Karen Elson
Encyclopedia
Karen Elson is a British model, singer-songwriter and guitarist.
As a child, Elson attended North Chadderton School
in Chadderton
with her twin sister, filmmaker Kate Elson
. She began working as a model as a teenager.
, Greater Manchester
, Karen Elson was discovered at age 16 by the owner of Boss models in Manchester. Elson's success came when Steven Meisel
shot her for the cover of Italian Vogue
on her 18th birthday. She has worked with most of the world's major fashion photographers and fashion designers, including Bruce Weber, Mario Testino, Peter Lindbergh
, Mert and Marcus
, Steven Klein
, Patrick Demarchelier
, Steven Meisel
, Ellen Von Unwerth
. She has walked the runways of many top designers including Marc Jacobs
(which she did while pregnant), Shiatzy Chen
, Jean-Paul Gaultier
, Chanel
, Dolce & Gabbana
, Versace
, YSL, Alexander McQueen
, Dior
, and Gucci
. She has appeared in international campaigns for dozens of designers including Yves Saint Laurent
, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Louis Vuitton
, Versace, Christian Dior
, Burberry
and Chanel
.
Her list of magazine covers include multiple international editions of Vogue
as well as W
, Dazed & Confused
, Numéro
, British Harper's Bazaar
, Marie Claire
, Elle
, Lula, Foam Magazine
and Nylon
. In 1998 she won the title of Model Of The Year at the VH1
Fashion Awards. Photographed by Steven Meisel
, she was presented on the September 2004 cover of American Vogue
as one of the "Models of the Moment". In 2005, Elson won the British Fashion Award for Best Model.
In September 2008 Elson was on the cover of British Vogue
- shot by Nick Knight - as "Fashion's Red Queen". It was then announced that Elson was the new face of British department store John Lewis
for Autumn/Winter 2008/2009. In the Fall of 2009 she appeared on billboards internationally for H&M
.
In 2010, American fashion brand St. John announced that Elson would be replacing Angelina Jolie
as the new face of their company. In 2011 she was replaced by Kate Winslet
. For the Tom Ford 2009 spring eyewear advertising campaigns Elson and male model Jon Kortajarena
were photographed, for the first time, by Tom Ford
himself.
Elson is currently the face of YSL Opium perfume. She appears in the Fall/Winter 2010/11 ad campaign of Louis Vuitton
along with Natalia Vodianova
and Christy Turlington
, as well as the Trussardi 1911 Spring 2011 campaign. She was shot by Mert & Marcus for Roberto Cavalli
's Fall 2011 campaign. Karen appears in the Steven Meisel
Fall 2011 Lanvin
campaign. The accompanying promotional video shows her dancing with Raquel Zimmerman to Pit Bull
's "I Know You Want Me". Karen appears with her non identical twin sister Kate Elson
in the 2011 H&M
Holiday campaign. She is also the face of Banana Republic
's 2011 Holiday Collection.
Elson has appeared in many short films and videos, including the music video for The White Stripes
's "Blue Orchid
", directed by Floria Sigismondi
. She has also appeared in fashion films such as Steven Meisel
and Darren Lew's War Opera, Nick Knight
's Andy Warhol
-inspired series More Beautiful Women, Craig McDean
's 48 Girls, and Bruce Weber
's Petit Fleur, Harlequin, Voodoo Daddy, Closer Walk With Thee and Karen's Boogie (all films were made in conjunction with W
as a tribute to New Orleans). Elson has been featured in commercials for Kose cosmetics. She has also appeared in the short film Lay Down Lean, a project by the experimental filmmaking team The Belles Of The Black Diamond Field.
Elson has contributed to Nick Knight
's fashion site SHOWstudio.com
since 2002. She also contributed to Knight
's project "Moving Fashion" with a black and white video of herself in a sequined gown, perched upon a swing. The images were accompanied by Elson playing the autoharp
and singing a verse of Marlene Dietrich
's "Falling In Love Again
."
In 2008, Elson opened a vintage boutique in Nashville, Tennessee
with Amy Patterson. The boutique was called Venus & Mars- The Showroom and featured "high end rare vintage garments and adornments to cheap and cheerful vintage dress and jewels." The boutique closed in November 2010.
