Caroline Dhavernas was born on May 15, 1978, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Her parents are both actors: Sébastien Dhavernas and Michèle Deslauriers. She grew up in a bilingual environment, speaking both French and English fluently.
Dhavernas began her acting career at a young age, dubbing voices for television shows and films. Her early television roles were primarily in French-Canadian productions.
One of her early notable roles was in the Canadian television series Marilyn (1991-1993). She gradually gained recognition for her work in both French and English language projects. A significant role that broadened her audience was in the Canadian comedy-drama series Wonderfalls (2004), created by Bryan Fuller and Todd Holland. Although the series was short-lived, it garnered her critical acclaim.
Dhavernas has appeared in a variety of film and television projects, demonstrating her versatility as an actress. She starred as Dr. Lily Brenner in the medical drama Off the Map (2011). She received widespread recognition for her portrayal of Alana Bloom in the NBC psychological thriller series Hannibal (2013-2015). Her performance in Hannibal was praised for its complexity and nuance. More recently, she starred in the Canadian legal drama Mary Kills People (2017-2019), for which she received a Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series in 2018.