Early life

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 took home the 2006 MTV Movie Award for 'Best Frightened Performance', and also received a 'Hollywood Life Breakthrough Award'. She was also named '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 has impressed some 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."

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.

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

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 after having been separated "for some time". The divorce was finalized in December 2011 for irreconcilable differences; however, the two remain very close friends.

Carpenter started dating folk musician Seth Avett in 2013. On February 10, 2015, it was announced that the couple were engaged and expecting their first child. In August 2015, it was revealed that Carpenter gave birth in May to a son Isaac, and admitted that she was eight-and-a-half months pregnant when shooting the pilot episode of Limitless.

In 2010, she ran the New York City Marathon, completing it in 3:34:28.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Nice Guys Sleep Alone	Uncredited
2001	People Are Dead	Angela's friend #2
2003	Ash Tuesday	Samantha
2004	D.E.B.S	Hysterical student
2004	White Chicks	Lisa
2005	Last Days of America	Friend in New York #2
2005	Lethal Eviction
2005	Grayson Arms	Sarah/Tessa/Beth
2005	The Exorcism of Emily Rose	Emily Rose	MTV Movie Award for Best Frightened Performance Nominated—Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
2006	The Dog Problem	Redheaded waitress
2007	Battle in Seattle	Sam
2008	Quarantine	Angela Vidal
2010	Faster	Nan Porterman
2011	Seeking Justice	Trudy
2012	Gone	Sharon Ames
2012	Ex-Girlfriends	Kate	Executive Producer
2012	The Factory	Kelsey Walker
2014	Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher	Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow	Voice role (English version)
2014	The Devil's Hand	Rebekah

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Queen B	Kristen	Television movie
2006-2013	Dexter	Debra Morgan	Main role, 96 episodes Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television Nominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Nominated—Golden Nymph Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series Nominated—Prism Award for Female Performance in a Drama Series Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
2009	Dexter: Early Cuts	Debra Morgan	2 episodes
2011	The Good Wife	Pamela Raker	Episode: "Parenting Made Easy"
2011-2013	Pound Puppies	Pepper	5 episodes
2014	Robot Chicken	Voice	Episode: "Victoria's Secret of NIMH"
2015-2016	Limitless	Rebecca Harris	Main role

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2014	The Evil Within	Juli Kidman	Voice
2015	The Assignment	Juli Kidman	DLC
2015	The Consequence	Juli Kidman	DLC

[ Source: Wikipedia ]