Alexander was born in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in one of the suburbs of Hollywood.
In 1965, she married Esfandiar Bahrampour, an Iranian architect and moved to Tehran.
Although it was not done for women to sing in Iran, she continued to write songs there, and sent her tapes to America.
Although by that time many foreigners were already leaving the country, Karen and her husband decided to stay.
The song "A Little Bit More" from her first album was covered by The Chenille Sisters[3] and by Julie Covington.