Kara Houghton was born on August 12, 2004 in Colorado to Brandon and Tanya Houghton. She has an older sister, Kenar, a younger brother, Camren, three dogs and five cats. Kara is an honor student at Legend High School and she will graduate in 2022. She earned superior rating in Journalism Education Association. She also placed first in Douglas County News Production and News Coverage. She was a finalist for the PSA Film Festival. During Kara's spare time, she enjoys editing and filming videos, baking and drawing/sketching.

Kara competed level 7 in 2014 and level 8 in 2015 where she qualified to the Region 3 Championships both years. She competed level 9 for the next three seasons. At the 2016 State Championships, Kara finished second on balance beam and sixth on floor exercise, qualifying to the Regionals. In 2017, Kara earned a silver medal on floor exercise with a 9.500 at the State Championships and qualified to the Regionals. Following her 2017 season, Kara moved to Colorado Gymnastics Institute (CGI) in Aurora, CO.

In 2018, Kara finished third in the all-around with a 37.150, first on vault and second on floor exercise at the Level 9 State Championships. She did well at the Region 3 Championships, finishing fourth in the all-around with a 37.500, third on uneven bars, fourth on balance beam and fifth on floor exercise. She qualified to the Level 9 Western Nationals in Salt Lake City, UT where she finished ninth in the all-around with a 37.600, fourth on uneven bars and sixth on balance beam.

As a first-year level 10 gymnast in 2019, Kara placed sixth in the all-around and fourth on floor exercise at the State Championships, qualifying to Region 3 Championships. In 2020, Kara qualified to the Level 10 State Championships but was unable to compete due to COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Kara placed second in the all-around with a 37.250, first on uneven bars and second on floor exercise at the State Championships. At the Region 3 Championships, she placed 12th overall with a 37.475 and seventh on balance beam in a very tough group of competitors. This qualified Kara to the Junior Olympic Nationals in Daytona Beach, FL.

Kara trains 20-25 hours per week at Colorado Gymnastics Institute (CGI) in Aurora, CO under coaches Vinicio Leira, Sonia Leira and Lindy Franzini and Kristen Teubner. Her long-term goal is to obtain a Division I college gymnastics scholarship.