Jennifer Carpenter was born in Kentucky, specifically, to Catherine Mitchell and Robert Carpenter. She began her educational journey at St. Raphael the Archangel and later attended Sacred Heart Academy. During her final two years of high school, she pursued her passion for drama at the renowned Walden Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky. This training laid the foundation for her future success.
Before graduating, Jennifer made her Broadway debut in the revival of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", starring Liam Neeson and Laura Linney, in 2002. This marked the beginning of her illustrious career.
Jennifer's breakthrough film role was "Emily Rose" in "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" (2005),for which she received a MTV Movie Award for "Best Frightened Performance" and a Hollywood Life Breakthrough Award. She was also named "Breakout Performer" at the 2006 Scream Awards.
In 2006, Jennifer landed the role of Dexter's adoptive sister in Showtime's "Dexter", where she met her first husband, Michael C. Hall.
In 2011, Jennifer starred in the off-Broadway play "Gruesome Playground Injuries" at Second Stage Theatre and made a guest appearance on the CBS drama "The Good Wife" (2009).
In January 2014, it was announced that Jennifer would star in a new ABC drama "Sea of Fire" (2014),playing "FBI Agent Leah Pierce". Although the show was not picked up, Jennifer continued to work on various projects.
In August 2014, it was announced that Jennifer would provide the voice of "Juli Kidman" in the survival horror video game "The Evil Within" (2014),marking her first video game appearance. The game was released in October 2014.
