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Karen Mulder

By SARA TEMPLETON

Karen Mulder has long been a favourite of America's most famous lingerie line - Victoria's Secret - but beyond drop-dead gorgeous good looks, she leads a very healthy professional life to boot.

Sure, Karen has done the Paris, New York, Milan catwalk thing many times over, but did you know that she's also done quite a bit of work behind the scenes?

Indeed, she's a dab hand at advertising and editorial in the fashion world and has even taken her own product from a simple idea to a money-making succes.

But before we get stuck into this top model's career particulars, let's take a gander at where it all started: Karen Mulder was born in the town of Vlaardingen, Holland, in 1968.

Her parents were quite well off -- her father worked for the government and her mother in administration -- and after becoming a finalist in the 1987 Elite 'Look Of The Year' worldwide competition (in Amsterdam) she left school and with her mother flew to Italy to pursue her dream of becoming a top model.

Once in Italy, Karen took part in a professional photo shoot and soon after she and her mum jetted off to Paris, France, where the young hopeful attended modeling school.

Before too long, Karen's talent was validated, and she was contracted by Elite modeling agency. After a year with the agency, she had modelled clothes for lesser-known labels, but the catwalking experience she gained put her in good stead for the year ahead.

Her unhurried initiation paid off when in the second year of her Elite contract she scored gigs to catwalk for Valentino, and as soon as she had completed her first high-profile job, the others followed suit.

Yves Saint Laurent signed up Karen, as did Armani and Versace. Her next big step was featuring on the cover of the hallowed Italian Vogue (Vogue Italia) magazine and as her star kept rising, a lucrative Guess? contract was soon signed and sealed.

As Karen Mulder became a well known entity in the world of fashion and beauty, she worked for Nivea, Ralph Lauren, Chloé, Calvin Klein and Revlon to name but a few.

Famous photographers who've clicked Karen include all the big names, such as Steven Meisel, Bruce Weber, Peter Lindbergh, Patrick Demarchelier and Fabrizio Ferri.

Karen Mulder's other impressive achievements include appearing in just about every glossy magazine in existence, and after meeting her future fiancee [Jean Yves] in a French airport, the duo collaborated with Hasbro to launch a rather eerie Karen Mulder doll.

Even today, well into her mid-30s, Karen is still coming up with new ideas and intriguing projects as one of the most respected model-cum-industry experts to ever emerge from Europe. And no, she's no relation of paranormal FBI guru Fox Mulder...