Misplaced Pages

Jennifer Carpenter
Carpenter in 2012
Born	(1979-12-07) December 7, 1979 (age 45) Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Education	Juilliard School (BFA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1998–present
Spouses	Michael C. Hall ​ ​(m. 2008; div. 2011)​ Seth Avett ​(m. 2016)​
Children	1

Jennifer Carpenter (born December 7, 1979) is an American actress. She garnered wide attention for her role as the titular character in the supernatural horror film The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), which established her as a scream queen. She rose to prominence for playing Debra Morgan in the crime drama series Dexter (2006–2013), which she reprised in the miniseries Dexter: New Blood (2021–2022). Her accolades include a MTV Movie Award and a Saturn Award, in addition to nominations for a Critics' Choice Television Award and four Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Carpenter's television roles beyond Dexter include Rebecca Harris in the comedy drama series Limitless (2015–2016) and Erica Shephard in the drama series The Enemy Within (2019). Her film roles include Angela Vidal in the found footage horror film Quarantine (2008) and Sonya Blade in the direct-to-video Mortal Kombat films Scorpion's Revenge (2020) and Battle of the Realms (2021).

Early life and education

Carpenter was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the daughter of Catherine (née Mitchell) and Robert Carpenter. She attended St. Raphael the Archangel and then Sacred Heart Academy. She trained at the Walden Theatre Conservatory program, and later at New York City's Juilliard School (Drama Division Group 31: 1998–2002).

Before graduation, she was cast in the 2002 Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's The Crucible starring Liam Neeson and Laura Linney.

Career

Carpenter first attracted critical attention for her performance in The Exorcism of Emily Rose. She was cast in the film at the suggestion of co-star Laura Linney, who previously worked with Carpenter in a play. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called her performance "gruelling" and Paul Arendt of BBC believed the film was effective "thanks to a committed performance from Jennifer Carpenter". She took home the 2006 MTV Movie Award for Best Scared-As-Shit Performance and won Breakout Performer at the 2006 Scream Awards.

Carpenter played the role of Debra Morgan in the Showtime crime drama television series Dexter, which premiered October 1, 2006. Her portrayal of the title character's adoptive sister impressed a number of critics, with Australian journalist Jack Marx describing her portrayal of "cool and clumsy" Debra as "so perfect that many viewers appear to have mistaken the character's flaws for the actor's." For Dexter, she received numerous accolades in Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories, winning a Saturn Award from eight consecutive nominations, and earning nominations for a Critics' Choice Television Award and four Screen Actors Guild Awards.

In 2008, she starred in Quarantine, an American remake of the 2007 Spanish horror film Rec, about a deadly zombie virus outbreak in an apartment complex.

In 2011, she starred in the off-Broadway play Gruesome Playground Injuries at Second Stage Theatre and had a guest appearance on the CBS drama The Good Wife.

In January 2014, it was announced that Carpenter would star in a new ABC drama Sea of Fire, playing FBI Agent Leah Pierce. However, the show was not picked up as a series. In August 2014, it was announced that she would provide the voice of Juli Kidman in the survival horror video game The Evil Within, marking her first video game appearance. The game was released in October 2014, and Carpenter provided voicework for two of The Evil Within's DLC chapters, "The Assignment" and "The Consequence", which featured Juli Kidman as the playable protagonist. However, Carpenter did not reprise the role in the game's sequel, The Evil Within 2, and her character was recast.

In early 2015, Carpenter was cast in the CBS drama series Limitless in which she co-starred with Jake McDorman.

On July 13, 2021, Showtime confirmed that Carpenter would reprise her role of Debra Morgan in a 10-episode limited series, Dexter: New Blood, with Clyde Phillips returning as showrunner. The series premiered on November 7, 2021.

Personal life

In 2007, she began dating her Dexter co-star Michael C. Hall. They eloped on New Year's Eve 2008 in California and publicly appeared together for the first time as a married couple at the 66th Golden Globe Awards in January 2009. In December 2010, Hall and Carpenter released a statement announcing that they had filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, after having been separated "for some time". The divorce was finalized in December 2011; the two remain very close friends.

