She was raised an only child of a Haitian mother and a Cuban stepfather and moved to the United States at the age of seven, where they settled in Miami.
She is a graduate of Miami Jackson High School, Booker T. Washington Junior High and Dunbar Elementary in Overtown, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 1994.
[1][3] Before assuming the role on foreign issues, Charles' coverage was local, mainly on the impoverished areas of Miami.
She won a Regional[3] Emmy for her role as co-producer on the Herald produced-documentary, "Nou Bouke" (We are fed up) from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
She also won the 2011 Paul Hansell Award, named in honor of a longtime Florida bureau chief for The Associated Press.