Karen Sheila Gillan (born 28 November 1987) is a Scottish actress and former model. She played Amy Pond in the British science fiction series Doctor Who.

Karen Gillan was born and raised in Inverness, Scotland. She is the only child of John Gillan, a singer/recording artist, and mother, Marie Gillan (née Paterson).She learned to play the piano when she was seven.At a young age, she developed a love for acting, joining several local youth theatre groups and taking part in a wide range of productions at her school, Charleston Academy. When she turned 16, Gillan moved to Edinburgh and completed an HNC Acting and Performance course at Telford College.She then moved to London at 18 to study at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts drama school in the BA (Hons) Acting degree course.

In 2011, Gillan helped promote Fashion Targets Breast Cancer (FTBC) and the opening of Squirrel Ward in Great Ormond Street Hospital. During an interview with Craig Ferguson on The Late Late Show, she confirmed she now lives in Los Angeles.