In 1972, Carter won a local Arizona beauty contest and gained national attention in the United States by winning Miss World USA, representing Arizona.[6] In the international 1972 pageant, representing the United States, she reached the semifinals. After taking acting classes at several New York acting schools, she made her first acting appearance, in an episode of the 1974 police drama Nakia entitled "Roots of Anger".[7] She soon began making appearances on such TV shows as Starsky and Hutch and Cos, as well as appearances in several "B" movies.[8]