Charisma Lee Carpenter (born July 23, 1970) is an American actress of Mexican and Cherokee descent. She is best known for playing the character Cordelia Chase in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel.
Carpenter was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she attended Bishop Gorman Catholic High School. At 15, the family moved to Rosarita City, Mexico, and then to Bonita (a suburb of San Diego) where she attended Bonita High. After graduation, she was a San Diego Chargers cheerleader before beginning her Hollywood career. She had also dabbled in sky-diving. She married Damien Hardy on October 5, 2002 and she gave birth to son Donavan Charles Hardy on March 24, 2003.
Carpenter was discovered by a commercial agent when she was a waitress. This led to several roles on TV advertisements. She made guest appearances in Baywatch and Miss Match, and she has had a role in Malibu Shores. Her best known role was that of Cordelia on TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. She is one of the only cast members from "Buffy" and "Angel" who refuses to charge for her autograph at fan conventions. She has also had a recurring role as a psychic demon called The Seer in the popular witch drama Charmed, appearing in three episodes.
In 2004, Carpenter modeled nude for the June 2004 issue of Playboy magazine.
As of 2005, Carpenter has a recurring role as Kendall Casablancas in the TV series Veronica Mars.
Charisma recently starred in Voodoo Moon by Writer/Director Kevin VanHook, as well as an assortment of made-for-television movies.
Charisma is featured in a TV series on ABC Family called Relative Chaos, with Nicholas Brendon (costar, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.)