In 2010, she modeled a Patricia Field
dress for the Sex and the City Archive in the Naomi Campbell
's Fashion For Relief runway show for The White Ribbon Alliance to raise funds for mothers in Haiti.
On May 9, 2011, it was announced that Elson has designed her own line of shoes, bags and jewlery for fashion brand Nine West
. The items became available in the Fall of 2011.
based political cabaret
troupe The Citizens Band
, appearing with them at various theatres as well as the downtown art gallery Deitch Projects
since 2004. Critical response to Elson's performances have been unequivocally positive, with the press frequently commenting on her striking vocal skills. As one of the leaders of The Citizens Band she has performed a variety of songs including covers of The Velvet Underground
, Kurt Weill
, Elvis Presley
, Mimi
and Richard Fariña
, Pete Seeger
, Leonard Cohen
, Neil Young
and Marlene Dietrich
. She has also written and co-written songs for the troupe's performances. Her cover of The Velvet Underground
's "Candy Says" is available on The Citizen Band's MySpace
page. Short samples of her performances are available on the troupe's website as well.
Elson's musical career has been building slowly over the past several years. In 2003 she contributed backing vocals to a remix of Robert Plant
's "Last Time I Saw Her" from Plant's album Dreamland
. In 2005 a personal recording of Elson singing was made available on a CD accompanying the August 2005 issue of Uncut
magazine (the song was titled "Coming Down"). The song was chosen by REM singer Michael Stipe. In 2006 she dueted with Cat Power on a provocative cover version of "I Love You (Me Either)
" for Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited
, a tribute album to French singer/songwriter Serge Gainsbourg
. Elson contributed a version of "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" to the Buddy Holly
tribute album Rave On Buddy Holly
, released in June 2011.
Her first full length album was written, for the most part, in secret without letting her (then) husband Jack White
hear what she was doing. “At home I would hide—I would play my songs really in isolation. I would lock the bathroom door and hide. Eventually he was like, ‘Why are you hiding this from me?’”. In February 2010, it was announced that Elson would be releasing her debut solo album The Ghost Who Walks
, produced by Jack White
. News of the album's release was made by a live acoustic performance video "The Ghost Who Walks (Acoustic)" posted on the internet. The album was released on Third Man Records via XL Recordings in May 2010. It received generally favorable reviews. Spin magazine gave it 7/10 and compared her voice to both Jenny Lewis
and Loretta Lynn
.
On September 2, 2010, Elson and her band performed on The Late Show With David Letterman.
The fourth season of HBO TV series, True Blood
, featured Elson's cover of "Season of the Witch
" over the credits of the episode "If You Love Me, Why Am I Dyin'?".
when she appeared in The White Stripes
music video for "Blue Orchid
". The video's director, Floria Sigismondi
noted "you sensed an energy between them." They were married on June 1, 2005 in Manaus, Brazil. The White Stripes
's manager Ian Montone served as best man while drummer Meg White
, who is also Jack White's ex-wife, was the maid of honor.
On May 2, 2006, the couple had a daughter, named Scarlett Teresa White. Their second child, Henry Lee White, was born on August 7, 2007. The family lived in Nashville, Tennessee
. They announced their divorce in June 2011 .
As a child, Elson attended North Chadderton School
North Chadderton School
North Chadderton School is a mixed gender comprehensive school and sixth form for 11–18 year olds, located in Chadderton, in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. It has recently been given the specialist status as a Business and Enterprise College.-Admissions:The range...
in Chadderton
Chadderton
Chadderton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England, historically a part of Lancashire...
with her twin sister, filmmaker Kate Elson
Kate Elson
Kate Elson is a British model and filmmaker. She is the twin sister of fashion model Karen Elson.- Early life :Elson was born in in Oldham, Greater Manchester. As a child, she went to North Chadderton School in Chadderton with her twin sister, model Karen Elson...
. She began working as a model as a teenager.
Career in fashion
Born in in OldhamOldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, Karen Elson was discovered at age 16 by the owner of Boss models in Manchester. Elson's success came when Steven Meisel
Steven Meisel
Steven Meisel is an American photographer, who obtained popular acclaim with his work in US and Italian Vogue and his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book Sex...
shot her for the cover of Italian Vogue
Vogue Italia
Vogue Italia is the Italian edition of Vogue magazine. Owned by Condé Nast International, it is the least commercial of all editions of Vogue magazine and has been called the top fashion magazine in the world....
on her 18th birthday. She has worked with most of the world's major fashion photographers and fashion designers, including Bruce Weber, Mario Testino, Peter Lindbergh
Peter Lindbergh
Peter Lindbergh, born Peter Brodbeck, is a German photographer and filmmaker, born on November 23, 1944 in Leszno, Poland. He currently lives in Paris, New York and Arles....
