Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase)
PROFESSIONAL: Having come over to Angel from Buffy, Charisma departed the former following the fourth season. In 2004 she had a three episode arc on Charmed, a recurring role on Veronica Mars and season one of Greek, and guest appearances on Back to You and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. TV movie and direct-to-video roles followed in What Boys Like, Voodoo Moon, See Jane Date, Relative Chaos (which co-stars Buffy's Nicholas Brendan), Flirting With Danger, Cheaters' Club and House of Bones. On the big screen she was seen in Sylvester Stallone's first two Expendables films, but then moved back to TV for a continuing role in the series The Lying Game. In August 2013 she began serving as host of ID's Surviving Evil. She recently made an appearance on Chicago P.D. on NBC.
PERSONAL: In October 2002, Charisma married Damie Hardy, and on March 24, 2003 gave birth to their son Donovan. The couple were divorced in July 2008. Additionally, back in 1991, long before she joined Buffy, she and two of her friends were victimized by police officer/serial rapist Henry Hubbard, Jr. on San Diego's Torrey Pines State Beach. That experience led her to hosting Surviving Evil, the premiere episode of which centered around her.
CHARISMA ON DEALING WITH TRAUMA: "When I was eight years old," she related to Collider, "or I may have been younger, my aunt picked me up and threw me in the pool and I didn't know how to swim. It was, like, 'Conquer your fear and just get on with it.' It must have made an impact on me, because I'm mentioning it now. I think that's my motto: sink or swim. Am I going to drown in my sorrow? No. I have to overcome whatever obstacle it is. I've faced other obstacles in my life besides Hubbard. He's not the penultimate obstacle in my life. My career is an ongoing thing. My love relationships are an ongoing thing. We're constantly evolving. I have insecurities about being a good mom, or balancing my career with motherhood. All of those are very strong, very real obstacles. My motto is just unconsciously, and maybe now consciously, because I'm saying it, is sink or swim. I'm a fighter."