Born Karen Bach outside of Lyon, France, Karen Lancaume came from a wealthy family. The bi-racial beauty (French father, Moroccan mother) married at 17 while she was attending college. Even though her husband was a disc jockey and she worked weekends at a nightclub to make ends meet, the couple was soon awash in debt. They saw an opportunity to make a good amount of money quickly by performing in porn films, and in 1996 they both entered the industry. Unfortunately, the marriage didn't last past their first film together, and while her ex-husband left the porn industry, she stayed in it. She soon divided her time between making porn films in Europe and the US. She appeared in a documentary about porn performers called Exhibition 99 (1998). It was while making this film that she began to have second thoughts about her chosen career, and after appearing in the controversial mainstream film Baise-moi (2000)--in which she performed hardcore sex scenes--she began to ease out of the industry, finally quitting altogether in 2002.

Karen Lancaume died in Paris, France, on January 28, 2005. She committed suicide by taking an overdose of prescription drugs in her boyfriend's apartment.