Charisma Carpenter Biography

Name:Charisma Lee Carpenter

Date of Birth:July 23, 197

Place of Birth:Las Vegas, Nevada

Charisma Lee Carpenter  is an American actress. Charisma Carpenter  is best known for her role as Cordelia Chase in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel, for which she was nominated for four Saturn Awards. In her most recent film she starred opposite Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham in The Expendables (2010). Charisma Carpenter appeared in an episode of the seventh season of Supernatural alongside Buffy co-star James Marsters.

Early life

Carpenter was born in Las Vegas, Nevada,the daughter of Chris, a bird sanctuary worker, and Don Carpenter, a salesman. Charisma Carpenter is of French and German descent on her father's side and Cherokee and Spanish descent on her mother's side. Charisma Carpenter parents named her after an Avon perfume.Carpenter attended Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas; she was also a part of a song-and-dance troupe which performed in the Las Vegas area beginning when she was nine. When she was 15, her family moved to Rosarito city, Mexico and then to San Diego where she attended Bonita Vista High School and Chula Vista School of the Creative and Performing Arts. After graduation, Carpenter traveled throughout Europe. Once she returned to San Diego again, she worked as a video store clerk, an aerobics instructor, and in property management. In 1991, she worked as a San Diego Charger cheerleader, In 1992, she moved to Los Angeles.

Career

Carpenter was discovered by a commercial agent while waiting tables in Los Angeles to save money for her college education. This led to her role on theatrical productions and more than twenty commercials. Charisma Carpenter made her first television role in 1994 by appearing in an episode of Baywatch. Shortly after that, she landed a starring role on Aaron Spelling's short-lived soap opera Malibu Shores.

Carpenter at the 2005 Comic-ConIn 1996, Carpenter auditioned for the title role in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer but instead was cast as Cordelia Chase, a snobby and popular high school student. After three seasons on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Carpenter was offered an even larger role as the same character on the spin-off series Angel along with David Boreanaz. Charisma Carpenter played Cordelia Chase for four seasons on Angel. Although her character leaves the series during Angel's fourth season, Carpenter returned for the 100th episode in the fifth and final season because she felt that Cordelia's fans deserved closure after the controversy of her unexplained removal from the show.

In 2004, Carpenter had a three episode guest appearance on the TV show Charmed as a psychic demon called The Seer and played a recurring role on NBC's Miss Match, appearing in four episodes. Charisma Carpenter also had a recurring role as Kendall Casablancas in the TV series Veronica Mars for the 2005–2006 season, appearing in 11 episodes. Carpenter guest-starred in the first season finale of ABC Family's television show Greek and reprised her role in two episodes of Season 2. According to TV Guide in September 2007, she was set to join the cast of The Apprentice: Celebrity Edition, but instead chose to do a guest appearance on the show Back to You as well as a recurring role on the short-lived series Big Shots.Carpenter also had a guest appearance in an April 2009 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

On March 20, 2008, Paley Fest hosted a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reunion. Carpenter attended the event alongside Buffy creator Joss Whedon, producers Marti Noxon and David Greenwalt, and other Buffy alumni including Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, James Marsters, Emma Caulfield, Amber Benson, Seth Green, and Michelle Trachtenberg.

Carpenter has starred in an assortment of made-for-TV and direct-to-video movies including the sex comedy What Boys Like, the horror film Voodoo Moon, and the romantic comedies See Jane Date and Relative Chaos on ABC Family (the latter of which co-starred fellow Buffy alum Nicholas Brendon). Charisma Carpenter also appeared in the mysteries Flirting with Danger and Cheaters' Club on Lifetime Television and the Syfy movie House of Bones broadcast in 2010, around the same time as her guest spot in Legend of the Seeker.

Also in 2009, Carpenter starred in production company Red Sparrow's first film, Psychosis, which was released in early 2011. In August 2010, she had a supporting role in Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables. After the success of The Expendables, Carpenter was cast in Human Factor  and in the indie thriller Crash Site.

Public image Carpenter was named #31 on Askmen.com's Top 99 Most Desirable Women 2002 and #44 on their 2005 list. Despite this, Carpenter has stated she does not view herself as a sex symbol.

