Jennifer Carpenter

Actress Jennifer Carpenter is a modern-day scream queen. She is best known as Debra Morgan, the adoptive sister of titular character Dexter in the critically acclaimed Showtime drama about a vigilante serial killer who uses his day job as a forensic technician to hunt down murderers that have slipped through the cracks of the justice system. In 2009, the role won her the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television. Carpenter’s other notable TV appearances include her portrayal of Rebecca Harris in the CBS television series Limitless (2015 – 2016) and her starring role as Erica Shepherd in the NBC drama The Enemy Within (2019).

Carpenter was born in Louisville, Kentucky and trained at the Walden Theatre Conservatory program and New York City’s renowned Juilliard School. Before graduation, she was cast in the 2002 Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, starring Liam Neeson and Laura Linney. Carpenter worked with Linney again in 2005 on the supernatural horror film The Exorcism of Emily Rose, earning 2 MTV Movie Awards for ‘Hollywood Life Breakthrough’ and ‘Best Frightened Performance’. She was awarded the prize for ‘Breakout Performance’ at the 2006 Scream Awards.

In 2016, Carpenter married Timothy Seth Avett, the founding member of US folk-rock band The Avett Brothers. The couple have a child, Isaac Avett, born in 2015. Carpenter keeps up with her many fans via Instagram, where she boasts more than 195,000 followers.