Celebrity Nooz: Charisma Carpenter

Charisma Carpenter (Actress) - Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel

Updated: 4/12/22

Name: Charisma Carpenter

Birth Name: Charisma Lee Carpenter

Born: July 23, 1970 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Claim To Fame: Charisma Carpenter is an American actress best known for playing Cordelia Chase in the supernatural drama series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-1999) and its spin-off series Angel (1999-2004).

Family Life: In 2002, Carpenter married Damian Hardy; they have a son, Donovan Charles Hardy. The couple later divorced in 2008.

Info: She's the daughter of Christine, a bird sanctuary worker, and Don Carpenter, a salesman.

It's rumored that she was named after an Avon perfume.

She is of Spanish, French, and German descent.

Attended Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas; Was part of a song-and-dance troupe which performed in the Las Vegas Valley when she was nine years old.

She attended Bonita Vista High School and Chula Vista School of the Creative and Performing Arts.

After graduation, Carpenter traveled throughout Europe.

In 1991, she worked as a cheerleader for the San Diego Chargers football team; The next year she moved to Los Angeles to break into the entertainment business.

Has a rosary tattoo on her left wrist.

Trivia: Carpenter was discovered by a commercial agent while waitressing in Los Angeles to save money for college.

She made her first television role in 1994 by appearing in an episode of Baywatch.

In 1996, Carpenter auditioned for the title role in The WB supernatural drama series Buffy the Vampire Slayer but instead was cast as Cordelia Chase, a snobby and popular high school student.

The role of Delilah in The Faculty (1998) was written specifically for her, but she turned it down because it was too similar to her Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) character, Cordelia.

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 alongside David Boreanaz.

In 2000, she was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Genre TV Supporting Actress for Angel (1999).

In 2001, she was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television in Angel (1999).

In 2003, she was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actress in a Television Series for Angel (1999).

In 2004, she was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series in Angel (1999).

Although her character leaves the series during Angel's fourth season, Carpenter returned for the 100th episode in the fifth and final season.

Carpenter appeared on the cover and in a ten-page nude pictorial of the June 2004 issue of Playboy magazine.

According to TV Guide in September 2007, she was set to join the cast of The Apprentice: Celebrity Edition, but instead she chose to do a guest appearance in the Fox comedy series 'Back to You' as well as a two episode role on the short-lived series 'Big Shots'.

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.

In 2013, Surviving Evil debuted, with Carpenter as host. In the premiere episode, Carpenter herself was featured as a crime survivor, revisiting the horrific attack she and two friends suffered at the hands of violent serial rapist and police officer Henry Hubbard Jr. on San Diego's Torrey Pines State Beach in 1991.

In February 2021, Carpenter spoke out against director Joss Whedon in support of Ray Fisher who also claimed to have experienced a toxic environment at the hands of the director.

Where Are They Now: Carpenter doesn't appear to have any new projects on the horizon, but don't worry, I'm sure she'll be back on the small screen very soon. Whether it be a guest spot or a new TV Movie, she's too good to be gone for long. Oh, and I believe Charisma Carpenter is on the social media so you can follower her and see what she's up to these days.

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