Jennifer Carpenter

Jennifer Leann Carpenter (born December 7, 1979) is an American actress. She is known for playing Debra Morgan in the Showtime series Dexter, for which she earned a Saturn Award in 2009, and also for playing Rebecca Harris in the CBS television series Limitless. Carpenter appeared in films including People Are Dead, Ash Tuesday, D.E.B.S. (2004), White Chicks (2004), Lethal Eviction (2005), The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), The Dog Problem (2006), Battle in Seattle (2007), Quarantine (2008), Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017) and Dragged Across Concrete (2018). In 2019, she began playing Erica Shepherd, the lead role in the NBC drama The Enemy Within.
==Early life==
Carpenter was born on December 7, 1979, 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,
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.
In 2008, she also starred in Quarantine, an American remake of the 2007 Spanish horror film [REC], about a deadly zombie virus outbreak in an apartment complex.
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."
In 2011, she starred in the off-Broadway play Gruesome Playground Injuries at Second Stage Theatre 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 also 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.
==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.
On February 10, 2015, it was announced that Carpenter and musician Seth Avett were engaged and expecting their first child. In August 2015, it was revealed that Carpenter had given birth in May to a son and admitted that she was eight-and-a-half months pregnant when shooting the pilot episode of Limitless. Carpenter and Avett married in May 2016.
In 2010, she ran the New York City Marathon, completing it in 3:34:28.
==Filmography==
===Film===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
2001	People Are Dead 	Angela's friend #2 	
2003	Ash Tuesday 	Samantha 	
2004	D.E.B.S. 	Hysterical Student 	
2004	White Chicks 	Lisa 	
2005	Lethal Eviction 	Sarah / Tessa / Beth 	also known as Grayson Arms
2005	The Exorcism of Emily Rose 	Emily Rose 	MTV Movie Award for Best Frightened PerformanceNominated—Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough PerformanceNominated—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	The Factory 	Kelsey Walker 	
2012	Ex-Girlfriends 	Kate 	Executive producer
2014	Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher	Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow (voice)	English version
2014	The Devil's Hand 	Rebekah 	
2017	Brawl in Cell Block 99 	Lauren Thomas 	
2018	Batman: Gotham by Gaslight 	Selina Kyle (voice) 	Direct-to-video
2018	Dragged Across Concrete 	Kelly Summer 	
2020	Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge 	Sonya Blade (voice) 	Direct-to-video
TBA 	A Mouthful of Air 	Lucy 	Post-production
===Television===
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
2005 	Queen B 	Kristen 	Television movie
2006–2013	Dexter 	Debra Morgan 	Main roleSaturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on TelevisionNominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama SeriesNominated—Golden Nymph Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama SeriesNominated—Prism Award for Female Performance in a Drama SeriesNominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress on TelevisionNominated—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
2019 	The Enemy Within 	Erica Shepherd	Main role
===Video games===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
2014	The Evil Within	Juli Kidman	Voice
Category:1979 births
Category:Actresses from Louisville, Kentucky
Category:American film actresses
Category:American stage actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:American voice actresses
Category:Juilliard School alumni
Category:Living people
Category:21st-century American actresses