, Mert and Marcus
Mert and Marcus
Mert and Marcus are Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, fashion photographers. Their work and style is heavily influenced and shaped by the photography of Guy Bourdin and also the use of digital manipulation of which they have pioneered the use...
, Steven Klein
Steven Klein
Steven Klein is an American photographer based in New York.-History:After studying painting at the Rhode Island School of Design, he moved into the field of photography...
, Patrick Demarchelier
Patrick Demarchelier
Patrick Demarchelier is a French fashion photographer.-Life:Born near Paris in 1943 to a modest family, he spent his childhood in Le Havre with his mother and four brothers. For his seventeenth birthday, his stepfather bought him his first Eastman Kodak camera...
, Steven Meisel
Steven Meisel
Steven Meisel is an American photographer, who obtained popular acclaim with his work in US and Italian Vogue and his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book Sex...
, Ellen Von Unwerth
Ellen von Unwerth
Ellen von Unwerth is a photographer and director, specializing in erotic femininity. She worked as a fashion model for ten years herself before moving behind the camera, and now makes fashion, editorial, and advertising photographs.Ellen von Unwerth found fame when she first photographed Claudia...
. She has walked the runways of many top designers including Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for Marc Jacobs, as well as Marc by Marc Jacobs, a diffusion line, with more than 200 retail stores in 60 countries. He has been the creative director of the French design house Louis Vuitton since 1997...
(which she did while pregnant), Shiatzy Chen
Shiatzy Chen
Shiatzy Chen is a Taiwanese fashion house, whose founder and brand innovator Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia is often referred to as the Chanel of Taiwan,and is the eponym of her luxury goods brand. She was born in 1951 in Changhua, Taiwan and founded the company in 1978...
, Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean Paul Gaultier , born 24 April 1952 in Arcueil, Val-de-Marne, France) is a French haute couture fashion designer. Gaultier was the creative director of Hermès from 2003 to 2010. In the past, he has hosted the television series Eurotrash....
, Chanel
Chanel
Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...
, Dolce & Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana is an Italian luxury industry fashion house. The company was started by the Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana in Milan, Italy. By 2005 their turnover was €597 million....
, Versace
Versace
Gianni Versace S.p.A. , usually referred to as Versace, is an Italian fashion label founded by Gianni Versace in 1978.The first Versace boutique was opened in Milan's Via della Spiga in 1978, and its popularity was immediate. Today, Versace is one of the world's leading international fashion houses...
, YSL, Alexander McQueen
Alexander McQueen
Lee Alexander McQueen, CBE was a British fashion designer and couturier best known for his in-depth knowledge of bespoke British tailoring, his tendency to juxtapose strength with fragility in his collections, as well as the emotional power and raw energy of his provocative fashion shows...
, Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
, and Gucci
Gucci
The House of Gucci, better known simply as Gucci , is an Italian fashion and leather goods label, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by French company PPR...
. She has appeared in international campaigns for dozens of designers including Yves Saint Laurent
Yves Saint Laurent (brand)
Yves Saint Laurent or YSL is a luxury fashion house founded by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé. Today, its chief designer is Stefano Pilati. Yves Saint Laurent, founder of the brand, died in 2008.-History:...
, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,...
, Versace, Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
, Burberry
Burberry
Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house, manufacturing clothing, fragrance, and fashion accessories. Its distinctive tartan pattern has become one of its most widely copied trademarks. Burberry is most famous for its iconic trench coat, which was invented by founder Thomas Burberry...
and Chanel
Chanel
Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...
.
Her list of magazine covers include multiple international editions of Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
as well as W
W (magazine)
W is a monthly American fashion magazine published by Condé Nast Publications, who purchased original owner Fairchild Publications in 1999. It was created in 1971 by the publisher of sister magazine Woman's Wear Daily, James Brady. The magazine is an oversize format – ten inches wide and...
