As a teenager, if Karola Mahoney wasn't listening to music then she was studying actors and actresses, having an undying aspiration to get into Hollywood. As the years went by, however, she became more realistic. Or perhaps discouraged would be the better word. Hollywood was a tough industry, she was told over and over again. Many suggestions came to her about "profitable careers." Acting never left her mind, but the dissuasion left its mark despite her family being behind her every step of the way. But still, she was determined. Instead of pursuing a degree in something that would inevitably lead to a boring job in accounting or something similar, she could at least find comfort in the art of acting. If only she could get some kind of break.

Unfortunately for Karola, that break didn't come until much later in life after years of auditions, waiting tables, and taking other odd jobs just to make ends meet. In 1987, she was also faced with one of the biggest jobs yet: motherhood - single motherhood, at that, and on July 14th, Karola gave birth to a baby girl, Ellie Mahoney; a daughter which she would ultimately learn to raise on her own and try to shield as best as possible from the public eye. Becoming a parent didn't stop Karol from pursuing her dreams, however. Wanting to be able to provide for her only daughter, she auditioned for any and every role under the sun until one day, that big break she'd been waiting for finally came in the form of one of movie's and television's biggest known producers, a man with a lot of pull in the industry - and it was thanks to his industry connections (and Karola's talent in the bedroom, according to tabloids, who later linked her with the producer) that Karola was able to secure herself an audition for a little known television series called United States of Tara, a series she would go on to win an Emmy for, as well as star in a movie called Muriel's Wedding playing the lead role of Muriel Heslop. You know what they say. The rest is history. She had the acting career she'd always dreamt of and a daughter she couldn't be more proud of.

In 2003, Karola met and married director Vincent Taccoli. Their relationship was a whirlwind, to say the least, and after dating for a short period of time the couple eloped in Las Vegas. Seemingly two opposites, their relationship was tabloid fodder, for the most part, but somehow they made it work. The couple even went on to have two daughters of their own. But all good things must come to an end, such as their marriage, and Karola suddenly filed for divorce citing "irreconcilable differences," though sources say the demise of the marriage was due to Taccoli's wandering eye.

Despite her relationship woes and being linked to several Hollywood men through the years, Karola has always kept one thing in mind: Keep the eye on the prize - and for her, the prize was her career along with the wellbeing of her children. That was all she needed. Everything else, in her opinion, was insignificant.