Karyn, who's probably best known for her role as Hillary on TV's Fresh Prince of Bel Air, arrived at my studio pretty much an unknown in Hollywood. She was driving an old Karman Ghia if I remember right and had armfuls of fun, colorful clothing to work with.
I found her at once to be devastatingly beautiful, beguiling and intelligent. Surprisingly though, Karyn was very soft-spoken and a little shy - which is something you'd probably have never guessed from her work on Fresh Prince.
Karyn is one of those women who has a totally comfortable and unfettered sense of herself and a dancer's kind of ease with her body that made working with her a dream. Somewhere inside of her she understands how beautiful she is and yet I couldn't find a trace of the attitude that sometimes accompanies her kind of beauty.
To call her sexy would be to hopelessly understate the situation. Karyn's beyond sexy; she's sensual and languid and at times forlorn and otherworldly while still remaining entirely vulnerable. All of which when coupled with her looks gives her a presence that's as seductive in front of the camera as it is away from it.
Whoever said beauty is skin deep had never met Karyn.
About a year or so after we did these pictures together, I ran into Karyn at a charity event in Beverly Hills that I was shooting. She'd since begun her work on Fresh Prince and I didn't for a moment think she'd remember me. But much to my surprise she came running over, threw her arms around me and told me I was still one of her favorite photographers that she'd ever worked with. We chatted for a few minutes and it became obvious to me that success had no hope of ever spoiling her.
Karyn's advantage of course being that who we see on the outside is only a hint of who she is on the inside. There's an amazing depth to her and a gentle sense of knowing that makes her one of the most unforgettable women I've ever worked with.
Beyond finding her so beautiful, I found her to be someone I really liked and enjoyed being around.
Hopefully someday I'll get the chance to work with her again.
