Jessica Carter

Birmingham City

In June 2013, Carter joined the Birmingham City Academy. In March 2014 at the age of 16, she made her debut for Birmingham City in a match against Arsenal in the first leg of the 2013–14 UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-final. She was subsequently named player of the match.

Chelsea

In June 2018, Carter joined Chelsea on a three-year contract from Birmingham City. In the 2018–19 season she made only 16 starts in games, six of which came from the League Cup. Sports writer Jonathan Liew described it as a difficult patch in her early career, where she would be frequently late for training and miss fitness targets. According to Liew, she was put on a personalised diet and received "a certain micromanagement" by Chelsea staff, in order to get back her career on track. Carter has credited manager Emma Hayes with her development both on and off the pitch. In January 2020, in the 2019–20 season, Carter scored her debut goal for the club in a 6–1 win over Bristol City. On 2 May 2021, Carter helped Chelsea reach the Champions League final, taking the free-kick that Pernille Harder would score from, to put the team ahead (on aggregate) in the 2nd leg of the 2020–21 Champions League semi final. She featured in the final two weeks later as right-back, where she struggled against Barcelona's exceptional wide-play, resulting in a 4–0 defeat. Carter nonetheless ended the 2020–21 season as a domestic treble winner with Chelsea. Carter had her career…

Youth

Carter has represented England in the U19, U20, U21 and U23 youth teams. In January 2014, during her debut for the England under-19 team, she scored against Norway. In April, Carter played as a forward in the 2014 U-19 Championship qualification matches against Denmark and Finland, with England qualifying for the final tournament. On 18 June 2014, she featured in the under-23 squad in the Nordic Tournament, losing 3–0 to Norway. In July, Carter was named as part of the under-20 squad for the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, as a forward player. After her senior international debut in 2017, Carter was named in the under-21 squad as a defender for La Manga Tournament. In April 2019, she featured as part of the starting eleven in England's 2–1 victory over France, followed by being sent off for a second bookable offence in a loss to Norway.

Senior

In April 2017, after her earlier role as striker in England's youth teams, Carter received her first call up to the senior team, as a defender, for fixtures against Italy and Austria. On 28 November 2017, she made her senior international debut in 2019 World Cup qualification against Kazakhstan, replacing Lucy Bronze in the 77th minute as England won 5–0. In June 2022, after not playing for the senior team from 2017 to 2021, Carter was part the England squad which won the UEFA Women's Euro 2022, playing a total of 16 minutes in the tournament. In November 2022, Carter was allotted 201 in the FA legacy numbers…

Carter has been described by Jonathan Liew as calm in possession, relatively error-free, and with "exceptional read of the game". According to The Independent, she is "one of the best one-on-one defenders in the Women's Super League". Early in her career from 2013 to 2018, Carter begun as a defender and midfielder for Birmingham City, and in 2014, she played as a forward with England under-19s and under-20s. With Chelsea, she started as a full-back in 2018 before becoming a centre-back. A right footed and versatile defender, Carter has played both left-back and right-back for England and Chelsea, but prefers not to play on the left. She believes her skills are best used as part of a back-three formation. Carter has identified her pace and ability to read the game as key strengths in her defensive play, stating in February 2024 that these attributes are her "super strength."

Carter was born in England to an African American father and British mother, and holds both British and American citizenship. As a youth, Carter captained the Warwick Juniors to the County Cup championship; a plaque honouring Carter was installed at the club in 2022 as part of the "Where Greatness Is Made" campaign.