, Dazed & Confused
Dazed & Confused (magazine)
Dazed & Confused is a British style magazine, that was set up in 1992 and published monthly. Its founding editors were Jefferson Hack and Rankin...
, Numéro
Numéro
Numéro is an international fashion magazine published by the Groupe Alain Ayache. It has a circulation of 80,000. The women's publication has reached its 100th issue...
, British Harper's Bazaar
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
, Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Marie Claire is a monthly women's magazine first published in France but also distributed in other countries with editions specific to them and in their languages. While each country shares its own special voice with its audience, the United States edition focuses on women around the world and...
, Elle
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
, Lula, Foam Magazine
Foam Magazine
Foam Magazine is an international photography magazine, founded in 2001 by Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam and branding agency Vandejong Amsterdam. The Magazine is a place for the publication and exhibition of photography worldwide and is distributed in 25 countries. Quarterly, Foam Magazine...
and Nylon
Nylon (magazine)
Nylon is an American magazine that focuses on pop culture and fashion. Its coverage includes art, beauty, music, design, celebrities, technology and travel...
. In 1998 she won the title of Model Of The Year at the VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
Fashion Awards. Photographed by Steven Meisel
Steven Meisel
Steven Meisel is an American photographer, who obtained popular acclaim with his work in US and Italian Vogue and his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book Sex...
, she was presented on the September 2004 cover of American Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
as one of the "Models of the Moment". In 2005, Elson won the British Fashion Award for Best Model.
In September 2008 Elson was on the cover of British Vogue
Vogue (British magazine)
The British edition of Vogue is a fashion magazine that has been published since 1916.When British Vogue was launched, it was the first overseas edition of an existing fashion magazine. Under the magazine's first editor, Elspeth Champcommunal, the magazine was essentially the same as the American...
- shot by Nick Knight - as "Fashion's Red Queen". It was then announced that Elson was the new face of British department store John Lewis
John Lewis (department store)
-Recent developments:In June 2004, John Lewis announced plans to open its first store in Northern Ireland at the Sprucefield Park development, the province's largest out of town shopping centre, located outside Lisburn and from Belfast. The application was approved in June 2005 and the opening of...
for Autumn/Winter 2008/2009. In the Fall of 2009 she appeared on billboards internationally for H&M
H&M
H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is a Swedish retail-clothing company, known for its fast-fashion clothing offerings for women, men, teenagers and children....
.
In 2010, American fashion brand St. John announced that Elson would be replacing Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
as the new face of their company. In 2011 she was replaced by Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...
. For the Tom Ford 2009 spring eyewear advertising campaigns Elson and male model Jon Kortajarena
Jon Kortajarena
Jon Kortajarena Redruello is a Spanish model. He is known for his distinct hair, chiseled cheekbones, piercing eyes, and full pout. He has landed advertising campaigns for Just Cavalli, Versace, Giorgio Armani, Bally, Etro, Trussardi, Diesel, Mangano, Lagerfeld, Pepe Jeans but notably Matinique,...
were photographed, for the first time, by Tom Ford
Tom Ford
Thomas Carlyle "Tom" Ford is an American fashion designer and film director. He gained international fame for his turnaround of the Gucci fashion house and the creation of the Tom Ford label before directing the Oscar-nominated film A Single Man.-Early life :Tom Ford was born August 27, 1961 in...
himself.
Elson is currently the face of YSL Opium perfume. She appears in the Fall/Winter 2010/11 ad campaign of Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,...
along with Natalia Vodianova
Natalia Vodianova
Natalia Mikhailovna Vodianova is a Russian model and philanthropist who now permanently resides in the United Kingdom.-Early life:Born in Gorky, Soviet Union , Natalia Vodianova grew up in a poor district of the city with her mother and two half sisters, one of whom has cerebral palsy...
and Christy Turlington
Christy Turlington
Christy Turlington Burns is an American model best known for representing Calvin Klein from 1987 to 2007. She has worked on dozens of modeling contracts with companies including Maybelline Cosmetics and Versace. Turlington starred in her fashion documentary Catwalk and Isaac Mizrahi's Unzipped...
