Karen Clark-Sheard

Karen Clark-Sheard, the American gospel singer, songwriter, daughter of Gospel Legend Dr. Mattie Moss Clark, member of the pioneering, best-selling female Gospel-group of all time, The Clark Sisters, and mother of contemporary gospel singer and actress Kierra "Kiki" Sheard. . Sheard’s multi-octave vocal range and dizzying vocal gymnastics with and without the legendary Clark Sisters have inspired a host of today’s brightest pop divas such as Beyonce, Mariah Carey, and Faith Evans among others.Sheard rose to fame as a solo artist in the mid-90s with her groundbreaking classic debut, Finally Karen and has become one of the most respected musically inclined vocalists of her era.

During the hiatus of the Clark Sisters, Sheard recorded her critically acclaimed and much anticipated solo album Finally Karen, which spawned her hit, "Balm in Gilead" (a re-recording of a song she originally recorded as part of The Clark Sisters back in the 1980s for their Heart & Soul album) the R&B-flavored "Just For Me" and "Nothing Without You" - a contemporary duet with R&B diva Faith Evans. Finally Karen became one of the most successful gospel albums of 1998 earning Sheard a Grammy nomination and earning her a Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for "Best Female Vocalist".

The "Queen of Soul", Aretha Franklin, chose Sheard to play her in her upcoming biopic, believing that only Sheard herself could play the role better than any other artist in her time.

Karen Clark Sheard was born November 15, 1960. She has five older siblings : Leo, Jacky Clark Chisholm, Denise Clark-Bradford, Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark-Terrell, and Dorinda Clark Cole. Her parents are Pastor Elbert Clark and Dr. Mattie Moss Clark, a pioneering Detroit-based gospel choral director. Clark-Sheard is best known for being a member of iconic gospel group The Clark Sisters.

On June 16, 1984, Karen Clark-Sheard wed John Drew Sheard, a minister. Her husband is senior pastor of Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ in Detroit. Together they have 2 children: Kierra (1987), who is also a gospel recording artist, and John Drew Sheard II (1989), a young musician and up-and-coming producer. Kiki is also a gospel recording artist, with four albums, plus various projects to her credit.