Carrie Preston on AllMovie

As the impresario of her own front-yard theater troupe at the tender age of 12, there wasn't much question as to which direction the later career of actress Carrie Preston was headed. Serving as everything from stage hand to starlet made it clear to all that her dedication to theater ran deep even at such an early age; eventually, Preston would graduate from the sound stage to the bright lights of Broadway opposite many of her generation's finest classically trained actors.

Born and raised the daughter of an artist and art therapist mother and a geo-technical engineer father in Macon, GA, the stage-smitten youngster later earned a Bachelor of Fine Art from the University of Evansville. After continuing her education with an acting diploma from Juilliard, Preston found a choice early career role as Miranda (opposite Patrick Stewart) in a Shakespeare-in-the Park production of The Tempest. Seeking her fortune out West, Preston found roles in such popular films as My Best Friend's Wedding (1997) and Mercury Rising (1998) while frequently returning to the New York stage between film roles. After once again re-teaming with Tempest co-star Stewart in a Guthrie Theater production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the avid outdoors woman continued developing her film career with appearances in Cradle Will Rock, Guinevre (both 1999), and The Legend of Beggar Vance (2000). Though her roles on television were previously limited to appearances in Sex and the City and Spin City, Preston later took a more committed dedication to the small screen when she turned up alongside popular television chef Emeril Lagasse in the series Emeril in 2001.