Celebrity MasterChef's Dawn O'Porter: Her famous film star husband and if her enviable hair is actually a wig
She's had the same haircut her whole life!Celebrity MasterChef’s Dawn O’Porter is proving to be a real whizz in the kitchen – but who is she?
The star is one of this year’s contestants on the BBC show and has made it all the way to Finals Week.
But there is much more to Dawn than being a Celebrity MasterChef finalist.
Here’s everything you need to know about her, including her marriage to film star husband Chris and whether that gorgeous head of hair is actually a wig.
Celebrity MasterChef: Who is Dawn O’Porter?
Dawn was born in Alexandria, Scotland, on January 23, 1979. This makes her 46 years old.
When Dawn was just seven years old, tragedy struck her family. Her mother died from breast cancer and she and her sister went to live with their aunt in Guernsey.
Dawn later returned to England to study acting at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. Her father still lives in Scotland and Dawn has paid homage to him during her stint on Celebrity MasterChef.
Dawn’s TV career
Dawn pursued a TV career after leaving college and she was a household name in the noughties. The star featured regularly as a product tester on How to Look Good Naked on Channel 4.
Dawn then branched out into her own ventures. In 2007, she fronted the BBC Three documentary, Super Slim Me. In the show, Dawn attempted to shrink her UK size 12 figure down to a UK size 4 (US size zero).
The TV presenter stuck to a 500-calorie-a-day diet for eight weeks and met with head honchos in the world of fashion medical experts. By the end, Dawn found she was displaying obsessive behaviours and mood swings.
Dawn also fronted a four-part documentary series for BBC Three the following year called Dawn… These were Dawn Gets Naked, Dawn Goes Lesbian, Dawn Gets a Baby and Dawn Gets Her Man.
She was later snapped back up by Channel 4. Fans might remember a very eye-opening documentary series called Extreme Wife that Dawn made.
In one, she travelled to San Diego to investigate the world of polyamory. In the episode, Dawn attended a ‘free love’ session full of naked people covered in warm olive oil.
Dawn has also fronted My Breasts Could Kill Me for Sky, which was focussed on breast cancer. Her last major presenting gig was on Channel 4’s This Old Thing, about vintage clothing, in 2014.
What books has Dawn O’Porter written?
Dawn has since turned her attention to book writing. Her first novel was released in 2013 and is called Paper Aeroplanes. The story is about two teenage girls living in Guernsey and is loosely based on her own childhood.
Three years later, Dawn made it into the Sunday Times Bestseller List with her book The Cows. This uplifting story is about three women living in London and it features themes of online trolling and sexuality.
She’s also published the novels Honey Bee and Goose, which feature the two main characters from Paper Aeroplanes. Her other books include Cat Lady, So Lucky and Life in Pieces. The latter was credited by documentary-maker Louis Theroux for being “very funny and honest”.
Who is Dawn’s husband?
Dawn married Irish actor Chris O’Dowd in 2012. They had met in the US while Dawn had been filming here documentary about polyamory.
Rather than take his surname, Dawn changed her maiden name from Porter to O’Porter when they tied the knot.
Chris has a huge long list of television and film credits to his name. He is probably best known for starring in the Channel 4 sitcom The IT Crowd as Roy Trenneman.
Chris has since starred in the movies The Boat that Rocked, Bridesmaids, The Sapphires, Thor: The Dark World and Mary Poppins Returns to name a few.
The couple had a three-day wedding dubbed ‘Wedfest’. Dawn later said: “We just threw our ultimate party; it was the perfect mix of love and debauchery.”
How many children does Dawn have?
Dawn and Chris have two children together. They welcomed their first child, a son called Art, in January 2015. Just over two years later, Dawn gave birth to their second son.
Baby Valentine was born in July 2017. Dawn said at the time: “He is so delicious. Two sons, my goodness #soinlove.”
Where does Dawn O’Porter live?
After meeting Chris, Dawn moved to the US and the couple set up home together in Los Angeles.
Dawn later said in 2023: “We really love it here, we have amazing friends here, we have a really lovely house. Our life is very small, we do most of our socialising at home.
“We have a community of mates with young kids around us and it’s very un-sceney.”
However, the couple and their sons have since moved back to the UK. The couple headed home in the summer of 2024, with Dawn saying it was “time”.
She told the Daily Express at the time: “I didn’t really want to raise my kids in America. Our parents are getting old, I missed my sister. It just felt like the right time.”
Dawn said the global pandemic in 2020 made them feel “really far away from home”.
The couple are believed to have settled in London. Dawn has also hoped the move will revive her career, previously admitting: “I work pay cheque to pay cheque. I’m always broke. My card got declined last week.
“I’m like, what the (bleep) is happening? When will this end?”
Is Dawn O’Porter’s hair real? Does she wear a wig?
Dawn’s glossy and voluminous hair has left some fans wondering if she wears a wig. But she doesn’t – all her hair is her own.
The star’s bob has become almost her trademark, however.
She previously wrote in Glamour: “It’s the same haircut I’ve had since I was little, and it felt like ‘me’.
“Sure, I’ve cheated on it before – in my 20s I grew it long and in my 30s I’ve cut it all off and gone red – but I’ve always gone back to the bob. I’ll never change it, except perhaps if I go white blonde.”
During her Celebrity MasterChef stint, Dawn has been accessorising with a range of stylish clips and hairbands to keep her enviable hair out of her eyes!
When is Dawn in Celebrity MasterChef?
Dawn is one of this year’s five Celebrity MasterChef finalists. She joins Jamie Lomas, Alfie Boe, Alun Wyn Jones and Ginger Johnson in the last week of the competition.
Throughout the series, Dawn has seriously impressed judges Grace Dent and John Torode with her cooking. But can she make it all the way?
You can catch Dawn in Celebrity MasterChef tonight at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Read more: Celebrity MasterChef 2025: Ginger Johnson out of drag ‘looks just like Dermot O’Leary’
