Kate Harbour Biography: Education, Husband, Net Worth, Parents, Sisters, Age, Height, TV Shows, Instagram
Kathryn Jean Harbour, better known as Kate Harbour, is a British voice actress. She is best known for providing a wide array of character voices for the multi-award-winning children’s series Bob the Builder, including Wendy, Dizzy, Mrs. Potts, Mrs. Broadbent, Mrs. Percival, and Pilchard.
Her extensive body of work also includes the Oscar-nominated Shaun the Sheep franchise, Aardman’s Timmy Time, The Secret Show, Octonauts, and numerous English dubs for Netflix animated series.
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| Wiki Facts & About Data | |
| Real Name: | Kathryn Jean Harbour |
| Stage Name: | Kate Harbour |
| Born: | April 15, 1971 (age 55 years old) |
| Place of Birth: | Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom |
| Nationality: | British |
| Height: | 1.68 m |
| Parents: | Michael N. Harbour, Mrs. Harbour |
| Siblings: | Emma Bowe, Sue Cleaver |
| Spouse: | Oliver "Olly" Leemans |
| Relationship: | Married |
| Children: | Jack Leemans |
| Occupation: | Voice actress, actress, narrator, workshop facilitator |
| Net Worth: | $1 million |
Early Life and Education
Kate Harbour came into the world on April 15, 1971, in Northamptonshire, England, and was raised in the picturesque village of Nether Heyford.
She is the daughter of the late Michael N. Harbour, a respected British stage and television actor, and Mrs. Harbour a homemaker mother.
She has a sister named Emma Bowe and an older maternal half-sister, Sue Cleaver, a prominent British actress best known for her role as Eileen Grimshaw on Coronation Street.
Her educational journey began with dance training at the age of four, and by age eight she had enrolled at the Arts Educational School in Tring, where ballet became her primary focus.
She continued her formal dance education at The Central School of Ballet in London, founded by the late Christopher Gable, and later studied at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Rose Bruford College.
She is of White British ethnicity, and her religion is Christianity.
Career
Kate Harbour began her professional life as a trained dancer and musical theatre performer, appearing in several West End productions, including Cameron Mackintosh‘s Oliver, Martin Guerre, and Hey Mr. Producer, as well as Ken Hill‘s productions of Zorro and The Phantom of the Opera.
Her earliest credited stage role was the back end of Maggie the Cow at Watford Palace, a humble beginning she has often recalled with humor.
She also joined the National Youth Music Theatre for a season at the Edinburgh Festival, where she performed opposite Jonny Lee Miller in Bertolt Brecht‘s Caucasian Chalk Circle and shared the stage with Jude Law in a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Her transition into voice acting proved transformative, and she quickly became one of the most sought-after vocal talents in British animation.
Her breakthrough came with the role of Wendy, Dizzy, and several other characters in the long-running children’s series Bob the Builder, which premiered in 1999 and became a global phenomenon.
She went on to voice Lyca in Lavender Castle and Anita Knight and Doctor Doctor in The Secret Show, while also lending her voice to Timmy’s mother in Aardman’s Timmy Time and the Shaun the Sheep franchise.
Her work on Shaun the Sheep earned particular acclaim, with the film A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon receiving an Academy Award nomination.
She has also voiced characters in Octonauts: Above & Beyond, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, Messy Goes to Okido, and numerous Netflix dubs including Super Monsters, Chip and Potato, and Go! Go! Cory Carson.
In addition to her screen work, she has narrated a multitude of audiobooks and radio plays, including Charles Chilton‘s Journey into Space: Frozen in Time and The Big Ben Theory alongside members of The Goodies, Joanna Lumley, and Jon Culshaw.
Kate Harbour‘s later career has been defined by a deliberate expansion into mentorship and industry leadership.
She now runs acclaimed “Acting for Animation” workshops at institutions such as the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Rose Bruford College, helping a new generation of voice actors develop their craft.
She remains active in the animation industry, with recent credits including the 2021 Shaun the Sheep special The Flight Before Christmas, the 2023 film Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, and the 2026 release Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom.
Her legacy in British animation is considerable, having provided the vocal heart for some of the most beloved children’s characters of the past quarter-century.
She is a member of BAFTA and is represented by Alliance Agents and Vocal Point for her voice work.
Social Media
- Instagram Handle: @kateharbourofficial
- Twitter/X Handle: @KateHarbour
- TikTok Handle: @kateharbourvoiceactor
Personal Life
Kate Harbour is married to Oliver “Olly” Leemans, whom she wed in the mid-2000s. The couple has one son together, Jack Leemans.
Beyond her professional commitments, Harbour is known for her down-to-earth personality and her passion for mentoring aspiring voice actors, often sharing insights from her decades of experience in the industry.
Filmography
- Lavender Castle (1999)
- Bob the Builder (1999–2012)
- Bob the Builder: A Christmas to Remember (2001)
- The Fimbles (2002–2004)
- Snowed Under (2004)
- Bob the Builder: Scrambler to the Rescue (2007)
- Shaun the Sheep (2007–2016)
- Bob the Builder: The Legend of the Golden Hammer (2009)
- Timmy Time (2009–2012)
- Bob the Builder: Big Dino Dig (2011)
- Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015)
- A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019)
- Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas (2021)
- Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023)
- Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom (2026)
Net Worth
Kate Harbour has an estimated net worth of approximately $1 million, accumulated through her prolific career as a voice actress across television, film, and radio.
Her primary sources of income include her voice-acting roles in major animated franchises such as Bob the Builder and Shaun the Sheep, and audiobook narration.
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