Carol Joan Sutton was an American actress of theater, film and television, best known for her appearances in the films Steel Magnolias, Monster's Ball, and Ray.

She attended the Xavier University Preparatory School and then later enrolled at Xavier University but dropped out after marrying Archie Sutton, whom she later divorced. She worked for Total Community Action and earned certification in early childhood development from Texas Southern University in Houston. She was also a parishioner at St Francis de Sales Catholic Church in New Orleans.

She joined the Dashiki Project Theatre in the 1960s. Her acting debut came in the 1974 television show The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.

Sutton devoted much of her career to the theater and also served as an acting teacher in her hometown. She recorded a large number of supporting roles in American film and television, participating in productions such as The Pelican Brief, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh, American Horror Story: Coven, True Detective, Kidnap, The Last Exorcism, and Killer Joe.

In 2012, Sutton received a New Orleans Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2019, Sutton played Lena Younger in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry.

Sutton died on December 10, 2020, due to complications from COVID-19 at age 76. She is survived by a daughter, son, and five grandchildren. She is interred at Greenwood Cemetery in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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