Karen Williams is one of those rare individuals whose talents, physical presence and personality ensure that she will always stand out in a crowd.

Possessing a stunning vocal, which ideally lends itself to rock and blues style melodies, she also lays claim to a fearsome streak of determination as well as an awesome physical beauty.

The youngest of 13 children, raised by a very close and supportive parents on the island of Jamaica, St Elizabeth. Karen cites her mother as the principal inspiration for her prowess and development as a singer as a small girl Karen would "sing from the moment she got up until the moment she went to bed".

The disciplines of her church choir contributed to Karen winning a local singing contest which in turn led to several opportunities in New York. Armed with strong nerves and a determination made of steel, aged sixteen, she abandoned the security of family life in Jamaica and headed for the great unknown of Manhattan.

Once settled there she channeled her energies into writing both poetry and lyrics. Inevitably, the means of financial survival had to be considered and after continued offers from rival model agencies she somewhat reluctantly accepted a contract with the Manhattan agency Willemina.

Her instinctive lack of enthusiasm for modeling led her to quit the profession three years later despite the insistent pleas from her agency, who were very reluctant to lose one of their fast emerging top international catwalk stars

Away from the "world of frocks" and runways Karen refocused on writing songs and lyrics whilst also crafting her talents as a fledgling actress. A number of jobs in productions on and off Broadway provided Karen with the first sense of stage excitement that she feeds off today, as a singer. Her acting roles on stage soon led to parts in TV shows for CBS and NBC.

Reflecting on those four years since modeling and as an apprentice actress she says "I always felt that my calling was to entertain but I suppose I just did not have the confidence in my voice to use professionally". That comment typifies Karen's inherent modesty, which constantly wrestles with strong determination, which has resulted in her achievement of a score of challenges that she has set herself. What other successful catwalk models can claim to be licensed to drive trucks and payloaders?

Finally, today, at the age of 26,Karen is solely concentrating on developing her talents as a singer and songwriter. After collaboration with a number of amateur and session musicians she has completed a number of songs. Lyrically and vocally Karen covers a wide range of styles, from rock to R&B; classic soul to jazz. A UK journalist who writes for 'The Times' recently described her as having a "rockier, more contemporary style of Sade with the looks and figure of Naomi Campbell". The subject matter of her lyrics are inspired by the events in her personal life and global culture, including the cinema giving rise to the songs '007' and 'Do you feel lucky'.

Endowed with talent and a genuine three-octave voice, Karen is a natural performer who comes to life on stage. As Karen herself says "I am ready, I am blessed and there's nothing on this earth that I want to do except write, sing and perform. I can make people happy with my music and nothing can make me happier than that".