Karrine Steffans

Bio:
Karrine Steffans (born in St. Thomas of the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean on August 24, 1978) is an American model, actress, and author. She made her video model debut at the age of 21, appearing in Jay-Z‘s “Hey Papi” video in 1999. Karrine has also worked in videos with R. Kelly, LL Cool J and Mystikal. In April 2006, Karrine appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in a segment titled “Smart Women on ‘Stupid Girls’ – Guests discussed the objectification of women.” Karrine admitted 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 2003, Karrine appeared in the action movie A Man Apart, starring Vin Diesel, however, her true passion has always been writing. Karrine’s first three books, Confessions of a Video Vixen (2005), The Vixen Diaries (2007), and The Vixen Manual: How to Find, Seduce & Keep the Man You Want (2009), have all made The New York Times Best Seller list. She even started her own publishing imprint, Steffans Publishing, in 2008. Karrine has also occasionally guest-written columns for King magazine. In 2015, ten years after the release of her first book, Karrine published Vindicated: Confessions of a Video Vixen, Ten Years Later. 

Best Known For:
Karrine Steffans is best known for writing the Vixen series of books. She was also thrust into the spotlight in March 2016 when her relationship with actor Columbus Short went very publicly awry after cheating allegations.

Personal Life:
Karrine Steffans was born in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands but she moved to Florida when she was 10 years old. Karrine wrote 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. At age 16, Karrine ran away and began working as an exotic dancer. She ended up living on the streets for a month. She moved around in New York and Arizona, and then moved to Los Angeles in 1999. She currently resides near Hollywood. When she was 17 however, Karrine moved in with rapper Nathaniel Wilson, better known as Kool G Rap. The two had a son together but their relationship was “tumultuous.” Karrine left for Los Angeles to protect her son after physical abuse landed her in the hospital. In 2015 she announced she was legally married to Columbus Short. However, in March 2016 the couple’s relationship faced public ridicule when cheating rumors surfaced.