Kristin Davis, who starred in Sex and the City, said: “I cannot comprehend what has happened, and I can only imagine what her family and close friends are going through.
“We cannot rest in our work towards love and understanding and equality for every person. It is abundantly clear that divisive, senseless hate is the only motive for this hate crime.”
Mrs Carleton lived with her husband of 28 years, Bort, and their nine children in the family home.
The couple owned a property in Studio City, Los Angeles, and a restored fisherman’s cabin in Lake Arrowhead, close to her mag.pi store in Cedar Glen. She also owned another property in downtown Los Angeles.
The Cedar Glen store was one of two she ran, the other being in Los Angeles. She spent much of her professional life working for Kenneth Cole, a leading designer, and frequently travelled overseas for her work.
But her visible support for the growing LGBTQ+ community attract some hostility locally, Wesley Lynn, a friend and LGBTQ+ activist, told The Telegraph.
“She used to get comments and stuff like that. People would tear down her flag and she would put up another, bigger one. She used to talk about it a lot,” Mrs Lynn said.
“We are 90 minutes away from LA, up in the mountains. It is an upscale private lake community,” she added. “My husband and I moved up here from Palm Springs and we tried to get a group of people together. We had a Gay Pride boating event; we didn’t think anybody would turn up. There were 67 boats. It has become a blooming LGBT community.”
Matthew Clevenger, Mrs Lynn’s husband, added: “We have the largest private lake in California, and it has been very exclusive.
“Traditionally it was a conservative Republican area and there has been a bit of a backlash against the evolving demographic. There are people who don’t like change.”