Karrine Steffans
| Karrine Steffans | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 24, 1978 Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Occupation |
Writer
|
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Horizon High School |
| Notable works | Confessions of a Video Vixen |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Spouse |
|
| Children | 1 |
| Website | |
| karrineandco |
|
Karrine Steffans (born August 24, 1978) is an American author, most notably of the Vixen series of books. She has worked as an actress and as a video vixen, having appeared in more than 20 music videos, many by multiplatinum-selling rap artists. In 2007 and 2008, Steffans visited a number of college campuses to speak about her involvement in the hip-hop industry and its expectations of women.
Steffans was born in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and moved to Florida when she was 10 years old. She has written about her troubled childhood: she grew up in poverty, suffered emotional and physical abuse at the hands of an alcoholic mother and indifferent father, and was raped when she was 13. She ran away at 16, and began working as an exotic dancer. She lived on the streets for a month. She lived in New York and Arizona, and then moved to Los Angeles in 1999. She currently resides near Hollywood. When she was 17, Steffans moved in with rapper Nathaniel Wilson, better known as Kool G Rap, with whom she had a son. Their relationship was "tumultuous", and Steffans says she left for Los Angeles to protect her son after physical abuse landed her in the hospital.
Steffans' relationship with Kool G introduced her to the growing Hip hop music industry. After moving to Los Angeles, friends she had made in the industry through acquaintances of Kool G began showing her the ropes. She made her video model debut at the age of 21, appearing in Jay-Z's "Hey Papi" video in 1999. Steffans has also worked in videos with R. Kelly, LL Cool J and Mystikal. In April 2006, Steffans appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in a segment titled "Smart Women on 'Stupid Girls' – Guests discuss the objectification of women". Steffans discussed how she had suffered sexual abuse as a child, and how she allowed herself to be sexually exploited in order to obtain work in music videos.
In 2004, after her appearance in A Man Apart, Steffans modelled for Smooth magazine's 'Hollywood Swimsuit' issue, and appeared on its cover the following year in conjunction with the release of her first book. In 2007, Karrine Steffans appeared in an exclusive photo-layout and on the cover of King magazine.
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