Carlson was born in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. When Carlson was 13, her family (consisting of her parents, three siblings and her) moved for a year to Amman, Jordan, where her parents had been hired to teach at the American Community School. After returning to the United States, Carlson attended Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. While in college, Carlson was active in the school’s theatre department, appearing in Fifth of July, Noises Off, A Lie of the Mind, and School for Scandal. Carlson graduated cum laude.

Carlson made her soap opera debut in 1993 on Another World as Josie Watts. She was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1998 for this role and later left the show. She guest-starred in a number of prime time shows and in 2000 won a series regular role on the NBC series Third Watch, where she starred from 2000 to 2003. She later had leading roles in the short-lived dramas Peacemakers and Law & Order: Trial by Jury. In 2010, Carlson began starring as Linda Reagan on Blue Bloods. Carlson continued in the role of Linda through the seventh season of Blue Bloods, but after seven years on the series, Carlson elected to leave her contract and move on from the show permanently. On the eighth-season premiere episode, which aired on September 29, 2017, it was revealed that Linda—who was a nurse—had died in a helicopter crash while transporting a patient. The following season, it was then revealed that a cartel hitman had been responsible for the aforementioned helicopter crash.

Carlson currently resides in New York City with her daughter, born on October 4, 2006; her son, born on August 27, 2009; and her long-time partner Syd Butler, bass guitar player of the 8G Band on Late Night with Seth Meyers, and of indie rock band Les Savy Fav and owner of the independent label Frenchkiss Records.

Amy Lynn Carlson (born July 7, 1968) is an American television actress, known for her roles as Linda Reagan in the CBS police procedural Blue Bloods, as Alex Taylor on the NBC drama Third Watch, and Josie Watts in the NBC daytime soap opera Another World.