A student of Northern Illinois University, Carrie switched to drama at Chicago's Goodman Theatre School where she won the Sarah Siddons Award as outstanding graduate. After graduating, Carrie worked in Television and also appeared in Television movies. She made her big screen debut in Rabbit, Run, working with James Caan. Her next movie was Diary of a Mad Housewife for which her role as Tina Balser gave her an Academy Award nomination. With similar Golden Globe nominations, Carrie was on the brink of stardom when she left it all to live with rock musician Neil Young, the father of her son, Zeke. It would be almost 8 years before she returned to the screen as a supporting actor in Brian DePalma's The Fury. After a few more films, Carrie debuted on Broadway in the 1981 play "A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking". She continued making movies in the 80's, some of which were good, others that were not. In the 90's, most of Carrie's supporting actor roles are being filmed for Television. One of the big screen films that she made was the critically acclaimed Blue Sky, which was released years after being made and gave Jessica Lange an Oscar. Carrie has also turned up on series Television in The X-Files and 0108724.
Has a son, Zeke, by a relationship with Neil Young. Was initially tapped to star opposite Sylvester Stallone in Rocky but lost the role over a salary dispute. Hospitalized at the University of California Medical Center in Los Angeles, she succumbed to heart failure while awaiting a liver transplant. Her son was at her side when she died. Carrie's son Zeke by rocker Neil Young was born with cerebral palsy. She and Young split in 1975 after four years. Young married in 1977 and the next year had a second son named Ben, who also had cerebral palsy. Carrie later sued Young for child support in 1983. Young was ordered to pay Carrie $10,000 a month and up to $300,000 on a home for mother and child. Neil Young's 1972 album "Harvest" was greatly influenced by his relationship at the time with Carrie. In 1979, her ex-boyfriend, songwriter Jack Nitzsche, was charged with threatening to kill her after he drunkenly forced his way into her home and bludgeoned her with a handgun. Nitzsche pleaded guilty to threatening her, and was fined and placed on three years probation.