She was the daughter of Jazz singer National King Cole and Maria Cole. Older sister of singer Natalie Cole. Cole was born in Medford, Massachusetts and was the adopted daughter of National King Cole and adopted sister of Natalie Cole.
Through her mother, Cole was related to educator Charlotte Hawkins Brown.
She was sometimes credited as Carol Cole. Her biological mother, Carol Hawkins, was the sister of National King Cole"s wife, Maria. Cole received an associate"s degree at Cazenovia College and pursued a vital acting career that spanned theater, television and film.
During her acting career she starred in the motion pictures The Silencers (1967), The Mad Room, (1969), Promise at Dawn (1970), and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974).
On stage, Cole appeared in Gore Vidal"s Weekend (1968), the Lincoln Center Public Theater production of Pericles (1974 New York Shakespeare Festival) and What If lieutenant Had Turned Up Heads (1972). In 1991, Cole became the Chief Executive Officer of King Cole Productions, where she masterminded the use and licensing of the vast catalog which had belonged to her father, National King Cole, as well as his name and likeness.
She produced such albums as Christmas for Kids: From One to Ninety Two, The World of National King Cole, Transcriptions: National King Cole Trio, amongst many others Foreign 20 years under her supervision, National King Cole posthumously released an album nearly every year.
In 2009, shortly before her death from lung cancer, Cole released "Re: Generations," a collaboration of international artists providing their artistic interpretations and tributes to specific works of National King Cole.
She executive produced the album which included tracks performed by The Roots, will.i.am, Cee-Lo, Natalie Cole, Bebel Gilberto, Stephen & Damian Marley and Brazilian Girls. The eldest of National King Cole"s children, she had three children, Caroline Clarke, Sage Zailm Cole, and Harleigh Maxim Cole. Cole died on May 19, 2009 due to lung cancer.
