Sarah Sanguin Carter was born on October 30, 1980, in Toronto, Canada. She is a Canadian actress, writer, director, and producer best known for her role as Maggie in the TNT science fiction series Falling Skies. Over two decades in the industry, she has built a career that spans television, film, music, and filmmaking.
Few performers leap from acting to directing with such recognition. Carter’s debut feature film won an Audience Award at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival in 2022.
Who is Sarah Carter?
Sarah Carter is a Canadian actress who has appeared in some of the most popular television series of the 2000s and 2010s. She is best known for playing Maggie on Falling Skies, a role she held across all five seasons from 2011 to 2015.
Beyond acting, Carter is a filmmaker and entrepreneur. She is the CEO and founder of Cheshire Moon Productions, her own independent production company.
Carter is also a musician. She has released solo music and co-founded the duo SanguinDrake. Her creative work spans multiple art forms, which sets her apart from many of her peers.
She became an American citizen in 2024, having lived in the United States for much of her adult career.
Early Life of Sarah Carter
Sarah Carter was born in Toronto but raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Growing up, she developed a passion for the performing arts at a young age.
She trained with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, one of Canada’s most prestigious dance companies.
Carter also excelled academically. She was a standout member of her school’s debate team and competed in countries including Austria, the United Kingdom, and Argentina.
She attended Balmoral Hall School in Winnipeg, where she took part in school plays. One of her earliest roles was playing Dorothy in a school production of The Wizard of Oz.
Sarah Carter Age
Sarah Carter is 45 years old as of 2026, born on October 30, 1980. She continues to work actively as an actress, filmmaker, and producer.
Sarah Carter Ethnicity and Nationality
Sarah Carter is Canadian by birth and became an American citizen in 2024. She holds dual citizenship as of 2026. Her ethnic background has not been publicly detailed.
Sarah Carter Height and Weight
Sarah Carter stands at approximately 5 feet 4 inches tall, or about 1.64 meters. Her weight has not been publicly disclosed.
Her height and slim build suited many of the physically demanding roles she took on throughout her career, including fight-heavy scenes in Falling Skies and the martial arts action film DOA: Dead or Alive.
She maintained an active lifestyle throughout her career. Carter has hiked the West Coast Trail and scaled Mount Shasta for charity.
Sarah Carter Education
After graduating from Balmoral Hall School in Winnipeg, Carter moved to Switzerland, where she spent a year studying fine arts. She then returned to Canada and enrolled at Ryerson University in Toronto, where she studied drama and theater.
Her formal training gave her a strong foundation in both classical technique and creative storytelling. She later deepened her craft by shadowing directors including Spike Lee, Martin Donovan, and Miguel Sapochnik.
Carter also spent time in India and Cuba, where she volunteered in orphanages. That life experience, alongside her artistic education, shaped her approach to storytelling in her later filmmaking work.
Sarah Carter Career
Carter began her professional acting career around 2000, landing small roles in television series including Dark Angel and Wolf Lake. Her early work also included a part in the horror sequel Final Destination 2 (2003).
Early Career
Her first major recurring television role came in 2003, when she played Allie Bennett in the series Black Sash. The following year, she appeared in Smallville, playing fan-favorite character Alicia Baker across three episodes in 2004 and 2005.
Carter also received an early invitation from Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen to join the writers’ room for their comedy series Undeclared.
That experience sparked her interest in writing and directing.
Breakthrough Role
Carter’s biggest television break came in 2006, when she was cast as Madeleine Poe in the CBS legal drama Shark. She appeared in all 38 episodes of the series alongside James Woods, with episodes directed by Spike Lee.
That role prepared her well for what came next.
Falling Skies and Major Roles
In 2011, Carter joined the cast of Falling Skies on TNT as Maggie, a survivor and fighter in a post-alien-invasion world.
The show was executive produced by Steven Spielberg and ran for five seasons until 2015. Carter appeared in every season, becoming one of the most recognizable faces of the series.
