Born and raised in NYC, Carson honed her craft in several theatrical productions. Originally billed as Lisa Carson (she began using her full name professionally in 1995), she was a regular on the syndicated "The Apollo Comedy Hour" before making inroads on the big screen in "Let's Get Bizzee" (1993) and "Jason's Lyric" (1994). Before finding small screen stardom, she played the doomed singer who caught the attention of Denzel Washington's private eye in the underrated "Devil in a Blue Dress" (1995) and made impressions as Nia Long's friend in "love jones" and a conquest of ladies' man Samuel L Jackson in "Eve's Bayou" (both 1997).