Clare McMahon grew up in Carrickfergus County Antrim, Northern Ireland. At 18 she gained a place at the prestigious Central School of Speech and Drama. Her first professional job was as Anya in The Cherry Orchard in Greenwich, she then went on to play various roles in the theatre, including Hermia in the Almeida, Annie in Michael Morpurgo's 'Twist of Gold' and Desdemona in an Irish tour of Othello. In 2014 she made her West End debut opposite Daniel Radcliffe in 'The Cripple of Irishmaan'.Clare moved back to Belfast in 2015 and wrote her first play 'Shakespeare's Women' which sold out it's run in the Lyric Theatre Belfast before touring NI.Clare made her film debut in local feature 'Zoo' with Penelope Wilton and Toby Jones.