Over the duration of her career, she would appear in several notable horror and film noirs, including lead roles in The Wild Party (1956) and William Castle's House on Haunted Hill (1959).

Born to a Mormon family in Salt Lake City, Ohmart spent most of her early life in Seattle and Spokane, Washington.

Her final film appearance was in The Spectre of Edgar Allan Poe (1974), after which she formally retired from acting, dedicating her time to studying New Age philosophy and spiritualism.

Ohmart spent the majority of her later life in Seattle, before dying of natural causes in Fort Collins, Colorado, in 2002, aged 74.

She had steady work in television until the early 1970s, with guest roles in Bat Masterson, Ripcord, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Get Smart, Perry Mason, Tombstone Territory, and Barnaby Jones.

[citation needed] Dubbed a "female Brando" by the press,[11] Paramount Pictures signed her in 1955 and promoted her as the next Marilyn Monroe.

[14] Ohmart had top billing in The Scarlet Hour, a Paramount film made by the distinguished director Michael Curtiz about a married woman who persuades her lover to commit a jewel robbery.

"[16] Ohmart took a hiatus from appearing in films for several years, selling real estate and becoming involved in studying spiritualism, and ended up in debt.

[18] In 1978, she married William Traberth in Wyoming, a veteran and former firefighter, and retired in Sequim, Washington, a suburb of Seattle.

[2] Throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, Ohmart dedicated much of her time to studying spiritualism and New Age philosophy, which served as a basis for various poems and short stories she wrote.

[2] Her poetry was compiled in a manuscript titled Song of Salt, which was posthumously included in Carol Ohmart: The Story of Hollywood's Greatest Actress by Samuel Clemens on December 31, 2022.

[19] Around 1973, while filming an episode of Barnaby Jones in Los Angeles, Ohmart was attacked and beaten by three men on a street in Hollywood.

[2] After being discharged from the hospital over her injuries, Ohmart was prescribed pain killers, which marked the beginnings of a years-long addiction to prescription medication.

[2] In the profile, Ohmart revealed that she had an estranged relationship with her mother, who did not know of her daughter's whereabouts for the last ten years of her life, up until her death in 1987.

In discussing The Scarlet Hour, David Bongard of the Herald Express wrote that "Carol Ohmart is the sultry boss's wife.

[23] In reviewing Spider Baby, David Cairns stated that "Carol Ohmart excels as the nasty heiress, intent on kicking the freaks out of their decaying mansion."