Karen Shenaz David was born on April 15, 1979 by the foothills of the Himalayas in Shillong, Meghalaya, India to a Chinese mother and Indian father. She has a sister named Tracy. Karen was raised in Toronto, Canada and moved to London when she was accepted at the prestigious drama school Guildford School of Acting.

When Karen, or Shanu as she is known to her friends, moved to London, her career took off as she snagged a part in the hit West End musical Mama Mia! and worked with A.R. Rahman on the music of Bombay Dreams. Karen also appeared in movies like Flight of Fury, The Colour of Magic and The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior.

In 2003, Karen launched her music career with her debut single "It's Me (You're Talking To)." The track became popular in Germany, Switzerland and Austria and the songstress followed up with the euro dance tune "Higher & Higher" with DJ Jurgen.

In 2009, the Indian-born British actress got a cameo role as a spa attendant in the Hollywood movie Couples Retreat starring Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell, Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Malin Akerman and Kristin Davis from the hit series Sex and the City.

Karen David continued to work on her music and teamed up with fellow Canadian artist ishQ Bector and India's playback singer Sonu Kakkar to create the song "Hypnotize" and its “The Stranger Remix” featuring Mumzy Stranger.

Karen, who started her career as an actress before venturing into music, went back to her acting roots when she joined the cast of the British drama series Waterloo Road where she will be a regular character.

Karen can also be seen in Raza Mallal’s upcoming movie Quick Slip me a Bride alongside Robert Hardy, Anupam Kher and Ross Kemp.