She was Playboy's Playmate of the Month for March 1999, photographed by Arny Freytag and Stephen Wayda.

Karlsen was featured in the November 2002 issue of Stuff magazine in the layout titled "A Day in the Life of a Centerfold".

[3] Karlsen authored a book titled The Divorced Guy's Guide to Dating: How to Meet More Women plus many other columns and articles for other online and print publications, including a regular column on love and dating for Perfect 10.

[5] When Yao was later investigated by federal prosecutors for fraud and money laundering, Karlsen was the prosecution's star witness.

Yao's gifts to her, including wire transfers from company accounts, jewelry, an automobile and a house, totaled nearly $1 million.