Cruise was born in Atlanta, Georgia and raised in Cary, North Carolina. She is of Cherokee and Welsh descent. She was home schooled during her childhood and went to Cary High School. In 2009, she enrolled at East Carolina University, majoring in psychology and pre-law. While in school, she was heavily involved in Greek life, pledging a sorority as a freshman. In late 2013, she left her psychology studies at ECU to pursue a full-time career in the adult industry. Prior to becoming an adult film performer, she worked as a Hooters girl and lifeguard.

Cruise began working as an erotic model in the summer of 2013. She made her porn debut in August of that year after contacting the Florida-based talent agency East Coast Talents. She moved to Los Angeles in March 2014 and signed with the agency Spiegler Girls in June. That same month, she was featured in AVN’s “fresh” issue.

In a 2014 interview for the online edition of Cosmopolitan magazine, she revealed that she has always wanted to be in the entertainment industry. She went on to say that she had not originally intended to go to college, but did so to continue a relationship with a man she was dating. After taking a semester off to assess and plan her Future, she came up with the concept of "Carter Cruise" as a brand and as a means to accomplish her goals with regards to writing, acting, music, and fashion. Cruise stated, "How can I do all of these things in one lifetime? Porn was the first step because it gave me the capital and the connections to not only build my brand but also to lay the foundations for other creative things that I wanted to get involved in."

Cruise is pursuing a career as a DJ/producer. On January 19, 2015, Cruise released her first track, "DUNNIT", a collaboration with Styles&Complete and Crichy Crich, for Buygore Records. In an interview, Cruise stated that she is working on several songs and has also done some writing for various outlets, including sex advice blogs.

Cruise has appeared in several features, including "Mrs. Polito" in American Hustle XXX from Smash Pictures and as a stepsister in Cinderella XXX. She was cast as the lead in Director Jacky St. James’ romance feature, Second Chances, produced by New Sensations.