On February 10, 2015, it was announced that Carpenter and musician Seth Avett were engaged and expecting their first child. Later that year, Carpenter gave birth to a son. She had been eight-and-a-half months pregnant when shooting the pilot episode of Limitless. Carpenter and Avett married in May 2016.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

1. "Jennifer Carpenter Biography". Tribute.ca.
2. "Jennifer Carpenter: Biography". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
3. "Walden Theatre". Retrieved December 24, 2011.
4. "Alumni News". Juilliard School. March 2010. Archived from the original on November 11, 2011. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
5. Wilson, Gemma (January 28, 2011). "What's Up, Jennifer Carpenter? The Gruesome Playground Injuries Star on Not Having a Backup Plan". Broadway.com. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
6. "Story Notes for The Exorcism of Emily Rose". AMC.com. AMC Networks. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
7. Ebert, Roger (September 8, 2005). "The Exorcism of Emily Rose Movie Review (2005)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
8. Arendt, Paul (November 24, 2005). "BBC - Movies - review - The Exorcism of Emily Rose". BBC. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
9. Marcus, Lawrence (April 25, 2006). "MTV taps reel noms". Variety. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
10. "Breaking News - Get Yer Scream On! Categories and Nominees Announced for Spike TV's Scream Awards 2006". www.thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
11. Marx, Jack (July 4, 2008). "Something About Dexter". News.com.au. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
12. Wilson, Gemma (January 28, 2011). "What's up, Jennifer Carpenter? The Gruesome Playground Injuries actress on not having a backup plan". Broadway.com. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
13. Rudolph, Ileane (November 15, 2011). "First look: Jennifer Carpenter on The Good Wife". TV Guide. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
14. Goldberg, Lesley. "Dexter's Jennifer Carpenter to Star in ABC's Sea of Fire". The Hollywood Reporter.
15. "The Evil Within's voice cast features Dexter and Watchmen stars". Polygon.com. Polygon. August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
16. Andreeva, Nellie (March 12, 2015). "Jennifer Carpenter To Co-Star In CBS Pilot Limitless". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
17. Ausiello, Michael (June 9, 2015). "CBS Premiere Dates For Fall 2015: Supergirl Launches after Big Bang". TVLine.
18. Andreeva, Nellie (July 13, 2021). "Dexter: Jennifer Carpenter Returns For Revival On Showtime". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
19. Turchiano, Danielle (July 25, 2021). "Dexter Revival Series Unveils First Look Trailer and November Premiere Date". Variety. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
20. ^ Dos Santos, Kristin (January 9, 2009). "Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter Are Married". E! Online. Archived from the original on August 14, 2011. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
21. Snierson, Dan (December 13, 2010). "Dexter stars Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter file for divorce (EW exclusive)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 15, 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
22. "Jennifer Carpenter Cries Over Michael C. Hall Divorce at Dexter Event". Us Weekly. September 13, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
23. "Michael C. Hall Divorce Finalized: Who is Dexter Star Dating Now?". International Business Times. December 7, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
24. "Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter Divorce 2011: Why Did Dexter Co-stars Split?". EzineMark.
25. "Seth Avett and Jennifer Carpenter Welcome First Child". People. August 10, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
26. Takeda, Allison (August 10, 2015). "Jennifer Carpenter Welcomes First Child With Fiance Seth Avett". Us Weekly. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
27. Wheatley, Cliff (March 14, 2014). "Avengers Confidential: Black Widow and Punisher Review". IGN.
28. ^ "Jennifer Carpenter (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved October 14, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
29. Couch, Aaron (January 17, 2020). "Animated Mortal Kombat Movie Sets Cast With Joel McHale, Jennifer Carpenter". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
30. Couch, Aaron (June 16, 2021). "Animated 'Mortal Kombat Legends' Sequel Arriving This Summer (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved June 16, 2021.

External links

• Jennifer Carpenter at IMDb 
• Jennifer Carpenter on Twitter

• 1979 births
• Living people
• Actresses from Louisville, Kentucky
• American film actresses
• American stage actresses
• American television actresses
• American voice actresses
• Juilliard School alumni
• 20th-century American actresses
• 21st-century American actresses