Karen Tep

Cambodian American actress, model, and activist Karen Tep was born on March 28th 1982 near Washington DC to refugee parents. Karen Tep's mother and father attempted to build a better life in the Washington DC area after fleeing Cambodia and barely escaping the genocide of the brutal Khmer Rouge Regime. The stress and unfamiliarity of American ways, customs, and their past took a toll on the migrant family, and throughout her childhood Karen found herself bearing the brunt of her parents' rage and suffering. During her adolescence, Karen Tep struggled to find a cultural niche, until 2000 when she graduated high school and declared emancipation from her parents. She quickly learned the hard way that success would only come if she grabbed life by the horns and steered in the direction of her dreams. After gaining understanding of her nurturing and compassionate side Karen Tep graduated college with a degree in nursing. In 2006, having a solid education under her belt, Karen Tep decided to dabble in her dreams and began participating in the modeling industry. By 2008 she had established a solid career, and she moved to New Orleans, after facing many hardships of raising a family on her own, she decided to search for a missing passion and deeper meaning to her life. She soon encountered many people in the film and modeling industry, who taught her how to immerse herself in the entertainment industry and to reach within herself to acknowledge what beauty means. This process of self-exploration and reflection led Karen Tep to long for an improvement in the lives of future generations of Cambodians and their families. She put her drive and compassion to good use and became a Cambodian Rights Activist. Karen Tep strives to use acting and modeling for a greater good, spreading awareness and fostering activism regarding the people and culture of Cambodia. She envisions an optimistic future for her parents' country, a future where equality is protected, where cultural development is valued, and where freedom of expression is prized. Within the past year, Karen Tep's good karma has finally caught up with her. She has been featured on over thirty plus websites, appeared in over eight magazines and Ne-Yo's music video, and acted in various films alongside Hollywood A- listers Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Brittany Murphy, Will Smith, Mark Wahlberg and Susan Bosworth. Karen Tep was selected as a Seagram's Model to be featured in their 2011 calendar. Also her most proudest achievement is to be feature model for Cambodian American singer Jay Chan's "The Final Answer", featured world wide. Karen has been interviewed by Voices of America for her dedication to eradicate human trafficking. She is involved with her own project, The Strengthening Cambodian Communities Project (TSCCP) and recently directed and coordinated events with other non-profits called Nomi Network and The Freedom Climb, to help combat human trafficking on a global and local scale. With her incredible drive, overwhelming compassion, and astonishing beauty there is no doubt that the door to opportunity is only beginning to open. Still Karen Tep remains humbly excited about what lies to come.