Carmen grew up in Coquitlam, BC. with her mother and younger brother. When figure skating didn't work out at 14, she turned her focus to theatre and performed in the junior and high school musicals. She joined the Spirit Song Native Theatre Co. in '91, and worked with them for 9 months. She was hired on an act of faith for Theatre New Brunswick's Young Company tour in '92 and got rave reviews.
Carmen was nominated for a Jessie Richardson award for best supporting actress in Fend Players 'Danceland' in '93. She continued her work in theatre, as well as auditioning for TV and film. For Firehall Arts Centre's "Someday" she was nominated for another Jessie, this time for best actress.
Carmen has worked steadily in TV and Film for two decades. She was nominated for the American "First Americans in the Arts" award, for her role as Chewlynndit in Brothers of the Frontier (1996). She played Dawn Star, the wife of the "Great Zamboni" (Ben Kingsley), in the movie Spooky House (2002), and in 2004 she worked with John Woo for the TV series The Robinsons: Lost in Space (2004). In Godiva's (2005), she played Simone, the mysterious, sexy bartender of a restaurant in Yaletown, Vancouver, British Columbia. Carmen was nominated for her performance in this at the 2006 Leo Awards, British Columbia's film and television awards. Carmen won the Women in Film and Video's Artistic Merit Award for her portrayal of Rebecca in the Canadian independent feature Unnatural & Accidental (2006), which received honorable mention for Best Canadian Film in the 2006 Vancouver International Film Festival and was featured at TIFF that year.
2012: Carmen has leading roles on two hit Canadian Series. She plays Loreen Cassway on Arctic Air (2012) for which she was nominated for a Leo award in 2012. She also continues her role of Leona Stoney on the multi award winning series Blackstone (2011), which won Best Dramatic Series at the 2012 Leo's. Carmen was nominated for both a Gemini Award and a Leo Award in 2012 for Blackstone, and won the Leo for Best Lead Performance in 2011.
The last few years has seen Carmen dabbling in the producing side of the industry. She was associate producer on 'Two Indians Talking', and producer on 'White Indians Walking', both written by her friend Andrew Genaille. Being a big fan of his work, she continues to collaborate with him on several upcoming, very exciting projects.
Carmen divides her time between Vancouver and Los Angeles.