, as well as the Trussardi 1911 Spring 2011 campaign. She was shot by Mert & Marcus for Roberto Cavalli
Roberto Cavalli
Roberto Cavalli is an Italian fashion designer from Florence.-Biography:Roberto Cavalli was born in Florence, Tuscany. His grandfather, Giuseppe Rossi, was a member of the Macchiaioli Movement, whose work is exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery. Cavalli decided to enroll at the local Art Institute,...
's Fall 2011 campaign. Karen appears in the Steven Meisel
Steven Meisel
Steven Meisel is an American photographer, who obtained popular acclaim with his work in US and Italian Vogue and his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book Sex...
Fall 2011 Lanvin
Lanvin
Lanvin may refer to:* Gérard Lanvin , French actor* Jeanne Lanvin , French fashion designer* Lanvin , French fashion house founded by Jeanne Lanvin...
campaign. The accompanying promotional video shows her dancing with Raquel Zimmerman to Pit Bull
Pit bull
A Pit bull is any of several breeds of dog in the molosser breed group.Many jurisdictions that restrict pit bulls, including Ontario, Canada,, Miami, Florida, U.S...
's "I Know You Want Me". Karen appears with her non identical twin sister Kate Elson
Kate Elson
Kate Elson is a British model and filmmaker. She is the twin sister of fashion model Karen Elson.- Early life :Elson was born in in Oldham, Greater Manchester. As a child, she went to North Chadderton School in Chadderton with her twin sister, model Karen Elson...
in the 2011 H&M
H&M
H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is a Swedish retail-clothing company, known for its fast-fashion clothing offerings for women, men, teenagers and children....
Holiday campaign. She is also the face of Banana Republic
Banana Republic
Banana Republic is an American clothing brand founded by Mel and Patricia Ziegler in 1978 as a travel-themed clothing company; it has subsequently largely eliminated this tropical or travel-related theme. The company was bought by Gap in 1983...
's 2011 Holiday Collection.
Elson has appeared in many short films and videos, including the music video for The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
's "Blue Orchid
Blue Orchid
"Blue Orchid" is the first track by the American alternative rock band The White Stripes from their album Get Behind Me Satan, and the first single to be released from the album....
", directed by Floria Sigismondi
Floria Sigismondi
Floria Sigismondi is an Italian, naturalised Canadian, photographer and director.Apart from her art exhibitions, she is best known for writing and directing The Runaways, starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning...
. She has also appeared in fashion films such as Steven Meisel
Steven Meisel
Steven Meisel is an American photographer, who obtained popular acclaim with his work in US and Italian Vogue and his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book Sex...
and Darren Lew's War Opera, Nick Knight
Nick Knight (photographer)
Nick Knight OBE is a British fashion photographer, documentary photographer, and web publisher—as director of SHOWstudio.com.-Life and career:Knight studied at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design....
's Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
-inspired series More Beautiful Women, Craig McDean
Craig McDean
Craig McDean is a British fashion photographer originally from Middlewich near Manchester, but now based in New York City....
's 48 Girls, and Bruce Weber
Bruce Weber (photographer)
Bruce Weber is an American fashion photographer and occasional filmmaker. He is most widely known for his ad campaigns for Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Pirelli, Abercrombie & Fitch, Revlon, and Gianni Versace, as well as his work for Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Elle, Life, Interview, and Rolling Stone...
's Petit Fleur, Harlequin, Voodoo Daddy, Closer Walk With Thee and Karen's Boogie (all films were made in conjunction with W
W (magazine)
W is a monthly American fashion magazine published by Condé Nast Publications, who purchased original owner Fairchild Publications in 1999. It was created in 1971 by the publisher of sister magazine Woman's Wear Daily, James Brady. The magazine is an oversize format – ten inches wide and...
as a tribute to New Orleans). Elson has been featured in commercials for Kose cosmetics. She has also appeared in the short film Lay Down Lean, a project by the experimental filmmaking team The Belles Of The Black Diamond Field.
Elson has contributed to Nick Knight
Nick Knight (photographer)
Nick Knight OBE is a British fashion photographer, documentary photographer, and web publisher—as director of SHOWstudio.com.-Life and career:Knight studied at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design....
's fashion site SHOWstudio.com
SHOWstudio.com
SHOWstudio.com is a fashion website, founded and directed by Nick Knight. Since it began at the start of the new millennium, SHOWstudio.com has championed film and moving image as the ideal medium for fashion in the digital age, and has utilised online streaming and real-time reporting methods –...
since 2002. She also contributed to Knight
Nick Knight (photographer)
Nick Knight OBE is a British fashion photographer, documentary photographer, and web publisher—as director of SHOWstudio.com.-Life and career:Knight studied at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design....
