What Is Karen Mulder's Net Worth?
Karen Mulder is a Dutch model and singer who has a net worth of $20 million. Karen Mulder finished second in Elite Model Management's "Look of the Year" contest in 1985. That appearance launched her runaway career with international brands such as Armani, Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, and Valentino. By the early 1990s, her face had graced the cover of "Vogue" three times, and she was working with Victoria's Secret. Mulder has appeared in the "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue" and has done runway work with famed supermodels Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, and Cindy Crawford. In the early 2000s, Karen pursued acting and music without much success, but her 2002 single "I Am What I Am" reached #13 on the charts in France. Mulder is also known for giving an interview on a French TV show during which she alleged that her father had hypnotized and raped her when she was toddler and also alleged rape by executives at her old modeling agency. The recording never aired, but Karen gave a similar interview to a magazine a few days later and was hospitalized by her family soon after. In 2002, she was found in a coma after overdosing on sleeping pills, but she recovered. Mulder attempted a career revitalization a few years later, landing several modeling gigs.
Early Life
Karen Mulder was born on June 1, 1970, in Vlaardingen, South Holland, Netherlands. She grew up in Voorbug and The Hague. Karen is the daughter of secretary Marijke de Jong and tax inspector Ben Mulder, and her younger sister, Saskia, is an actress and talent agent. In the mid-1980s, the Mulder family went camping in the south of France, and Karen saw an for the Elite Model Management "Look of the Year" competition in a newspaper. She decided not to enter because she had braces at the time, but a friend sent some photos of Mulder to the modeling agency without her knowledge. Karen won the preliminary part of the competition in Amsterdam, and when she was sent to the finals, she finished in second place. She subsequently became in demand for modeling jobs and signed with Elite Paris.
Career
By her second year as a runway model, Mulder was modeling for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Valentino, and Versace. In 1991, she appeared on the cover of "Vogue" for the first time and signed a contract with Guess. Around that time, she also appeared on the covers of the Spanish and British versions of "Vogue" and signed with Victoria's Secret. In 1993, Karen graced the covers of the January and March issues of "Vogue." She also starred in ad campaigns for Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Chloé, Gianni Versace, Revlon, and Chanel, to name a few. In the mid-1990s, Mulder's then-partner Jean-Yves Le Fur managed her off-the-runway career, and he was instrumental in Hasbro releasing a Karen Mulder doll. The couple also made an infomercial, and Karen released a CD-ROM on which she presented beauty and exercise tips. One of "Top Model" magazine's first issues was devoted entirely to Mulder, as was an issue of the Italian version of "Vogue." For several years, she was one of the world's ten highest-paid models, and at one point, she reportedly earned up to £10,000 per day.
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Karen temporarily retired from modeling in 2000, and the following year, she appeared in the short film "A Theft, One Night." In 2002, she released an album, and her single "I Am What I Am" reached #13 in France, #22 in Belgium (Wallonia region), and #81 in Switzerland. In 2004, she collaborated with Daniel Chenevez on her self-titled album, and in 2005, she appeared in the A.S.I.E music video "Et puis la terre." In July 2007, Mulder returned to modeling, walking the runway in Paris at Dior's Autumn/Winter 07/08 Couture Collection alongside Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Amber Valletta, Stella Tennant, Shalom Harlow, and Helena Christensen.
Personal Life
In 1988, 18-year-old Karen married René Bosne, a French photographer. After they divorced in 1993, Mulder began a relationship with Jean-Yves Le Fur, a real estate developer she met at a Paris airport. Though they were engaged at one point, Karen and Jean-Yves split up in 1997. Mulder has a daughter, Anna, who was born on October 30, 2006. In the mid-1990s, Karen bought a French château and established a program to host underprivileged children there during the holidays.
During an October 2001 interview on the French television program "Tout le monde en parle" ("Everyone is Talking About It"), Mulder alleged that several people had raped her, including politicians, police officers, members of Elite Model Management, and Albert II, Prince of Monaco. Producers decided not to air the interview, which had taken place in front of a live studio audience, and they erased the recording. According to "Vogue," Karen's father, Ben, blamed her troubles on "cocaine, lack of food and a failure to come to terms with the end of her career." A few days after the interview, Mulder repeated her allegations during an interview with a weekly magazine. Within hours of the interview, her sister, Saskia, arrived at Karen's apartment and took her to the psychiatric hospital Villa Montsouris. Mulder stayed there for five months, and one of the men she accused, Gérald Marie, reportedly paid for her stay. Marie was the president of Elite Model Management, and more than a dozen other women eventually accused him of rape or sexual misconduct. In late 2002, Karen lapsed into a coma after overdosing on sleeping pills. Neighbors found her unconscious on the floor of a Paris apartment where she was staying with friends. Mulder came out of her coma the following day. In July 2009, Karen was arrested after she threatened to attack her plastic surgeon.