In the June 2004 issue of Playboy magazine, Carpenter appeared on the cover and in a ten-page nude layout. When asked by People magazine in 2005 about her nude pictorial and whether or not she would ever pose for Playboy again, she replied, "I don't know. I did Playboy for a very specific reason. Not only was it a good financial move, but it was about the place I was at in my life. I had just had my son and I'd gained 50 lbs. during pregnancy. I wanted to get back to my old self. I wanted to feel desirable and sexy. So I thought, 'What if I went full throttle?'"

Personal life

Carpenter married Damian Hardy on October 5, 2002.On March 24, 2003, Carpenter gave birth to a son named Donovan Charles Hardy. In late 2007, the couple separated and their divorce was made final in July 2008.

As a fitness enthusiast, her outdoor hobbies are biking, rollerblading, horseback riding, hiking, rock climbing, and skydiving.

Filmography/Television

1994 Baywatch Wendie Sanders Guest star 5.05

1995 Boy Meets World Caterer Guest star 3.10

1996 Malibu Shores Ashley Green Regular Show lasted 10 episodes

1997–1999 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Cordelia Chase Regular (seasons 1–3) Appeared in 54 episodes

1999 Hey Arnold! Simone, a 6th grader Guest star (voice) 4.05 – "Phoebe Skips"

1999–2004 Angel Cordelia Chase Regular (seasons 1–4), Special Guest Star (season 5) Appeared in 86 episodes

2001 Strange Frequency Jules Guest star 1.12

2003 Miss Match Serena Lockner Special guest star Appeared in 4 episodes

2004 Like Cats and Dogs Sarah Regular Rejected UPN sitcom pilot

2004 The Division Emma Campbell Guest star 4.14

2004 Charmed Kyra the Seer Guest star 7.3, 7.5, & 7.10

2004 LAX Julie Random Special guest star 1.09

2005–2006 Veronica Mars Kendall Casablancas Guest star Appeared in 11 episodes

2007 Back to You Brooke Schimmel Guest star 1.06 – "Gracie's Bully"

2007 Big Shots Heather/Janelle Johns Recurring character 1.09 – "The Better Man"

1.11 – "Who's the Boss?"

2007–2011 Greek Tegan Walker Recurring character 1.10 – "Black & White and Read All Over"

2.01 – "Brothers and Sisters"

2.06 – "See You Next Time, Sisters!"

4.02 – "Fools Rush In"

2009 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Mink Guest star The Descent of Man

2009 Legend of the Seeker Trianna Guest star 2.01 – "Marked"

2011 Burn Notice Nicki Guest star 5.11 – "Better Halves"

2011 Supernatural Maggie Stark Special Guest Star 7.05 – "Shut Up, Dr. Phil"

2012 The Lying Game Annie Sewell Recurring character

FilmsYear Film Role Other notes

1995–1996 Josh Kirby... Time Warrior! Beth Sullivan 3 movie series, direct-to-video

2001 What Boys Like Kim released in Europe as The Groomsmen

2003 See Jane Date Jane Grant ABC Family Original Movie

2005 Voodoo Moon Heather IDT Entertainment

2006 Flirting with Danger Laura Clifford Lifetime movie

2006 Cheaters' Club Linda Stern Lifetime movie

2006 Relative Chaos Katherine ABC Family Original Movie

2009 Psychosis Susan Carter Red Sparrow's first film

2010 The Expendables Lacy Lionsgate Films

2010 House of Bones Heather Burton Syfy Channel Original Movie

2011 Obsession Sonia Patton filmed in December 2010

2011 Crash Site: A Family in Danger  Rita Sanders to be released by Marsvista Production Company

2011 Deadly Sibling Rivalry Janna/Callie Lifetime movie

2011 Human Factor Lori Stoltz Pre-production

2011 Haunted High Persia the Librarian Syfy movie

2002 Change Up Narrator

2010 The Art of Seduction: Vampire Lore Host included as an extra on the "Lost Boys: The Thirst" DVD