Lisa Nicole Carson (born July 12, 1969) is an American actress. She is best known for her work on U.S. television, including supporting roles in NBC's ER and Fox's Ally McBeal. Carson appeared in the roles simultaneously, but had since appeared in no other roles until 2012 when she appeared in the final episode of David E Kelley's Harry's Law. Carson was born in Brooklyn, New York; her father is a journalism professor at the University of Florida, and her mother is a kindergarten teacher in New York. She spent her adolescence in Gainesville, Florida and attended F. W. Buchholz High School. Her parents split up when she was 14, and her mother moved back to New York alone. A keen singer, in 1986 she entered in "America’s Junior Miss" talent show, taking second place. After graduating in 1987, Carson returned to New York and decided that she wanted to be an actor. She began her career by appearing in a number of After School Specials and Home Box Office made short films. Carson appeared in productions at the famed Negro Ensemble Company.