Mother named her after the perfume Charisma because she loved the sound of its name
Moved to Rosarito, Mexico, with her family at age 15 and commuted each day to the School of the Creative and Performing Arts in San Diego, CA, where she majored in dance
Joined the San Diego Chargers cheerleading team in 1991
Moved to Los Angeles in 1992 and was discovered by an agent while working as a waitress
Auditioned for the part of Buffy before landing her breakthrough role as Cordelia Chase on Buffy the Vampire Slayer