Karen Jacobsen
Speaker, Concert Artist and Songwriter
When Karen Jacobsen walks on stage you know she belongs there. Her presence charms you right away, and then you hear her voice. Karen is a polished MC, speaker and performer. With supreme versatility she can deliver an informative and engaging speech, facilitate an awards event or conference and then entertain your audience alone at the grand piano, capella or accompanied by a full band.
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An International Speaker, Concert Artist and Songwriter whose speaking voice led to a unique pop culture status, Karen Jacobsen’s story and presence wows audiences. In over a billion GPS and smartphone devices worldwide, including the original Aussie voice of ’Siri’; hers is the voice of reason, telling us where to go and what to do on a daily basis.
From that one voice-over booking, Karen:
- Created her empowerment brand The GPS Girl® with resources to navigate change powerfully
- Shares the 5 Directions for Recalculating process as an opening and closing keynote speaker in an entertaining and spine-tinglingly powerful presentation
- Delivers compelling, interactive performances in person around the globe, in major media appearances and as Author of two books, connecting live and virtual audiences with their potential
Karen’s timeless, cinematic, piano-driven songs have been licensed to US network television including Passions and Dawson’s Creek, she has released a dozen+ albums and Harry Connick Jr called her “hypnotic” on his national US talk show. Her musical career highlights include sharing the stage with Norah Jones, Neil Sedaka, Jon English, Christopher Cross and Cyndi
Lauper, national anthem performances at major sporting events in the USA – Madison Square Garden, Fenway Park, Dodger Stadium, Giants Stadium (80,000 in the crowd) and at Suncorp Stadium in Australia for TriNations Rugby and State of Origin.
As composer and soloist, Karen’s long form pop-orchestral work “Misogyny Opus” premiered in 2023 with musicians from the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in the entertainment centre of co-commissioning partner the MECC. The one hour piece is the setting of former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s iconic misogyny speech to music word for word. A passionate advocate for equality, Karen created this work to spark conversation; using her voice to encourage others to use theirs.
In her personal journey Karen has overcome chronic anxiety and financial disaster, and is living proof “It Is Never Too Late To Recalculate.”
After 20 years in New York City, Karen, her husband and son unexpectedly relocated to the tropical Whitsundays at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef during the pandemic. Thinking they were visiting family for a few weeks while “the pandemic blew over” the turmoil of the times led to remotely packing and moving their NYC home into a shipping container via FaceTime when borders were closed. This upheaval has led to miraculous results. You could say Karen knows a thing or two about Recalculating and reaching a destination.
