Karen Mulder

Mulder was born in 1970 in Vlaardingen, South Holland, Netherlands. She was raised in The Hague and Voorburg. Her father, Ben Mulder, is a tax inspector and her mother, Marijke (née de Jong), is a secretary. Mulder has a younger sister, Saskia, who became an actress after a stint studying economics. In 1985, Mulder and her family went on a camping trip in the south of France. She saw an ad for Elite Model Management's "Look of the Year" contest in a newspaper. Mulder was wearing braces at the time and dismissed the idea of applying. A friend took some photographs she had of her and sent them to Elite without her knowledge. She won the preliminary contest in Amsterdam, and was sent to the finals of the contest, placing second. Mulder soon found herself in high demand for modeling jobs and was signed by Elite Paris. ==Career==

By her second year on the runway, Mulder was modeling for Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent, Lanvin, Christian Lacroix, Versace, and Giorgio Armani. In 1991, she made the first of many appearances on the cover of Vogue and also landed a contract with Guess. A New York Times article from 1991 described Mulder's work schedule, detailing a typical thirteen hour day packed with obligations to Ralph Lauren, a French film crew, Anna Sui and Giorgio Sant'Angelo. Mulder appeared on the cover of British and Spanish Vogue in 1991–1992 and became the face of a Nivea advertising campaign. In 1992, Mulder signed a contract with Victoria's Secret. Le Fur and Mulder also made an infomercial and video. Mulder released a beauty and fashion CD-ROM, in which she presented makeup, beauty, and exercise tips. One of the first issues of Top Model magazine was entirely devoted to Mulder along with an entire issue of Italian Vogue. Her two appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 1997 and 1998 and her poses for the Victoria's Secret catalogue increased Mulder's profile. In 1997 she released her own calendar. At one point in her career, she was reportedly earning up to £10,000 a day. In 2000, Mulder retired from modeling for several years. She made her acting debut in the French short film A Theft, One Night in 2001. Mulder also pursued music, and released an album including the single I Am What I Am which achieved some success in the French charts in 2002. ==Personal life==

In 1988, at the age of 18, Mulder married French photographer René Bosne. They divorced in 1993. Mulder stated that her life changed in 1993 when she was shuttling from airport to airport with almost no time at home. She then met real estate developer Jean-Yves Le Fur in the waiting lounge of a Paris airport. They became engaged but their relationship ended in 1997. Mulder gave birth to a daughter on 30 October 2006. == Allegations, legal issues, and mental health ==

On 31 October 2001, Mulder was interviewed on the France 2 show Tout le monde en parle (Everyone is Talking About It), hosted by Thierry Ardisson in front of a live studio audience. During the show's taping, Mulder alleged that she had been raped by a family friend since the age of 2, and that various figures had later raped her, including police officers, politicians, members of her former agency Elite Model Management, and Albert II, Prince of Monaco. The show did not air, as its creators were concerned about her mental state. Days later, Mulder repeated her allegations to a weekly magazine, VSD. Mulder was hospitalised at Villa Montsouris psychiatric facility for five months. The stay was reportedly paid for by Elite models president Gérald Marie, her employer and one of the accused. Her parents supported her hospitalization. Following release from the hospital, Mulder retracted her allegations. She stated that she had "gone overboard" in response to her childhood sexual abuse, and had tried to kill herself. On 1 July 2009, it was reported that Mulder was arrested in Paris for leaving irate and threatening voicemails for her plastic surgeon. ==References==