Charisma Carpenter was born on July 23, 1970, and raised in fast-paced Las Vegas, Nevada. Even in childhood, Charisma was very interested in the performing arts. At the young age of 5, she was already studying classical ballet. Although Charisma enjoyed living in Los Vegas, her parents decided to move to Mexico when she was 15 years old. It was at this point that Charisma decided to attend the School of Creative and Performing Arts and do the one-hour commute from Mexico to San Diego. After she finally graduated high school, Charisma, like most other young women, decided to tour Europe. Upon returning to San Diego once again, she began working odd jobs to support herself such as a video store clerk, an aerobics instructor and in 1991, she even spent some time working as a cheerleader for the San Diego Chargers.

Soon after that, Charisma decided to move to Los Angeles and took up a job as a waitress in Mirabelle Restaurant on Sunset Boulevard. But she wasn't an aspiring actress at the time; Charisma was saving money so that she could return to school to become an English teacher. Her fate, however, was headed on a very different direction. While working one day, a commercial agent discovered her and recommended that she attend a variety of acting schools. After sorting through all the schools and courses offered, Charisma decided to attend Playhouse West, a very reputable acting school. Because she quickly realized how passionate she was about acting, Charisma remained there for eighteen months studying the techniques and drama. In the midst of attending the school, Charisma began doing a multitude of commercials. After approximately twenty, she got her first real acting break in Baywatch in 1995.

Almost 7 years after her guest appearance on the show, Charisma landed a starring role on Aaron Spelling's Malibu Shores. Unfortunately, the show, which also starred Keri Russell, was short lived and once again, Charisma was left without a solid acting job. After some guest appearances on other shows such as Pacific Blue and Boy Meets World, Charisma's luck was finally about to change. Luckily enough, Charisma's agent sent her out to audition for Buffy, the Vampire Slayer in 1997. Initially, she tried out for the part of the main character, Buffy, which as we all know, went to Sarah Michelle Gellar. But the producers asked her to try out for the part of Cordelia and lo and behold, she was picked for the part instantly. After three years on Buffy, Charisma was offered a co-starring role opposite David Boreanaz on the spin-off show Angel, and she eagerly accepted, event though she would continue to play the same bratty, snobby character.