Caroline Madeline Gardner (née Wisler; April 7, 1860 – June 20, 1944), better known by her stage name Carrie Swain, was an American actress, acrobat, and singer.

One of the first female acrobats and belting vocalists to appear in vaudeville, she began her career performing in variety and minstrel shows during the 1870s.

In 1882 she created the role of Topsy in composer Caryl Florio and dramatist H. Wayne Ellis's musical adaptation of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and then toured nationally in several plays written for her, among them Leonard Grover's Cad, the Tomboy and Frederick G. Maeder's Mat, the Romp.

[15] The Swains spent the Christmas season of 1878 into January 1879 performing in a production of Humpty Dumpty at the New National Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut.

[18] In October – November 1879, Carrie and Sam Swain had a big hit with their comedic sketch "One Hundred Virgins" which they presented at the Vine Street Opera House in Cincinnati.

The Cincinnati Enquirer described the sketch as a "spicy comedy" and that the Swains "took the house by storm" and were the "biggest success" of the evening and "one of the hits of the season".

On May 22, 1882, Swain starred as Topsy in the world premiere of a musical adaptation of Harriet Beecher Stowe anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin at the Chestnut Street Opera House in Philadelphia.

[56] This was followed by a new play written specifically for Swain by playwright Leonard Grover, Cad, The Tomboy, which she first performed in Waterbury, Connecticut, on August 30, 1882.

[58]Swain spent the remainder of 1882 touring throughout North America in the part of Cad, performing the role in theaters in both small and large cities.

[73] On January 4, 1883, Swain performed the title role in the world premiere of Frederick G. Maeder's Mat, the Romp; another play specifically written for her.

[75] At some point on the tour, Swain dropped Matt, the Romp;[76][77] and by October 1883 Cad, the Tomboy had returned to her repertoire alongside Mab, The Miner's Daughter.

[78] Cad, the Tomboy remained in her touring repertoire in 1884–1885, and was paired with the occasional new play, including Maeder's Morning Glory (1884)[79] and True Blue (1885).

[8] She traveled to Australia where she gave her first performance on that continent as Cad, The Tomboy at the Theatre Royal, Sydney; opening in that production on February 5, 1887.

[82] She was a highly successful and financially profitable actress in Australia and New Zealand during the late 1880s, having long tours of Cad, the Tomboy and Uncle Tom's Cabin with her own company.