Described as a “scene stealer” by Variety, E! News, the New York Post, ET, The Daily Beast and countless others, Emmy winner Carrie Preston is a fixture on small and large screens alike. For seven seasons she starred as Arlene Fowler, the sassy red-headed waitress on the hit HBO series “True Blood.” She won an Emmy playing Elsbeth Tascioni on CBS's “The Good Wife” and played the same role on its spin-off, “The Good Fight.” For five years, she also played Grace, the love interest to her real-life husband, Michael Emerson, on CBS’ fan favorite “Person of Interest.” In 2022, Carrie will be sharing the big screen in Kyra Sedgwick’s project, “Space Oddity,” and LGBTQIA+ empowerment film “They/Them” from John Logan. Carrie had the pleasure of playing Kevin Bacon’s wife in both projects. Television saw Carrie play the female lead in the NBC sitcom, “Crowded,” opposite Patrick Warburton, as Polly in the hit TNT series, “Claws,” and in “Dr. Death,” with Joshua Jackson. She starred in the ABC 8-hour LGBT rights-driven miniseries, “When We Rise,” by Dustin Lance Black. Carrie played opposite Hank Azaria in the second season of “Brockmire,” and starred alongside Guillermo Diaz in “The Dating Game Killer.” She also appeared as a celebrity judge in the 10th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” In film, Carrie’s most recent work is the lead in the horror/comedy thriller, “30 Miles From Nowhere.” She also starred in “To The Bone” alongside Keanu Reeves and Lily Collins, as well as in “One of These Days,” playing the leading role of Joan. Her resume of films includes the indie film “Daisy Winters,” opposite Brooke Shields, “5 Flights Up” with Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman, Sarah Knight’s “Vino Veritas,” Brian Crano’s “A Bag of Hammers,” opposite Rebecca Hall and Jason Ritter, starring with Jennifer Connelly and Ed Harris in Dustin Lance Black’s “Virginia,” and starring alongside Jeremy Sisto in “Sironia.” Born and raised in Macon, Georgia, where her mother was an artist and art therapist and her father was a geotechnical engineer, Carrie discovered her true calling lay in the performing arts. At the age of 12, she became the impresario of her own front-yard theater company as producer, writer, casting director, costumer, director – and of course, actress. She obtained a B.F.A. from the University of Evansville followed by an acting diploma from the prestigious Juilliard School. It was Carrie’s breakout Outer Critics Award nominated role playing Miranda in George C. Woolf’s Broadway production of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” with Patrick Stewart that led her to her big screen debut as one of the two bridesmaid sisters in the Julia Robert’s blockbuster, “My Best Friend’s Wedding.” She went on to win roles in major television series including ABC’s “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives.” Carrie continued to rise in her field with scene-stealing turns in “Duplicity” with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” the Oscar-nominated “Transamerica” as Felicity Huffman’s sister, Alan Ball’s “Towelhead” opposite Aaron Eckhart, and the critically acclaimed independent film, “That Evening Sun,” with Hal Holbrook. Carrie met her now husband, Emmy Award winning Michael Emerson, over 20 years ago in a production of “Hamlet” at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Shortly afterwards, the two starred together in the movies “Straight Jacket,” “Grace & Glorie,” and “The Journey.” Carrie later played Michael’s mother in a flashback on his hit series “Lost.” Additionally, Michael had a role in the film “29th And Gay,” which Carrie produced and directed. Additional Broadway credits include “Festen” with Jeremy Sisto and Julianna Margulies and “The Rivals” with Brian Murray and Emily Bergl. Carrie starred in the Off-Broadway productions of “Antony and Cleopatra” at the Public Theater (cross dressing as Octavius Caesar to Vanessa Redgrave’s Cleopatra), “Cycling Past the Matterhorn” with Shirley Knight, “Chaucer in Rome,” with Jon Tenney, “Boys and Girls,” with Malcolm Gets, “Freedomland,” the stage version of “Straight-Jacket,” and “The Libertine.” She has performed regionally at theaters such as The Guthrie, where she played Honey opposite Patrick Stewart and Mercedes Ruehl in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” in Williamstown, where she played opposite Bebe Neuwirth and Roger Rees in “Taming of the Shrew,” and at the Baltimore Center Stage, where she originated the lead role in Warren Leight’s “No Foreigners Beyond This Point.” Carrie also performed at The Long Wharf, where she played Mia Farrow’s daughter in James Lapine’s “Fran’s Bed,” and the McCarter theater’s production of “Hamlet,” acting with her husband and brother, John G. Preston. She has also performed in countless Shakespeare plays in festivals in Georgia, Alabama, Utah, and California. Additionally, Carrie is a director and producer with her production company, Daisy 3 Pictures. Her directorial debut was the feature film “29th and Gay,” written by and starring James Vasquez. She also directed the short film “Feet of Clay,” by David Caudle, which made the festival rounds. Carrie starred in and executive produced James Vasquez’s “Ready? Ok!,” which played at more than 50 festivals, both domestic and international. She won Best Actress at Film Out San Diego, where the film had its world premiere. She also directed and produced “That’s What She Said,” a feature film written by Kellie Overbey, starring Anne Heche, Marcia DeBonis and Alia Shawkat. Carrie was honored with two awards for the film, Best Film By A Women Director and Best Actress, Alia Shawkat. Recently, she directed an episode of “The Good Fight” and an episode on “Claws’” third and fourth seasons. She directed “Buzz” at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and “Happy Lucky Golden Tofu Panda Dragon Good Time Fun Fun Show,” which premiered at Soho International Film Festival. The film stars comedian Kate Rigg and the electric violin fueled poetic punk duo Slanty Eyed Mama. On the digital side, she directed the web-series, “Darwin: The Series.” Carrie and her husband Michael live in New York City with their adopted dog, Chumley. In her free time, Carrie supports LGBTQIA+ rights and GLAAD, is an honorary board member for The New Harmony Project, and supports Parkinson's Research.
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