During Falling Skies, she worked closely with top directors and continued developing her filmmaking ambitions. After the show ended, she appeared in a recurring arc on Hawaii Five-0 as a love interest to the character Steve McGarrett.
Her film work has included the martial arts action film DOA: Dead or Alive (2006), The Vow (2012) alongside Rachel McAdams, and the thriller Rogue, in which she played the lead character Harper Deakins.
Filmmaking and Recent Projects
After Falling Skies, Carter stepped behind the camera. She wrote, directed, and produced her debut feature film, In Her Name, a coming-of-age comedy-drama about estranged sisters.
The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2022 and won the Audience Award.
In Her Name was released in June 2024 through Tribeca Films, Giant Pictures, and Drafthouse Films. Carter also produced and starred in a second film, A Pity, which screened at festivals internationally.
Both films were produced under her company, Cheshire Moon Productions.
Sarah Carter Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Mindstorm | Rayanna Armitage |
| 2003 | Final Destination 2 | Shaina |
| 2004 | Haven | Chanel |
| 2006 | DOA: Dead or Alive | Helena Douglas |
| 2006 | Skinwalkers | Katherine |
| 2007 | Killing Zelda Sparks | Zelda Sparks |
| 2012 | The Vow | Diane |
| 2019 | Business Ethics | Veronica |
| 2022 | In Her Name | Director / Writer / Producer |
| 2022 | A Pity | Producer / Actress |
Sarah Carter Awards and Recognition
Carter’s directorial debut made a strong impression on the international festival circuit.
In 2022, her film In Her Name won the Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival, one of the most respected independent film festivals in the world. The award reflected both the quality of the film and its emotional connection with audiences.
She was also nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series in both 2013 and 2014 for her work on Falling Skies.
The Saturn Awards, presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, recognize outstanding work in genre television and film.
That recognition placed her among the top performers in the science fiction genre.
Sarah Carter Husband
Sarah Carter married Kevin Barth in 2014. Barth is an Emmy Award-winning editor, and the two have collaborated professionally on film projects through Cheshire Moon Productions. They produced both In Her Name and A Pity together.
The couple welcomed a daughter, Alice, in 2017. Carter has spoken warmly about how motherhood influenced her creative work.
In an interview, she noted that she completed her first original screenplay, Girl Who Needed A Ride, around the time of Alice’s birth.
Sarah Carter Children
Sarah Carter has one child, a daughter named Alice, born in 2017. Carter has kept her daughter’s life largely private.
Motherhood became a major creative turning point for Carter. The experience of becoming a parent deepened her storytelling instincts and motivated her move into filmmaking.
She has described her work as filmmaking as rooted in a desire to bring light to the unknown, with Alice’s arrival marking the start of that chapter in her creative life.
Sarah Carter Net Worth
Sarah Carter’s estimated net worth is $3 million as of 2026. Her income comes from a career that spans more than two decades in television and film, alongside producing and music.
Her longest and most prominent television role on Falling Skies, which ran for five seasons on TNT, would have represented a significant portion of her acting income. Film appearances including The Vow and DOA: Dead or Alive added to her earnings over the years.
As CEO of Cheshire Moon Productions, Carter also generates income from producing independently financed films.
In Her Name and A Pity both traveled the international festival circuit, bringing additional exposure and commercial opportunity to her production house.
Sarah Carter Social Media
Carter is active on social media under the handle @sarah_carter_oxox on Instagram, where she shares updates about her films, personal life, and creative projects. She also maintains a presence on X (formerly Twitter).
Her Facebook page at @sarahcarter.oxox has accumulated nearly 50,000 likes, reflecting her loyal fanbase from her years on Falling Skies.
Carter uses her platforms to promote her production company, share behind-the-scenes content from her filmmaking projects, and connect with fans who have followed her career since her early television days.
The Bottom Line
Sarah Carter has built a career that keeps growing in new directions, from starring roles in hit series to winning awards as a filmmaker.
Few people in the industry make that creative leap look so natural.
