She is a former professional fighter who famous is worldwide as actress and stunt woman.
Born: 12-11-1961
Birthplace: Greely (Colorado)
Country: USA
Nationality: American
Nickname: The Karate Diva
Website: http://www.karensheperd.com/
She got the inspiration for martial arts when she saw Bruce Lee in action. She started with karate lessons on young age at the local karate school, which is specialized in shotokan karate. She switched later to kajukenbo (a hybrid style that combines karate, jujitsu, judo, kenpo and Chinese boxing). She has a 7th Degree Black Belt in karate.nShe started to battle in karate matches and competed at tournaments.
She gives seminars and does personal appearances for martial arts organizations worldwide. She looks like a goddess with her muscular body and deadly fighting skills.
She was the only woman who competes against men because there were no official ratings for women in Forms (Kata) in that time. Women had only separate ratings for sparring (fighting) divisions and not at forms divisions. She asks the editor of Karate Illustrated to start with separate divisions for women during an appointment. The editor gives an answer in 1979 when the first official ratings were established for women forms competitors. She earned enough points to become the #1 Women’s Black Belt Forms Champion in 1979 and 1980 as first woman ever. KICK Illustrated has established the STAR Ratings System in 1980 and she won the #1 Women’s Forms Champion title later that year as first woman ever. She was added into the prestigious Black Belt Hall of Fame in 1997. She was the first woman ever who posed on the cover of the Black Belt Magazine.
Her achievements give her media attention from the National tv show PM Magazine who makes a report about her #1 Women’s Forms Champion title in 1980. The news was announced on more then 34 news broadcasts which results that karate news for the first time in history on television was.
Her movie career started after the phone call of the legendary Karate Master Tadashi Yamashita. He asks her to play one of the lead roles in his movie "The Shinobi Ninja" (1980). She accepts the offer and moves to Japan together with her friend and co-star Eric Lee. The movie experience she has gained in Japan was a other look on life. She decides to stop with professional karate after her returning from Japan. She moves to Los Angeles in order to pursue her show-biz dream. She takes acting lessons in order to get more experience as actress. She found an agent who helps her in the hectic movie world and develops herself to full fledged actress.
She meets martial arts legend Chuck Norris at the NKC Karate Championship Finals in Oklahoma in 1980. Chuck was head judge at the contest where she won the 1st Place at the “Chinese Style Black Belt Forms Men & Women” Championship. She accepts his offer when he asks her to do stunts in his TV-series ''Walker, Texas Ranger''
She uses her theatrical combat talents as fight director for movies and television. Directors and Producers find her experience with camera and stage angles invaluable, along with her technical knowledge of action-acting and the use of various weapons.
She's giving autographs at Martial Arts events around the world and is busy as private coach in the martial arts community. She shares knowledge about performance, fight choreography and what it takes to become a champion.
She meets famous people as Madonna, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Eliza Dushku, Megan Mullally, Joan Jett and many more.
Action Movie Career
She plays an short role alongside Tracy Bregman in the action movie ''The Concrete Jungle'' (1982). Elizabeth (played by Tracy Bregman) is used by her slimy boyfriend Danny (played by Peter Brown) in order to smuggle cocaine in her ski's. She is caught by airport security and is sent to prison where she quickly learns to toughen up.
She plays an short role in this story about an Japanese policeman in Los Angeles who uses an ancient magic sword and a extortion ring in order to fight against killers in ''Sword of Heaven'' (1985).
She plays an short role alongside Aurene Landon and Chuck Wagner in ''America 3000' (1986). 900 years after a nuclear war in Colorado (USA), is mankind back to the stone ages. The Amazons rule the tribes and men are kept as slaves.
She plays alongside the legendary Cynthia Rothrock who plays the lead role as senior inspector Cindy Si in ''Righting Wrongs'' (1986). Hsia Ling-chi (Played by Yuen Biao) decides to take law in his own hands when a key witness and his entire family is murdered. He soon teams up with Cindy who investigates the case.
