Caroline Louise Dudley (June 10, 1857[1] – November 13, 1937) was an American silent film and stage actress who found fame on Broadway through collaborations with impresario David Belasco.

[1] Her father, Orson Dudley, was a wholesale dry goods merchant of means, who gave his daughter every advantage that money could bestow.

[citation needed] Her son, Dudley, chose to live with his mother and was cut from his father's will as a result.

Her association with Broadway impresario David Belasco propelled her to great theatrical fame.

Her first hit was as the lead character in The Heart of Maryland (1895), set during the American Civil War.

Her great scene came as the heroine swinging in a belfry tower, her hands gripping the clapper to prevent the ringing of a huge curfew bell.

In 1915, pioneer producer George Kleine hired her to recreate Madame Du Barry for the movies.

Carter's last stage hit was in Somerset Maugham's drawing-room comedy The Circle (1921), co-starring John Drew.

The ascendancy of Carter in the theatrical world was fictionalized in the film Lady with Red Hair (1940), in which she was portrayed by Miriam Hopkins.