of a video vixen

confessions

20th Anniversary Edition

A post-Me Too update to the ahead-of-its-time emotionally charged memoir from a former Hip-Hop music video model. Twenty years after she took us beyond the glitz and glamour of celebrity, the story of a woman who survived and forged a new life is even more triumphant.

Once the sought-after video girl, this sexy siren has helped multi-platinum artists like Jay-Z, R. Kelly, and LL Cool J sell millions of albums with her provocative performances. But the film and music video sets and trysts with the celebrities only touch the surface of Karrine Steffans’ life.

As the music industry started to have its own reckoning with men who've behaved badly, even criminally, Confessions has been discussed in some quarters as an early warning bell, with Karrine as a feminist icon who shined a light when no one wanted her to and championed sex positivity before it was embraced. Now she talks about what it has been like to watch the tide turn and the lessons still to be learned.

AVAILABLE March 4, 2025

Meet Karrine Steffans

Under the pseudonym Karrine Steffans, Elisabeth Ovesen is a prolific author recognized for her contributions to the literary world. With a remarkable track record, she has achieved three New York Times bestselling titles, published by esteemed publishing houses such as HarperCollins Publishers and Hachette Book Group, USA.

Elisabeth's literary works have garnered significant attention throughout her career, featuring prominently on various media platforms. Her appearances on television programs hosted by notable figures such as Paula Zahn, Donny Deutsch, Bill O’Reilly, Geraldo Rivera, Kathy Lee Gifford, Hoda Kotb, and Oprah Winfrey have further solidified her influence. Internationally, Elisabeth's persona as Karrine Steffans and her groundbreaking books have sparked crucial conversations, particularly regarding the complexities of the entertainment industry, predating the 'Me Too Movement' by fifteen years.

The Oprah Winfrey Show

March 2006

Nine months into the Confessions of a Video Vixen promotional tour, Karrine Steffans appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, catapulting the incredibly vulnerable tome into the literary stratosphere.

“I wasn’t before my time; you were late to the revolution.”

— Karrine Steffans

TYra

Karrine Steffans appeared on Tyra during the Confessions of a Video Vixen promotional tour of 2005/2006.

During the taping of this episode, Tyra told Karrine, “These men are my colleagues,” and viciously defended and sided with men who have since found themselves on the wrong side of the Me Too Movement. Tyra Banks has since come under fire for emotionally and physically exploiting young women on her reality competition series, America’s Top Model — treatment that has been described as “psychological warfare.” One of the many contestants who has since launched complaints against Banks said, “I felt like my life was being put on the line for ratings.” Other contestants reported receiving bruises, welts, burns, and bald spots while participating in the show, with their injuries going largely ignored and excused. “This is what Tyra wants; this is how we have to do it,” one injured contestant recalls being told. Banks would later acknowledge the many claims against her by tweeting, in part, “…those were some really off choices.”

THE O’REILLY FACTOR

Karrine Steffans appeared on The O’Reilly Factor during the Confessions of a Video Vixen promotional tour of 2005/2006.

Bill O’Reilly has since settled at least six (6) sexual harassment cases and been ousted from Fox News amidst the allegations and settlement, one of which was a whopping $32 million. Allegations include but are not limited to “repeated harassment, a nonconsensual sexual relationship, and the sending of gay pornography and other sexually explicit material.”

THE BIG IDEA

Karrine Steffans appeared on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch during the Confessions of a Video Vixen promotional tour of 2005/2006.

Deutsch, who admittedly rallied for the privacy of men who have since found themselves on the wrong side of the Me Too movement, published a book entitled Often Wrong, Never In Doubt in 2005. In it, he wrote: “I don't think there's been a day in my business career when there hasn't been some woman at work that I fantasized about,” in a chapter named ‘Women Are Muses.’ He also wrote: “I cannot remember a time in my career when I was not having either a flirtation with a woman in the office, or a friendship, a fantasy, or all of the above. I am at my best when women are there to energize and excite me.”

“Complicity breeds quiet.”

— Karrine Steffans

Selective Press Clippings

Collegiate endorsements

  • DR. WALTER KIMBROUGH, PHD.

    PRESIDENT, DILLARD UNIVERSITY

    “Karrine challenges sexual hypocrisy and exposes the many ways society gives men a free pass for sexual exploration while repudiating women for sexual agency.”

  • DR. THOMAS LANDEFELD, PHD.

    PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY AND PRE-HEALTH ADVISOR at CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, DOMINGUEZ HILLS

    "Karrine's life experiences and how she has dealt with them not only inspire the students but also motivate them to make a difference."

  • DR. KARIN STANFORD, PHD.

    ASSOCIATE DEAN, COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES, AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE

    "With insight and courage, Karrine probes and defies the 'Culture of Shame' that surrounds women who dare to speak out against gendered violence, exploitation, and sexual abuse."

Read more endorsements.