She plays Cheryl Anderson in this story where a young woman is kidnapped by men who formerly belonged to the gang of her disappeared father, after her husband was looking for the truth about her father’s death in ''Blood Chase'' (1989).
She plays Lynn Steele in ''Mission of Justice'' (1992), the sequel of ''Martial Law II: Undercover'' (1992) with Cynthia Rothrock in the lead role. Cynthia pulled her back out of the project and was replaced by Karen. Kurt Harris (played by Jeff Wincott) infiltrates in the gang named ''Peacemakers'' to take revenge after his friend is killed by the leader.
She plays police officer Sgt. Julie A. Parish who is an martial arts expert also in "Terminator Woman" (1993). Sgt. Julie A. Parish teams up with her colleague Sgt. Jay Handlin (played by Jerry Trimble) in order to bring a witness to Africa for the trial against the international drug lord Alex Gatelee (played by Michel Qissi). Julie and Jay are determined to catch drug lord Alex and his organisation. She plays an strong role and shows her superior martial arts skills.
Her role in ''Cyborg 2'' was in the first place written for a man when they change the man in a woman after 3 auditions in the script. The lead role is played by Angelina Jolie who plays the female kung fu cyborg Casella 'Cash' Reese. She gives Angelina martial arts training in order to prepare her for fight sequences. She plays an small role as bad-ass cyborg Chen in this story where the almost-human kung fu cyborg Casella Reese is specially designed by the PinWheel corporation in the year 2074, with the purpose to blow herself up into the headquarters of a rival manufacturer. Human martial arts instructor Colson Ricks (played by Elias Koteas) works for PinWheel and falls for her. Colson and Cassela escape and PinWheel sends cyborg tracker Danny Bench (played by Billy Drago) with the assignment to destroy them.
She plays alongside Loren Avedon and Jalal Merhi in ''Operation Golden Phoenix'' (1994). She plays an supporting role as Princess Tara while kickboxer Mark Assante (played by Jalal Merhi) is hired to protect a valuable medallion. Kickboxer Ivan Jones (played by Loren Avedon) and an evil warlord are determined to get the valuable medallion.
She plays a short role as Carmin in this story about the fierce battle between a ruthless villain and an android resistance group in the year 2024 in ''Firestorm'' (1997).
She plays Zani next to Kato Kaelin, Nancy Kwan, James Lew and Richard Norton in ''Soul of the Avenger'' (1997). Kaan Woo (played by James Lew) escapes his dark past where he is involved with a cult of brown shroud-wearing, druid-like monk warriors with mystical powers. He's on the run because evil queen Ling Li (played by Nancy Kwan) has sent servant Sir Xavier (played by Richard Norton) to eliminate him. His soul is transferred into the body of homeless drunkard Earl Stockman (played by Mark Pellegrino) during a battle with the dark forces. He notices that he has mystical kung-fu abilities, which he uses in his battle against the evil cult.
She plays Capt. Lana Tori in this story about the adventures of Captain Aran Dravyk (played by Karl Urban) and his space pirates crew who work under the Letters of Mark of The Allegiance government in ''The Privateers'' (2000).
She appears as J.P. Harley in this story about how an everyday middle class family unwittingly and accidentally, becomes involved in the politically corrupt workings of a typical American city in ''Midnight Expression'' (2003).
She plays Deidre next to Erin Raftery, Cherie Lily, Miranda Sterling, Lynne-Marie Beard and Sean Young in ''M.A.R.R.A'' (2013). M.A.R.R.A is a shadowy 100% female crime organization who send undercover operatives in high-risk situations. An junior operative is disobedient to the commands of her superiors and escapes punishment. Her action resulted in a cascading power struggle for the control of M.A.R.R.A.
