Joelle Marie Carter (born October 10, 1972) is an American actress.

She attended high school in Albany, Georgia, and enrolled at Augusta State University on a full athletic scholarship for swimming and cross-country.

[3] Modeling led to a fascination with acting and a move to Los Angeles, CA where she has been featured in many shows and in films including High Fidelity, Inconceivable, Cold Storage and American Pie 2.

[4] From 2010 to 2015, she played Ava Crowder in the television series Justified on FX, a role that won her notice and earned her a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for best supporting actress in 2015.

[5] Carter had a long term relationship with Andy Bates, a filmmaker with whom she formed a film production company named Blarma in 2006 and whom she married in 2009.