[You can read an extended multimedia version of this article at 2beMag #6, with music video and photogallery included!]
Karen Elson was born in 1979 in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. At the tender age of 16 the soon to be super model, was discovered by the owner of Boss models in Manchester, England. It was her red hair and deep blue eyes that caught the attention of the manager, and soon enough she signed her first modeling contract. Only a year after being discovered, Steven Meisel got his hands on her photos and decided to shoot her for Italian Vogue on her 18th birthday.
Since her shoot with Meisel, Karen was immediately exposed to the world of high fashion and continued to work with blue-chip names like Bruce Weber, Mario Testino, Peter Lindberg, Mert and Marcus Steven Klein and Ellen von Unwerth. She has walked and done campaigns for the most prestigious brands in fashion like Marc Jacobs, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Burberry and the list goes on and on and on… Karen has also graced the covers around the world for Vogue, W, Dazed & Confused, Numéro, Marie Claire, Elle, Nylon and others. She is currently the face of YSL Opium perfume and appears in the Fall/Winter 2010/11 ad campaign of Louis Vuitton, along with Natalia Vodianova and Christy Turlington.
Apart from being a successful model Karen has also done plenty of acting and singing. She appeared in War Opera by Darren Lew, More beautiful women by Nick Knight, 48 Girls by Craig McDean and various different films by Bruce Weber.
Karen also appeared in The White Stripes’ video clip “Blue Orchid”. It was on the set of this music video that she met her future husband, the lead singer and guitarist of the band, Jack White. The video’s director, Floria Sigismondi noted “you sensed an energy between them.” The couple was married in 2005 in Manaus, Brazil. The White Stripes’ manager Ian Montone serving as best man while drummer Meg White, who is also Jack White’s exwife, was the maid of honor.
Karen Elson has always been interested in music and before meeting Jack she was a founding member and performer with the New York City based political cabaret troupe The Citizens Band, appearing with them at various theaters as well as the downtown art gallery Deitch Projects.
The matrimony with Jack White encouraged Karen to dedicate even more of her time to music. After Jack White heard a few songs that Karen Elson sang in secret, he urged her to try and write some more. Eventually she had written enough for an entire album and in February 2010, it was announced that Elson would be releasing her debut solo album The Ghost Who Walks, produced by her husband. The album received good reviews; Karen Elson was credited for both her singing and song writing abilities in the genre of gothic-folk and country. Karen Elson and Jack White have two kids together, a daughter, Scarlett Teresa White and a son, Henry Lee White. The whole family now resides in Nashville Tennessee, where Elson also owns a vintage boutique called Venus & Mars.
