| | Cordy as Cast of Buffy| | Cordy Pics| | Charisma's Bio| |
Birthplace: Las Vegas, NV Date of Birth: 07/23/1970
Education: Gorman High School (Catholic), Las Vegas, NV
"Cordelia is honest and forthcoming, and I'm like that, too. Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes it's not. I'm more down-home and athletic than she is. She has to be fixed up to go grocery shopping."
—Seventeen, September 1999
She never wanted to be a showgirl, but Las Vegas native Charisma Carpenter did study ballet at age five and was a beauty-pageant contestant at age 9. She later briefly became a San Diego Chargers cheerleader (1991). The youngest of three children of mom Chris, a bird-sanctuary worker, and dad Don, a salesperson, Carpenter has two older brothers. Her parents divorced in 1983, but reconciled three months later. The family moved to Rosarito, Mexico, with Charisma commuting 30 miles to San Diego to study at the School of Creative and Performing Arts, specializing in dance. The family later moved to southern California. Carpenter, while waitressing and attending junior college, signed with a manager who eventually placed her in over 20 TV commercials while she attended acting school. By 1995, she was landing guest shots on such series as Baywatch and Boy Meets World, and in direct-to-video children's movies. In 1996, the same year her parents divorced again, Carpenter co-starred in the short-lived swimsuit series Malibu Shores. Carpenter had originally auditioned for the Buffy lead before being cast as Cordelia, a.k.a. Cordy (reportedly after it was turned down by Bianca Lawson, who later guested as Slayer Kendra). Carpenter owes her distinctive first name to a bottle of what she calls a "tacky Avon perfume" whose moniker appealed to her mother.
Following an Aug. 15, 1991 attack at Torrey Pines State Beach near San Diego, Carpenter and friends Arthur Gracia and Aldo Ochoa provided evidence to arrest elusive serial rapist Henry Hubbard Jr., a San Diego police officer.
Between the ages of 8 and 14, Carpenter performed in Las Vegas-area talent shows with a group called the Young Entertainers.
