Before they called it #MeToo, she called it + them by name.

Elisabeth Ovesen is the New York Times bestselling author of Confessions of a Video Vixen, a firsthand account of gendered power and institutional silence inside the hip hop industry. Her work, once discredited, is now recognized as an early cultural record, informing contemporary scholarship on shame, accountability, and the cost of being believed too late.

Logos of various universities, including CSU, CSU Northridge, Fayetteville State University, Lehigh University, and Rhuander School of Veterinary Medicine, arranged in a horizontal row.

Every saint has a past. 

Book cover titled "Confessions of a Video Vixen" by Karrine Steffans. Features a woman with long blonde hair reclining in a modern white chair, wearing a white and orange outfit, with a dark background.

Twenty years before the #MeToo movement, Confessions of a Video Vixen shattered illusions and exposed the realities behind the music industry’s glossy façade. Written by Elisabeth Ovesen under the pen name Karrine Steffans, the memoir took readers beyond the limelight to reveal the cost of survival in a culture that glamorized exploitation.

Once the most sought-after video model, Ovesen’s story transcended scandal to become a cultural warning and, ultimately, a testament to resilience.

Today, as the music industry reckons with the truths she first revealed, Elisabeth reflects on what it means to have lived it, told it, and endured the fallout. Two decades later, her story stands not as controversy, but as prophecy.

Explore 'Confessions.'

Watch Elisabeth teach.

  • A middle-aged man wearing glasses, a dark suit, white shirt, and a striped blue tie, standing outdoors with blurred green trees in the background.

    Dr. Walter Kimbrough, Ph.D.

    PRESIDENT, DILLARD UNIVERSITY

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

  • A man with curly gray hair and a beard wearing a colorful, striped shirt with orange, yellow, and purple tones, and an orange tie, standing with arms crossed and smiling in front of a blue wooden wall.

    Dr. Thomas Landefeld, Ph.D.

    PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY, CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY

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

  • Portrait of a woman with curly black hair, wearing a black blazer and white shirt, smiling, standing against a beige textured background.

    Dr. Karen Stanford, Ph.D.

    ASSOCIATE DEAN, CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY

    “With insight and courage, [Elisabeth] probes and defies the culture of shame surrounding women who dare to speak out against gendered violence, exploitation, and sexual abuse.”

Read more collegiate endorsements.
Elisabeth Ovesen with Oprah Winfrey on the set of 'Oprah' in 2006.

“The most important lesson I’ve learned along my journey is that not everyone will like you, not everyone will respect you, and not everyone will understand you, but no one can deny the work. So, just do the work.”

— Elisabeth Ovesen, pictured with Oprah Winfrey

bill maher.jpeg

“Never a dull word from this girl.”

— Bill Maher, Host of Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)