She was born and raised in Formby, Merseyside, and attended Holy Family High School.
[1] Dowler appeared in the Channel 4 adaptation of The Six Wives of Henry VIII as Catherine of Aragon, in a 40-minute episode.
She also appeared in the Lewis episode "The Quality of Mercy" and in the ITV programme The Bill.
Since 2001, she has played Kirsty Miller in the BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers.
[2] Dowler also provided the voice for May, one of the two main protagonists in the 2021 video game It Takes Two by Hazelight Studios.