Cara Castronuova (born February 6, 1980) is an American champion boxer, a professional sports announcer, political activist and celebrity fitness trainer.
She began boxing at the age of five in the family garage with her father Nicholas Castronuova, who was a decorated United States Marines Corps Vietnam War veteran (Purple Heart, Bronze Star) of Italian American heritage.
Determined to redeem herself, Castronuova came back one year later and won her first New York Golden Gloves championship at Madison Square Garden in 2005 in front of a televised, capacity crowd.
Her father died from Vietnam War causes related to Agent Orange when Cara was a teenager and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
These unfortunate events fueled her ambition and motivated her to become a role model and a strong foundation for her family, especially for her three younger brothers and her elderly aunt who lives with her and is disabled.
[citation needed] Cara has trained extensively in martial arts and other fighting techniques, which led to acting opportunities, primarily as a stuntwoman and stunt coordinator.
She was credited by NBC for inspiring Season 11 contestants and the audience of The Biggest Loser to find "their fighter within" and make their own comebacks on the road to good health.
[6] She spent one season on NBC's hit show The Biggest Loser as a head trainer opposite Jillian Michaels, Bob Harper and Brett Hoebel.
On January 10, 2020, she announced the Press Conference Weigh-In and the undercard leading up to the historical Showtime Championship Boxing "Herstory" matchup between Claressa Shields and Ivana Habazin.