Lisa Nicole Carson is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Carla in '' ER'' (1996–2001), and Renee Raddick in '' Ally McBeal'' (1997–2002). Carson has also starred in films, most notably as Marti in ''

Jason's Lyric ''Jason's Lyric'' is a 1994 American erotic romantic psychological drama film, written by Bobby Smith Jr., directed by Doug McHenry, who co-produced the film with George Jackson and Marilla Lane Ross, and starring Allen Payne, Jada Pinkett, Boke ...

'' (1994), Coretta in ''

Devil in a Blue Dress ''Devil in a Blue Dress'' is a 1990 hardboiled mystery novel by Walter Mosley, his first published book. The text centers on the main character, Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins, and his transformation from a day laborer into a detective. Plot Set ...

'' (1995), Josie in '' Love Jones'' (1997), and Sylvia in ''Life'' (1999). Following her struggles with

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

, for which she was hospitalized while starring in ''Ally McBeal'', Carson went on hiatus until 2012, when she reprised her role as Renee Raddick in the final episode of ''

Harry's Law ''Harry's Law'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series created by David E. Kelley, which ran for two seasons on NBC from January 17, 2011, to May 27, 2012. On May 11, 2012, NBC announced that ''Harry's Law'' would not be renewed fo ...

''. Most recently, Carson starred as Mae Bell in the miniseries ''

The New Edition Story ''The New Edition Story'' is an American biographical three-part miniseries about the contemporary R&B, R&B group New Edition, from their rise to fame as a boy band from the Orchard Park Projects of Roxbury, Massachusetts, to becoming a successfu ...

'' (2017).

Early life

Carson was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

; her father is a journalism professor at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, and her mother was a kindergarten teacher in New York. She spent her adolescence in

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...

and attended F. W. Buchholz High School. Her parents separated when she was 14, and her mother moved back to New York alone. In 1986, she entered the Regional competition sponsored by the "America's Junior Miss" talent show, taking second place for the region held in Gainesville. After graduating in 1987, Carson returned to New York and decided that she wanted to be an actress. She began her career by appearing in a number of ''After School Specials'' and HBO short films.

Career

Carson appeared in productions at the famed Negro Ensemble Company. Her first notable credit came in 1991, when she appeared in ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'' and in 1992 she had a non-speaking, minor role in the comedy series, ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class Africa ...

''. She was a regular on ''

The Apollo Comedy Hour ''The Apollo Comedy Hour'' is a Sketch comedy, sketch-comedy that aired in Broadcast syndication#First-run syndication, first-run syndication from 1992-1995. The series was filmed the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York City, New York. I ...

'' before appearing in film in ''Let's Get Bizzee'' (1993), ''

'' (1994) and ''

'' (1995). She has appeared in '' Love Jones'' and ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

''. She also performed as an R&B singer in the 1995 television movie ''Divas''. She had a role in the 1997 movie ''

Eve's Bayou ''Eve's Bayou'' is a 1997 American Southern Gothic drama film written and directed by Kasi Lemmons, who made her directorial debut with this film. Samuel L. Jackson served as a producer, and starred in the film with Lisa Nicole Carson, Jurnee Smo ...

'', as Mattie Mereaux. On television, she played the recurring character Carla Reece, the on/off girlfriend of

Eriq La Salle Erik Ki La Salle (born July 23, 1962), professionally known as Eriq La Salle, is an American actor, director, writer and producer. La Salle is best known for his performance in the film ''Coming to America'' (1988) and especially as Dr. Pete ...

's Dr

Peter Benton Peter Benton, M.D. is a fictional character from the NBC medical drama series '' ER,'' portrayed by actor Eriq La Salle, appearing as a primary character from the pilot episode until part way through the eighth season. La Salle made two guest ...

in NBC's ''ER'' between 1996 and 2001. Between 1997 and 2002 she played prosecutor Renee Raddick in Fox's '' Ally McBeal'', a role for which she received multiple award nominations. Carson was fired from both roles, amid reports about her erratic behavior on and off set, alleged drug use, being arrested and admissions to a mental health facility. She did return to ''Ally McBeal'' to reprise her role for the final episode. After a ten year hiatus, she returned to acting in 2012, featuring in a guest appearance in the second-season finale of the NBC series ''

'' reprising her character Renee Raddick from ''Ally McBeal''. In 2017, she starred in the

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

miniseries ''

''.

Personal life

In 2000, she was arrested and then committed to a psychiatric hospital, after having a mental breakdown at a hotel in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. In the July 2015 issue of ''

Essence Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...

'', Carson gave an interview in which she openly described her struggles with

and how the illness has affected her life and career. After having taken a 10-year hiatus from show business to live and receive treatment in New York, she reported having moved back to Los Angeles with plans to revitalize her acting career.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carson, Lisa Nicole Living people Actresses from New York City American film actresses Buchholz High School alumni People from Brooklyn Actresses from Gainesville, Florida African-American actresses American television actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses People with bipolar disorder 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people Year of birth missing (living people)