She is the stunt double of Eliza Dushku in 11 episodes of the TV-series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1998-2003). She is also the stunt double of Eliza Dushku in 6 episodes of the TV series ''Angel'' (1999–2004). She is the stunt double of Nia Peeples in 21 episodes of the TV-series ''Walker Texas Ranger'' (2000-2001).
There are many covershoots and articles about her in magazines as
Action Movie Filmography
Action TV Series
Stunts
Her movie career started after the phone call of the legendary Karate Master Tadashi Yamashita. He asks her to play one of the lead roles in his movie "The Shinobi Ninja" (1980). She accepts the offer and moves to Japan together with her friend and co-star Eric Lee. The movie experience she has gained in Japan was a other look on life. She decides to stop with professional karate after her returning from Japan. She moves to Los Angeles in order to pursue her show-biz dream. She takes acting lessons in order to get more experience as actress. She found an agent who helps her in the hectic movie world and develops herself to full fledged actress.
She meets martial arts legend Chuck Norris at the NKC Karate Championship Finals in Oklahoma in 1980. Chuck was head judge at the contest where she won the 1st Place at the “Chinese Style Black Belt Forms Men & Women” Championship. She accepts his offer when he asks her to do stunts in his TV-series ''Walker, Texas Ranger''
She uses her theatrical combat talents as fight director for movies and television. Directors and Producers find her experience with camera and stage angles invaluable, along with her technical knowledge of action-acting and the use of various weapons.
She's giving autographs at Martial Arts events around the world and is busy as private coach in the martial arts community. She shares knowledge about performance, fight choreography and what it takes to become a champion.
She meets famous people as Madonna, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Eliza Dushku, Megan Mullally, Joan Jett and many more.
Action Movie Career
She plays an short role alongside Tracy Bregman in the action movie ''The Concrete Jungle'' (1982). Elizabeth (played by Tracy Bregman) is used by her slimy boyfriend Danny (played by Peter Brown) in order to smuggle cocaine in her ski's. She is caught by airport security and is sent to prison where she quickly learns to toughen up.
She plays an short role in this story about an Japanese policeman in Los Angeles who uses an ancient magic sword and a extortion ring in order to fight against killers in ''Sword of Heaven'' (1985).
She plays an short role alongside Aurene Landon and Chuck Wagner in ''America 3000' (1986). 900 years after a nuclear war in Colorado (USA), is mankind back to the stone ages. The Amazons rule the tribes and men are kept as slaves.
She plays alongside the legendary Cynthia Rothrock who plays the lead role as senior inspector Cindy Si in ''Righting Wrongs'' (1986). Hsia Ling-chi (Played by Yuen Biao) decides to take law in his own hands when a key witness and his entire family is murdered. He soon teams up with Cindy who investigates the case.
She plays Cheryl Anderson in this story where a young woman is kidnapped by men who formerly belonged to the gang of her disappeared father, after her husband was looking for the truth about her father’s death in ''Blood Chase'' (1989).
She plays Lynn Steele in ''Mission of Justice'' (1992), the sequel of ''Martial Law II: Undercover'' (1992) with Cynthia Rothrock in the lead role. Cynthia pulled her back out of the project and was replaced by Karen. Kurt Harris (played by Jeff Wincott) infiltrates in the gang named ''Peacemakers'' to take revenge after his friend is killed by the leader.
She plays police officer Sgt. Julie A. Parish who is an martial arts expert also in "Terminator Woman" (1993). Sgt. Julie A. Parish teams up with her colleague Sgt. Jay Handlin (played by Jerry Trimble) in order to bring a witness to Africa for the trial against the international drug lord Alex Gatelee (played by Michel Qissi). Julie and Jay are determined to catch drug lord Alex and his organisation. She plays an strong role and shows her superior martial arts skills.
