List of Famous people named Karen

Karen Sheila Gillan is a Scottish actress and filmmaker. She first began acting with guest roles on television, before having her breakthrough for portraying Amy Pond, a primary companion to the Eleventh Doctor, in the BBC One series Doctor Who (2010–2013), for which she received critical acclaim, and she received several awards and nominations. Gillan's early film roles include the horror film Outcast (2010) and the romantic comedy film Not Another Happy Ending (2013).

Karen Diane McDonald is an American lawyer and politician currently serving as the prosecuting attorney of Oakland County, Michigan, and formerly as a judge on Michigan's 6th Circuit Court in Oakland County. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Karen Elizabeth Wetterhahn (October 16, 1948 – June 8, 1997) was an American professor of chemistry at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire who specialized in toxic metal exposure. She died of mercury poisoning at the age of 48 due to accidental exposure to the organic mercury compound dimethylmercury (Hg(CH₃)₂). Protective gloves in use at the time of the incident provided insufficient protection, and exposure to only a few drops of the chemical absorbed through the gloves proved to be fatal after less than a year.

Karen Dotrice is a British actress, known primarily for her role as Jane Banks in Walt Disney's Mary Poppins, the feature film adaptation of the Mary Poppins book series. Dotrice was born in Guernsey on the Channel Islands to two stage actors. Her career began on stage, and expanded into film and television, including starring roles as a young girl whose beloved cat magically reappears in Disney's The Three Lives of Thomasina and with Thomasina co-star Matthew Garber as one of two children pining for their parents' attentions in Poppins. She appeared in five television programmes between 1972 and 1978, when she made her only feature film as an adult. Her life as an actress concluded with a short run as Desdemona in the 1981 pre-Broadway production of Othello.

Karen Anne Carpenter was an American drummer and singer who, along with her elder brother Richard, was part of the duo the Carpenters. She was praised for her three-octave contralto vocal range and drumming abilities. Her struggles with eating disorders would later raise awareness of anorexia and body dysmorphia.

Karen Makishima is a Japanese politician and member of the House of Representatives, representing the Kanagawa 17th district. She is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Karen McDougal is an American model and actress. She is known for her appearances in Playboy magazine as Playmate of the Month for December 1997 and Playmate of the Year of 1998. In 2001, the readers of Playboy voted McDougal the runner-up of "The sexiest Playmate of the 1990s".

Karen Takizawa is a Japanese model, tarento and actress. She is represented by her agency Stardust Promotion and was the winner of the Miss Seventeen 2008 grand prix. She was an exclusive model for the fashion magazine JJ. Takizawa's father is Ukrainian, her mother is Japanese.

Karen Ruth Bass is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for California's 37th congressional district since 2011. The district, numbered as the 33rd district for her first term, covers several areas south and west of downtown Los Angeles. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served for six years in the California State Assembly, the last two as Speaker.

Karen Miyama is a Japanese actress and voice actress. She used to be part of the Gekidan Tohai talent agency, and is now part of Horipro talent agency. She portrayed the young Ann Uekusa in the live-action drama Sand Chronicles. In anime, she provided the voice of title character Momo Miyaura in the 2011 film A Letter to Momo, and she provides the voice of main character Ichika Usami a.k.a. Cure Whip in Kirakira PreCure a la Mode.