Carla was born in Coventry to parents who were both dancers. Her English mother was appearing in a company in Lisbon when she met her Portuguese husband-to-be, and the couple returned to live in England. One of Carla's 2 brothers, Jorge, joined the British Army and, at the age of 36, became its youngest-ever Colonel. Carla went to the University of Warwick, where she read Dramatic Arts and Theatre Studies,