KAREN MULDER Biography - Craftmen, artisans and people from other Occupations

 
 

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KAREN MULDER

Name: Karen Mulder                                                                   
Born: June 1, 1970  Vlaardingen, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands                           
                                                                                       
Karen Mulder, (born June 1, 1970 in Vlaardingen, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands) is a     
former Dutch model.                                                                   
                                                                                       
Raised in Den Haag and Voorburg, Mulder's father, Ben, is a tax inspector and         
her mother, Marijke, is a secretary. Karen has a younger sister, Saskia, who         
became an actress after a stint studying economics. In 1985, when she was 14 her     
family went on a camping trip in the south of France. She saw an ad for Elite         
Model Management's 'Look of the Year' contest in a newspaper. A friend took some     
photographs she had of her and sent them in to the Elite contest without her         
knowledge. She tried out at the preliminary contest in Amsterdam and won, which       
sent her on to the finals of the 'Look of the Year' contest. She went on to           
second place in that contest and off to Paris for her first modeling shoot. She       
then left high school to travel to Italy with her mother for a formal photo           
shoot, and then to Paris for modeling school, where the Elite modeling agency         
took over her career.                                                                 
                                                                                       
By her second year on the runway, she was modeling for Valentino, Yves Saint         
Laurent, Lanvin, Versace, and Giorgio Armani. She appeared on the cover of Vogue     
and before long, landed a contract for Guess in 1991 when she was 21 years old.       
During the following three years, Karen climbed the steps to supermodel status,       
learning along the way. The first important steps in her career were a British       
Vogue cover shot by Tyen and a Nivea advertising campaign.                           
                                                                                       
The list of her clients became quite impressive. Campaigns she appeared in           
included Calvin Klein, Claude Montana, Ralph Lauren, Yves Saint-Laurent's Rive       
Gauche fragrance, as well as Guerlain, Chloé, Revlon, Jacques Fath, Gianfranco       
Ferrè, Gianni Versace, Chanel and Herve Leger. Karen has worked with some of the     
greatest fashion photographers, including Javier Vallhonrat, Peter Lindbergh,         
Patrick Demarchelier, Bruce Weber, Helmut Newton, Max Vadukul, Gilles Bensimon,       
Fabrizio Ferri, Steven Meisel, Irving Penn, Robert Erdmann, and Arthur Elgort.       
                                                                                       
One of the first issues of Top Model magazine was entirely devoted to Mulder         
along with an entire issue of Italian Vogue. Her two appearances in Sports           
Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 1997 and 1998 and her attractive poses for the         
Victoria’s Secret catalogue made Mulder a household name.                           
                                                                                       
Called "The Blonde With Class" by Vogue editors, she went on to share catwalks       
with top models such as Kate Moss, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, and Naomi       
Campbell. Together with a few other models, including her best friend Carla           
Bruni, these women were the fashion industry's elite. At one point in her career     
she was earning up to £10,000 a day. Mulder retired from modeling in 2000.           
                                                                                       
After her retirement in 2000, Mulder felt free to try other career paths. She         
branched out into acting, making her debut in the French short film A Theft, One     
Night in 2001. She also pursued a career in music but had limited success. Her       
first effort at establishing a music career was her cover version of Gloria           
Gaynor's I Am What I Am, which appeared on the French music charts for a time in     
the summer of 2002.