's project "Moving Fashion" with a black and white video of herself in a sequined gown, perched upon a swing. The images were accompanied by Elson playing the autoharp
Autoharp
The autoharp is a musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers, which, when depressed, mute all of the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither. -History:There is debate over the...
and singing a verse of Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
's "Falling In Love Again
Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)
"Falling in Love Again " is the English language name for a 1930 German song composed by Friedrich Hollaender as Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt...
."
In 2008, Elson opened a vintage boutique in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
with Amy Patterson. The boutique was called Venus & Mars- The Showroom and featured "high end rare vintage garments and adornments to cheap and cheerful vintage dress and jewels." The boutique closed in November 2010.
In 2010, she modeled a Patricia Field
Patricia Field
Patricia Field is an American costume designer, stylist and fashion designer.-Life and career:Field was born in 1941 in New York City to Greek and Armenian parents, who emigrated from Lesvos, Greece. She was raised in Astoria, Queens and has claimed credit for inventing the modern legging for...
dress for the Sex and the City Archive in the Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell is a British model. Scouted at the age of 15, she established herself among the top three most recognisable and in-demand models of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and she was one of six models of her generation declared "supermodels" by the fashion world...
's Fashion For Relief runway show for The White Ribbon Alliance to raise funds for mothers in Haiti.
On May 9, 2011, it was announced that Elson has designed her own line of shoes, bags and jewlery for fashion brand Nine West
Nine West
Nine West is a fashion wholesale and retail company best known for quickly translating runway trends into styles attainable by mass consumers. Initially founded as a fashion footwear brand, Nine West has since expanded into handbags, sunglasses, legwear, outerwear, jewelry, belts, watches, cold...
. The items became available in the Fall of 2011.
Career in music
Elson is a founding member and performer with the New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
based political cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
troupe The Citizens Band
The Citizens Band
The Citizens Band is a New York City based political cabaret troupe. The band is made up of different rotating cast members that perform and often includes celebrities in their shows. Past participants have been Zoe Kravitz, Zooey Deschanel, Mark McAdam, Rain Phoenix, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Nina...
, appearing with them at various theatres as well as the downtown art gallery Deitch Projects
Deitch Projects
Deitch Projects was a contemporary art gallery in New York City founded by Jeffrey Deitch.-History:Since opening with a performance by Vanessa Beecroft in February 1996, the gallery has presented nearly one hundred and eighteen solo exhibitions and projects, ten thematic exhibitions, and a few...
since 2004. Critical response to Elson's performances have been unequivocally positive, with the press frequently commenting on her striking vocal skills. As one of the leaders of The Citizens Band she has performed a variety of songs including covers of The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
, Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
, Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, Mimi
Mimi Fariña
Mimi Baez Fariña was a singer-songwriter and activist, the youngest of three daughters to a Scottish mother and Mexican-American physicist Albert Baez .- Early years:Fariña's father, a physicist affiliated with Stanford University and MIT, moved his family...
and Richard Fariña
Richard Fariña
Richard George Fariña was an American writer and folksinger.-Early years and education:Richard Fariña was born in Brooklyn, New York, of Cuban and Irish descent. He grew up in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn and attended Brooklyn Technical High School...
, Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
, Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
, Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
and Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
. She has also written and co-written songs for the troupe's performances. Her cover of The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
's "Candy Says" is available on The Citizen Band's MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page. Short samples of her performances are available on the troupe's website as well.
Elson's musical career has been building slowly over the past several years. In 2003 she contributed backing vocals to a remix of Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
's "Last Time I Saw Her" from Plant's album Dreamland
Dreamland (Robert Plant album)
Dreamland is singer Robert Plant's seventh solo album and the first with the band "Strange Sensation". The album was released in July 2002.Many of the songs are cover versions, mainly blues, but also some rock...
