Jennifer Carpenter's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) Dexter Debra Morgan Limitless Special Age… The Enemy Within Erica Sheph…

Main Movie Roles

BIOGRAPHY:

Jennifer Leann Carpenter (born December 7, 1979) is an American actress, known for her roles as Emily Rose in The Exorcism of Emily Rose, as Debra Morgan in Dexter, and as the lead role in the 2008 horror movie Quarantine.

Born in Louisville, Kentucky and graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville. She trained at the Walden Theatre Conservatory, and later at the Juilliard School in New York City. Before graduation she was cast in the Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's The Crucible starring 'Liam Neeson' and Laura Linney.

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 plays the role of Debra Morgan in the Showtime television series Dexter which premiered October 1, 2006. Her portrayal of the title character's sister has impressed some critics, with Australian journalist Jack Marx describing her "cool and clumsy" performance as "so perfect that many viewers appear to have mistaken the character's flaws for the actor's". However, others have panned her for overacting during dramatic scenes.

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 on January 11, 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, after he separated from his wife. On February 10, 2015, it was announced that the couple was engaged and expecting their first child. In August 2015, it was revealed that Carpenter gave birth in May 2015, and she 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 with Elementary lead and Dexter co-star 'Jonny Lee Miller', completing it in 3:34.


TRIVIA:

• Attended the Juilliard School in New York City.
• She went to Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, Kentucky.
• Growing up in Kentucky, frequently went shooting with her father.
• Husband 'Michael C. Hall (I)' (qv) plays her brother on _"Dexter" (2006)_ (qv).