Model and actress Karen Kirishima was born on August 20, 1964, in Kanagawa Prefecture.
She is the daughter of an American veteran and writer Yoko Kirishima. She began her career as a student model during her university years. She began her modeling career in earnest after being selected as a Shiseido campaign girl in 1986. In 1989, she made her debut as a singer with the reunion of the legendary band "Sadistic Mika Band." She gained popularity for her coquettish vocals.
In 1989, she made her acting debut in the romantic comedy drama "I Don't Know How to Love," starring Tetsuya Takeda. She has since appeared in numerous dramas, including "Japan's No. 1 Kaktobi Otoko" and "I Want to Go Back to That Day." Since 2010, she has hosted the program "Karen Style" on NHK Radio 1. She is extremely popular among young housewives.

In 2002, she renovated the Western-style house she previously lived in and opened House of Lotus, a general goods store in Azabu that opens irregularly. The store was temporarily closed from 2011, but reopened in 2013 as a select shop selling exotic goods and original clothing in Hiroo, Tokyo. In 2014, she opened a pop-up store at Isetan Shinjuku, selling interior and furniture items that she also uses at home.

Meanwhile, in her personal life, she married photographer Yoshihiko Ueda in 1993. They have four children. Her younger brother, Roland Kirishima, was once a model and is currently active as a photographer.