. In 2005 a personal recording of Elson singing was made available on a CD accompanying the August 2005 issue of Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
magazine (the song was titled "Coming Down"). The song was chosen by REM singer Michael Stipe. In 2006 she dueted with Cat Power on a provocative cover version of "I Love You (Me Either)
Je t'aime... moi non plus
"Je t'aime… moi non plus" is a French duet written by Serge Gainsbourg. It was written for and sung with Brigitte Bardot in 1967, but that version was not released until 1986. In 1969, Gainsbourg recorded a version with his lover, Jane Birkin. It reached number one in the UK, but was banned in...
" for Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited
Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited
Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited is a tribute album to the works of late French singer/songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. First released on Virgin Records in 2006, it consists of English language cover versions of Gainsbourg songs, performed by a diverse array of contemporary artists...
, a tribute album to French singer/songwriter Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize...
. Elson contributed a version of "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" to the Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
tribute album Rave On Buddy Holly
Rave on Buddy Holly
Rave On Buddy Holly is a compilation album by various artists released on June 28, 2011 through Fantasy Records/Concord Music Group and Hear Music. The title of the tribute album to musician Buddy Holly, who died in a plane crash in 1959 at age 22, refers to the song "Rave On", one of his biggest...
, released in June 2011.
Her first full length album was written, for the most part, in secret without letting her (then) husband Jack White
Jack White (musician)
Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
hear what she was doing. “At home I would hide—I would play my songs really in isolation. I would lock the bathroom door and hide. Eventually he was like, ‘Why are you hiding this from me?’”. In February 2010, it was announced that Elson would be releasing her debut solo album The Ghost Who Walks
The Ghost Who Walks
The Ghost Who Walks is the debut album from British singer-songwriter Karen Elson. Elson told DJ Steve Lamacq: "The title was a nickname that I had at school. It was one of the nicer nicknames I had for being tall, pale and a little bit haunted."...
, produced by Jack White
Jack White (musician)
Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
. News of the album's release was made by a live acoustic performance video "The Ghost Who Walks (Acoustic)" posted on the internet. The album was released on Third Man Records via XL Recordings in May 2010. It received generally favorable reviews. Spin magazine gave it 7/10 and compared her voice to both Jenny Lewis
Jenny Lewis
Jennifer Diane Lewis , is an American singer-songwriter musician and actress. She was the primary vocalist of the indie rock band Rilo Kiley, and has released two solo albums. She currently performs as part of the duo Jenny & Johnny with boyfriend Johnathan Rice...
and Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...
.
On September 2, 2010, Elson and her band performed on The Late Show With David Letterman.
The fourth season of HBO TV series, True Blood
True Blood
True Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana...
, featured Elson's cover of "Season of the Witch
Season of the Witch
Season of the Witch, also known as Hungry Wives, and Jack's Wife, is George A. Romero's third horror film. Filmed in 1971 and released in 1972, the film is about a housewife who becomes involved in witchcraft...
" over the credits of the episode "If You Love Me, Why Am I Dyin'?".
Personal life
Karen Elson met Jack WhiteJack White (musician)
Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
when she appeared in The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
music video for "Blue Orchid
Blue Orchid
"Blue Orchid" is the first track by the American alternative rock band The White Stripes from their album Get Behind Me Satan, and the first single to be released from the album....
". The video's director, Floria Sigismondi
Floria Sigismondi
Floria Sigismondi is an Italian, naturalised Canadian, photographer and director.Apart from her art exhibitions, she is best known for writing and directing The Runaways, starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning...
noted "you sensed an energy between them." They were married on June 1, 2005 in Manaus, Brazil. The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
's manager Ian Montone served as best man while drummer Meg White
Meg White
Megan Martha "Meg" White is an American drummer best known for her work in the Detroit rock duo The White Stripes.-Early life:...
, who is also Jack White's ex-wife, was the maid of honor.
On May 2, 2006, the couple had a daughter, named Scarlett Teresa White. Their second child, Henry Lee White, was born on August 7, 2007. The family lived in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. They announced their divorce in June 2011 .
External links
- Karen Elson official website
- The Citizens Band official site
- Interview with The Citizens Band in Gothamist (2007)
- Interview with The Citizens Band in Interview Magazine (2006)
- Elson's "Phonecarte" project through SHOWstudio in October 2004
- "Painting The Town Red With Karen Elson": an article from Paper Magazine (1999)
- "The Chic Freak": an article from the Telegraph (1998)
- Portfolio of magazine covers at Tess Management
- Karen Elson on IMDb