister, Elizabeth (December 23, 2015). "'Pretty Little Liars' Casts Toby's Mystery Woman, Yvonne (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Prudom, Laura (September 9, 2016). "'Supernatural' Casts 'Pretty Little Liars' Actress for Season 12 Role (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Wagmeister, Elizabeth (February 8, 2016). "'Pretty Little Liars' Sneak Peek: Watch Spencer's Awkward Lunch with Yvonne". Variety. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  9. ↑ Biedenharn, Isabella (July 6, 2016). "Pretty Little Liars recap: The Talented Mr. Rollins". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  10. ↑ Biedenharn, Isabella (August 10, 2016). "Pretty Little Liars recap: Season 7, Episode 7". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  11. ↑ Biedenharn, Isabella (August 31, 2016). "Pretty Little Liars summer finale recap: Season 7, Episode 10". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  12. ↑ Highfill, Samantha (May 2, 2017). "'Pretty Little Liars' recap: 'Hold Your Piece'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  13. 1 2 Awesome, Amy (September 9, 2016). "Supernatural Season 12 Casts Pretty Little Liars Actress". ComicBook.com. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  14. 1 2 Petski, Denise (December 1, 2016). "'The Strain' Casts K.C. Collins; Kara Royster Joins 'The Fosters'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  15. 1 2 Lacroix, Emy (March 7, 2018). "'Youth & Consequences' Is a Super-Woke High School 'Scandal', According to Anna Akana and Kara Royster (EXCLUSIVE)". Life & Style. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  16. 1 2 N'Duka, Amanda (May 7, 2019). "Mike C. Manning Joins 'Son of the South'; Makenzie Vega, Nicky Whelan Set For 'Instafame'; Amelia Crouch In 'Eight For Silver'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  17. 1 2 Erbland, Kate (August 12, 2020). "'Unpregnant' Trailer: Haley Lu Richardson and 'Valley Girl' Director Team Up for Timely Road Trip Comedy". IndieWire. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  18. 1 2 N'Duka, Amanda (July 29, 2020). "'Modern Family's Ariel Winter To Star In 'Don't Log Off' Thriller From Baer Brothers". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Swift, Andy (May 4, 2021). "Dynasty Adds PLL Alum as 'Major Troublemaker' for Fallon in Season 4". TVLine. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  20. ↑ Scott, Jenna (December 21, 2021). "Dynasty Season 5 spoilers: Fallon's fate revealed in two-part premiere". FanSided. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  21. 1 2 Lê, Paul (October 28, 2022). "'A Party to Die For' Review – Final "Terror on Tubi" Original Isn't All That Original or Thrilling". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  22. ↑ Mueller, LeAnn (July 14, 2016). "'Mono' Cast Exclusive StudioWrap Portraits (Photos)". The Wrap. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  23. ↑ Petski, Denise (February 15, 2018). "'Youth & Consequences' Trailer: Anna Akana Takes Control In YouTube's Teen Dramedy". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
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