Charisma Carpenter
Charisma Carpenter was discovered by a commercial agent while waiting tables in Los Angeles to save money for her college education. This led to her role in theatrical productions and more than twenty commercials. Carpenter was a student of the Playhouse West Acting School, a training ground for actors, writers, and directors founded by Robert Carnegie and Jeff Goldblum, where she studied the Meisner approach. She has also studied under acting coach, director, and actress Iris Klein, whose students range from up-and-coming talent to Oscar nominated actors.
Carpenter made her TV debut in an episode of Baywatch, a role that landed her a starring role on Aaron Spelling's short-lived soap opera Malibu Shores. She is best known for her portrayal of Cordelia Chase in the popular television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon, and its spin-off series Angel, for which she was nominated for four Saturn Awards. She went on to appear alongside Kristen Bell in season two of Veronica Mars, created by Rob Thomas and produced by Joel Silver. In 2010, Carpenter had a supporting role in Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables and reprised the character in the 2012 sequel. Most recently, she was a series regular in ABC Family's The Lying Game.
In 1991, Carpenter and two friends were swimming at Torrey Pines State Beach when they were violently attacked by an armed, rogue police officer. Carpenter fought for her survival after being held at gunpoint, but her friends were both shot and seriously wounded. After helping police identify her attacker, Henry Hubbard - who was sentenced to 56 years in prison for the attacks in addition to a series of rapes and robberies - Carpenter went on to star as Cordelia Chase in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series Angel.
Now, she is the host of Investigation Discovery's breakout hit series SURVIVING EVIL.