Joelle Carter

Joelle Marie Carter (born October 10, 1972) is an American actress.

She is known for playing Ava Crowder in the FX series Justified, and Laura Nagel in the NBC show Chicago Justice, part of the One Chicago universe.

Carter was born in Thomasville, Georgia.

Her father, Jimmy, was in the U.S. Army and the family moved often throughout the United States.

She attended high school in Albany, Georgia, and enrolled at Augusta State University on a full athletic scholarship for swimming and cross-country.

She studied acting at the William Esper Studio.

She moved to New York at 19 to become a model, but has stated it was not her idea, and that a photographer and her mother sent photos he had taken of her to several modelling agencies, which responded enthusiastically.

Modeling led to a fascination with acting and a move to Los Angeles, CA where she has been featured in many shows and in films including High Fidelity, Inconceivable, Cold Storage and American Pie 2.

Carter had a long term relationship with Andy Bates, a filmmaker with whom she formed a film production company named Blarma in 2006 and whom she married in 2009.

From 2010 to 2015, she played Ava Crowder in the television series Justified on FX, a role that won her notice and earned her a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for best supporting actress in 2015.

The couple adopted a baby girl in 2010 at birth and separated in 2016.

She currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.

She also appeared in Kevin Greutert's 2014 horror-thriller film Jessabelle.