What Karen loves most about Holland.
"People are more down to earth here than any other place, maybe the fact that Holland is a flat country with almost no relief might be an explanation for this. I am just kidding of course! What I like the most about Holland is the safety and the quietness of life. The level of poverty in Holland is one of the lowest in Europe. The tax system here is one of the strongest in Europe, but in exchange the government provides its population with free education for everyone, free health care system, mortgage at very low interest rates, etc... The good side is that people feel secure and the bad side is that there is less free enterprise. It is always the same trade-off between security and freedom."

About Monaco...
"Monaco reminds me a little bit of Holland, the way you feel safe when you walk in the streets. On the other hand, Monaco is at the same time the city that shines and sparkles at night and for events such prestigious such as The Rose Ball, the World Music Awards, The Red Cross Ball, the Tennis Open, etc... When I am in Monaco, the thing I like to do most is to go for shopping for my apartment. I recently just did some renovations, it was a 3 bedrooms apartment that I turned into a loft. At the moment, I am onto carpets... Also one of my favorite thing is to go to restaurants. There is an Italian one called Rampoldi. It is very chic and very cozy at the same time and the food is amazing. After a good lunch at Rampoldi, I usually feel so guilty that I go burning all these calories to the gym with my best friend, Carla Bruni, who also lives in Monaco."

About her career...
"I was always very attracted to the fashion world, when I was a teenager I loved looking at the fashion magazines and I knew everything about designers, beauty tips, etc...My career in the modeling business started with a beauty contest organized by Elite "The Look of the Year". The story is rather funny. I was in the South of France with my parents on holidays and I saw in a magazine an advertisement for the contest; meanwhile back in Holland, a good friend of mine sent some pictures of me and I had the good surprise when I came back from my vacations to find a letter from Elite... So here I go with my pair of jeans, my sneakers and my braces to Amsterdam full of ambitions. When I arrived in Amsterdam, there were something like 50 other contestants with long beautiful hair, in mini skirts and all made up. In the evening they announced the winner. As I was walking on the catwalk, I still could not believe that I was the big winner. They offered me a car that I sold right away because I didn't have my driving licence at that time. I then went to the big contest "The Look of the Year" and was second. Two weeks later, I was in Paris and started working for "VOGUE", "ELLE" and "MARIE-CLAIRE". My worst memory was one of my first job for "ELLE": the model they had booked did not show up, so at the last minute they call my agency and chose me. When I arrived on the shoot, I found out that I had to pose in lingerie, there was nothing see through or vulgar but I was just paralyzed and could not move. After four hours of make-up and hair preparation and half an hour of shoot, they sent me home. Once I was finally able to fight my shyness, everything started to work for me. I think I mainly succeeded in the business because I had the luck to be at the right place at the right time. I think of myself as someone very lucky, I have had the chance to work with the best designers and photographers."

Karen's tulip
"I was very honored when my own country decided to name a tulip after my name. It is funny to think of my father watching me growing-up in his garden!"

Her hobbies.
"I like travelling, singing, painting, reading. I also love watching movies. My favorite movie is "Roman Holidays" with Audrey Hephburn."

Where will she spend her vacations?
"I will spend my vacations this year in Bretagne, France with my sister for one week. Then I will go to Monaco and Saint-Tropez to spend some time with my boyfriend, Jean-Yves Le Fur. He is producing with Jean-Louis Remilleux, a French production company, portraits of top-models for television and home videos. He will be finishing at that time the portraits of Carla Bruni and Naomi Campbell and we will take a cruise for 15 days. I have also planned to go back to Holland with Jean-Yves to see my family for a few days."

What Karen most admires...
"I admire people who have a real generosity and who help those who are in difficulties. I admire the strength and the dedication they have like those who went to Rwanda to bury the dead and take care of the needy population. I also admire people who fight for their ideas, even if sometimes I do not agree with what they think, I will always admire someone who can stand up for what he thinks is right."