Her role in ''Cyborg 2'' was in the first place written for a man when they change the man in a woman after 3 auditions in the script. The lead role is played by Angelina Jolie who plays the female kung fu cyborg Casella 'Cash' Reese. She gives Angelina martial arts training in order to prepare her for fight sequences. She plays an small role as bad-ass cyborg Chen in this story where the almost-human kung fu cyborg Casella Reese is specially designed by the PinWheel corporation in the year 2074, with the purpose to blow herself up into the headquarters of a rival manufacturer. Human martial arts instructor Colson Ricks (played by Elias Koteas) works for PinWheel and falls for her. Colson and Cassela escape and PinWheel sends cyborg tracker Danny Bench (played by Billy Drago) with the assignment to destroy them.
She plays alongside Loren Avedon and Jalal Merhi in ''Operation Golden Phoenix'' (1994). She plays an supporting role as Princess Tara while kickboxer Mark Assante (played by Jalal Merhi) is hired to protect a valuable medallion. Kickboxer Ivan Jones (played by Loren Avedon) and an evil warlord are determined to get the valuable medallion.
She plays a short role as Carmin in this story about the fierce battle between a ruthless villain and an android resistance group in the year 2024 in ''Firestorm'' (1997).
She plays Zani next to Kato Kaelin, Nancy Kwan, James Lew and Richard Norton in ''Soul of the Avenger'' (1997). Kaan Woo (played by James Lew) escapes his dark past where he is involved with a cult of brown shroud-wearing, druid-like monk warriors with mystical powers. He's on the run because evil queen Ling Li (played by Nancy Kwan) has sent servant Sir Xavier (played by Richard Norton) to eliminate him. His soul is transferred into the body of homeless drunkard Earl Stockman (played by Mark Pellegrino) during a battle with the dark forces. He notices that he has mystical kung-fu abilities, which he uses in his battle against the evil cult.
She plays Capt. Lana Tori in this story about the adventures of Captain Aran Dravyk (played by Karl Urban) and his space pirates crew who work under the Letters of Mark of The Allegiance government in ''The Privateers'' (2000).
She appears as J.P. Harley in this story about how an everyday middle class family unwittingly and accidentally, becomes involved in the politically corrupt workings of a typical American city in ''Midnight Expression'' (2003).
She plays Deidre next to Erin Raftery, Cherie Lily, Miranda Sterling, Lynne-Marie Beard and Sean Young in ''M.A.R.R.A'' (2013). M.A.R.R.A is a shadowy 100% female crime organization who send undercover operatives in high-risk situations. An junior operative is disobedient to the commands of her superiors and escapes punishment. Her action resulted in a cascading power struggle for the control of M.A.R.R.A.
She is the stunt double of Eliza Dushku in 11 episodes of the TV-series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1998-2003). She is also the stunt double of Eliza Dushku in 6 episodes of the TV series ''Angel'' (1999–2004). She is the stunt double of Nia Peeples in 21 episodes of the TV-series ''Walker Texas Ranger'' (2000-2001).
There are many covershoots and articles about her in magazines as
- Karate Illustrated february 1982
- KICK Illustrated may 1982
- Inside kung fu may 1989
- Inside Karate june 1993
- MA Training july 1994
- Martial Arts Gazette april 1995
- Black Belt Magazine september 1996
- The Black Book december 1998
- Martial Arts Action april 2004
Action Movie Filmography
- M.A.R.R.A (2013)
- Midnight Expression (2003)
- The Privateers (2000)
- Soul of the Avenger (1997)
- Firestorm (1997)
- Operation Golden Phoenix (1994)
- Cyborg 2 (1993)
- Terminator Woman (1993)
- Mission of Justice (1992)
- Blood Chase (1989)
- Righting Wrongs (1986)
- America 3000 (1986)
- Sword of Heaven (1985)
- The Concrete Jungle (1982)
- The Shinobi Ninja (1981)
Action TV Series
- Criminal Minds (2011)
- V.I.P. (1999)
- Diagnosis Murder (1998)
- Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1996)
Stunts
- Walker, Texas Ranger (2000-2001) ''TV-series
- Angel (1999) ''TV-series''
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1998 - 2003) ''TV-series''
