For two decades, Karen Duffy — New York Times bestselling author, former MTV VJ, Revlon model, and actress — has managed to live an enriching life despite living in a state of constant pain.
Duffy has sarcoidosis, a disorder that causes the growth of inflammatory cells on different organs of the body. In her case, her sarcoidosis is located in her brain, causing her unimaginable pain.
She is a certified hospital chaplain, a former Coney Island Mermaid Queen, one of People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People” in 1993, and winner of the Ernest Borgnine Look-Alike Contest.
By 1989, Duffy was modeling and appearing in television commercials. She was a VJ for MTV in the early 1990s, under the name “Duff.” She had small roles in a handful of films including Dumb and Dumber and Blank Check, and by 1995 was working as a correspondent for documentary filmmaker Michael Moore on his television shows TV Nation and The Awful Truth. She also was a Revlon “Charlie Girl” as well as the face of Almay Cosmetics, and co-hosted the pay-per-view television event, Elvis: The Tribute from the Memphis Pyramid in 1994 with Kris Kristofferson.
In 2006, Duffy hosted House of Tiny Terrors on TLC. On July 7, 2007, she appeared on the Live Earth telecast on the Bravo Channel as a co-host at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey.
In 2008, Duffy began working with New York City’s NYC Media on a series of emergency preparedness videos. The videos, which mimic the style of the network TV show Secrets of New York, help raise awareness of the perils of natural disasters and preventative actions families should take to prepare for them.
During this conversation, Duffy talks with Connors about her career but also how she deals with fighting through pain every single day saying that both happiness and chronic pain can coexist.
