Carter quickly landed her first guest appearance in the series Wolf Lake (2001) and followed that up with a turn in Dark Angel (2000). She then went on to guest in the series Undeclared (2001).

Making the leap to the big screen, Carter was cast in the psychological thriller Mindstorm (2001) starring Eric Roberts, Michael Ironside, and Antonio Sabato Jr. She portrayed the kidnapped daughter of a senator whose abduction ultimately unravels her dark hidden life. Carter can also be seen in the film Final Destination 2 (2003), the sequel to the hit film Final Destination (2000), but it is only a few scenes before she is one of the first people to be killed.

Carter got her first main TV role in Black Sash, in which she played Allie Bennett who is a major character in the series. She used her background of dancing for one of the episodes and was taught martial arts for the series, which would later help for her performance in DOA: Dead or Alive. Black Sash filmed eight episodes