Karen O

Karen O is one of the most electrifying frontwomen of the 21st century, a whirlwind of beer-spitting chaos on stage who could turn around and deliver something as tender and devastating as 'Maps.' The Yeah Yeah Yeahs defined a huge chunk of early-2000s art-rock cool, and her fearless, fashion-forward stage presence influenced a generation. What I love most is the contrast: she's equally convincing as a punk banshee and as a hushed, vulnerable balladeer. The Oscar nomination for 'The Moon Song' showed just how much emotional range hides behind the wild persona.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Karen O (born Karen Lee Orzolek on November 22, 1978, in Busan, South Korea) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She is the lead vocalist of the New York rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who emerged in the early 2000s indie scene with hits such as 'Maps.' She has also released solo work and earned an Academy Award nomination for the song 'The Moon Song' from the film Her.

Name (English)

Karen O

Name (Japanese)

カレンO

Reading

かれんO

Born

November 22, 1978 (age 47)

Origin

Busan, South Korea

Occupation

Singer / Recording artist / Rock singer / Musician

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Scorpio / Horse

University

Oberlin College

• Official sitehttps://karenomusic.com
• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/ko/
• Xhttps://x.com/kareno
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen%20O
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AB%E3%83%AC%E3%83%B3O
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q494676

Tags

• From the United States
• Singer
• Recording artist
• Rock singer

Last updated

November 2, 2026

Only publicly available facts are listed; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Base data was compiled from Wikidata from June 2026 onward; ages are recalculated daily and deaths are checked against Wikidata on an ongoing basis. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.