​Carlin was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois. She studied dance, art, cartooning and the recorder as a child.  Her mother, a radio talkshow host in Chicago, provided an incredible platform for adult interaction and taught Carlin how to "ask questions." 

Carlin regularly practiced theater arts, debate and received prizes in poetry while refining various comic books and found-art pieces before attending the University of Wisconsin – Madison.  Carlin acted in student films, worked as a waitress and tour guide, and before graduating, studied documentary storytelling as a disciple of the late Agnes Varda in Paris and interned under Amy Pascal at Columbia Pictures in Culver City. She double-majored in Rhetorical Theory and Television-Film Studies.  

After President Obama's election she moved to Brooklyn with little/no money, a terrible haircut and found work for many years in the mainstream television industry. In NYC, she learned heartbreak, finances, fashion-sense and public transportation.

After living in New York for nearly a decade, "California presented rich sights....  urban Hollywood in its archetypal, image-ridden 'glory,' and lovely desert countryside;" she focused on local fruit pickers and the surrealism of Los Angeles. 
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Carlin currently lives in Los Angeles with her dog Frangelica, and an orange lizard she found in a bush. 
 
Carlin practices acrylic and watercolor painting, gardening, and she's a budding bird + wildflower enthusiast.  She's also passionate about discovering / re-discovering music.  Her public music playlists are located: here. 

In 2020, Carlin partnered with Producer Lucy Bidwell to create Petrichor Films, a female-led development company and creative incubator in Los Angeles. In 2024, her most recent television project for A+E won an Emmy.  She still works on a freelance basis and is available for hire worldwide.