Carlotta began her professional career in 1959 as a Bridgette Bardot-like performer,[1] as an original cast member of the long-running Sydney-based male revue Les Girls (pronounced lay-girls) cabaret show, which had an international following, in Sydney's Kings Cross.
Although best known as a cabaret performer, in 1974 Carlotta appeared on the television series Number 96 as Miss Robyn Ross, in a comedic story line that saw her coming out as transgender to the surprise of her boyfriend Arnold (Jeff Kevin).
[11] Managed by impresario Lee Gordon, who had organised tours to Australia by Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland, she began her career as an original cast member of the long-running stage male revue Les Girls (pronounced lay-girls) cabaret show, which started in 1962[3] in the purpose-built nightclub building owned by Abe Saffron in the heart of Sydney's Kings Cross.
[2] Carlotta (credited as "Carolle Lea") appeared in the soap opera Number 96 in 1973 as Robyn Ross, the new girlfriend of Arnold Feather (portrayed by Jeff Kevin).
"[2] In 2005, she presented her own half-million-dollar stage production, Carlotta's KingsX, in the Big Top at Luna Park, Sydney,[18] based on her 2003 book I'm Not That Kind of Girl.
[19] Produced by Brett Elliott and Richard Bernardo, the 90-minute show consisted of classic storytelling, stand-up comedy, lavish costumes, and "Les Girls" dance performances throughout.
[25] In 2018, in an exclusive interview with New Idea, Carlotta stated she was suffering from a urinary tract infection, which subsequently caused bladder cancer, but doctors had discovered it early and were able to successfully surgically remove the tumour.