Karen O was born in November 1978 in South Korea to a Korean mother and a Polish father. She eventually moved to the United States, where she grew up in Englewood, New Jersey. She attended Oberlin College, but transferred to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Karen O is best known as the front woman for the band Yeah Yeah Yeahs. She has also been noted for her sense of fashion and outrageous antics during live shows. Karen O won Spin Magazine’s Sex Goddess Award in both 2004 and 2005. In 2006, she was named one of rock’s hottest women by Blender. In 2007, Karen O placed #3 on Spinner.com’s Women Who Rock Right Now. In February 2010, she won a Shockwaves NME Award for the Hottest Woman.
While her work with Yeah Yeah Yeahs has spearheaded her career, she has also been involved in side projects including Native Korean Rock, the Fishnets and more notably Karen O and the Kids.
She has also contributed to other artists’ albums, including The Flaming Lips’ Embryonic, David Lynch’s Crazy Clown Town, Swans’ The Seer, Santigold’s Master of My Make Believe and James Iha’s Look to the Sky. She was also involved in a collaboration called N.A.S.A and contributed to The Spirit of Apollo, in which she appears on a track with Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Fatlip.
Karen O has also done extensive soundtrack work for the films House of Wax, Jackass 2, Jackass 3D, I’m Not There, Frankenweenie and most recently The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, in which she worked with Trent Reznor and covered Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song.” She also performed a song for an episode for the Adult Swim program Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!.
Karen O’s most notable soundtrack work was her effort under the name Karen O and the Kids in Where the Wild Things Are, in which she composed all of the songs except for a cover the Daniel Johnston song “Worried Shoes.” Karen O and her Yeah Yeah Yeahs bandmate Nick Zinner co-wrote “All is Love”, which was nominated for the “Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media”, a songwriter’s award, at the 2010 Grammy Awards.
Karen O has not just limited her talents to music however. She has also directed numerous music videos for artists including Liars, Foetus, Tiny Masters of Today and her own band Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
She is currently working the upcoming album Mosquito by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, which will drop April 16. They are recording the album in New Orleans, LA and are touring for it in Europe and the U.S. They will be performing at numerous North American music festivals, including Coachella, Hangout Festival and Firefly Music Festival, as well as others in Europe.
