Karen Valencia Clark Sheard (néeClark; born November 15, 1960) is an Americangospel singer and songwriter. Clark-Sheard is the youngest member of gospel groupthe Clark Sisters, which was formed in 1973. She is also the mother ofcontemporary gospel singer and actressKierra "Kiki" Sheard, with whom she frequently collaborates. She has released six solo albums and 17 with the Clark Sisters.

During the hiatus of the Clark Sisters, Clark-Sheard recorded her debut studio albumFinally Karen (1997), which spawned the single, "Balm in Gilead" (a re-recording of a song she originally recorded as part of the Clark Sisters in the 1980s for theirHeart & Soul album) theR&B-tinged singles "Just for Me" and "Nothing Without You" (withFaith Evans).Finally Karen was among the highest-selling gospel albums of that year, and earned Clark-Sheard a Grammy Award nomination and a Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for "Best Female Vocalist".^[2]

Clark-Sheard then was hospitalized in 2001 after a blood vessel burst during a bariatric surgery, resulting in doctors giving her a 2% chance of survival. The experience inspired the title for her second album,2nd Chance (2002). Clark-Sheard recorded two more live albums—The Heavens Are Telling (2003) andIt's Not Over (2006)—before releasingAll in One (2010), her second studio album. It debuted at number two on theBillboard Gospel Chart and entered theBillboard 200, while its single "Prayed Up" peaked at number nine on the Gospel Songs chart.^[3]

SingersBeyoncé,Mariah Carey,^[4] andFaith Evans have named Clark Sheard and her sisterTwinkie Clark as musical influences.

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Clark-Sheard was bornKaren Valencia Clark on November 15, 1960, inDetroit, Michigan, the youngest child of Reverend Elbert Clark andDr. Mattie Moss Clark, a gospel choral director. The youngest of six children, Clark-Sheard's siblings are Leo,Jacky,Denise,Elbernita "Twinkie" andDorinda. Clark-Sheard began singing gospel with her sisters at age 5 in what became known asthe Clark Sisters. For high school, Clark-Sheard attendedMumford High School in Detroit, Michigan, graduating in 1978.

Clark-Sheard's involvement in the Island Inspirational All Stars' "Don't Give Up" in 1996 (along withDonald Lawrence,Hezekiah Walker, andKirk Franklin) led to her signing with Island Records.^[5] Clark-Sheard's solo career began with the release of her debut albumFinally Karen in 1997. The album, consisting of half studio recordings and half live recordings, was nominated for aGrammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album in 1998, won Clark-Sheard the Lady of Soul award for Best Gospel Album that same year^[6] and peaked at No. 28 and No. 2 on theU.S.Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums andU.S.Billboard Gospel Albums charts respectively.

AfterYolanda Adams, Clark-Sheard became the 2nd gospel artist to sign toElektra Records. She released her Elektra debut album2nd Chance in 2002 (so named because of the "second chance" she was given byGod after her near-death experience – which is referenced in her daughter Kierra's song "You Don't Know").^[7] The album was led off by the single "Be Sure". The album reached No. 82 on the U.S.Billboard 200, No. 27 on the U.S.Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart (her highest placements on those charts to date) and No. 2 on the U.S.Billboard Gospel Albums.

The 2003 follow-upThe Heavens Are Telling (exactly six years after her heralded debut albumFinally Karen) came when Elektra Records was being dissolved intoAtlantic Records, and failed to match the commercial success of Clark-Sheard's previous albums, peaking 106 places below2nd Chance at No. 188 on the U.S.Billboard 200 – though it managed to reach No. 44 on the U.S.Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, a high No. 3 on the U.S.Billboard Gospel Albums chart and was her first album to chart on theU.S.Billboard Christian Albums chart, where it peaked at No. 11.^[8]

In 2005, after a bidding war with several labels, Clark-Sheard signed with Word Records and issuedIt's Not Over (originally titledFinally Karen Returns), the sequel to her 1997 debut albumFinally Karen was set to be released November 15, 2005, Clark-Sheard's 45th birthday, but was delayed and released the following year. Most ofIt's Not Over was recorded in 2005 at Karen's home church in Detroit, Michigan, while the last three tracks were studio-recorded.

It was Clark-Sheard's first solo album not to feature guest vocals from her daughter (Kierra Sheard) and was the first to include production fromIsrael Houghton – who handled the majority of the project. It charted at No. 124 on the U.S.Billboard 200 and No. 4 on the U.S.Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.^[8][9] As the songwriter, on February 10, 2008, Clark-Sheard won theGrammy Award for Best Gospel Song for "Blessed & Highly Favored" sung bythe Clark Sisters.

In early 2009, Clark-Sheard and her husband, J.Drew Sheard, partnered together and launched a new record label entitledKarew Records (Karew being a combination of both their forenames: Karen and Drew, pronounced: Kuh-rue); Distribution is via EMI Gospel. The Clark Sisters' Christmas album – which was released in October 2009 – was the first project to be released from Karew Records.

On January 31, 2010, Clark-Sheard won theGrammy Award for Best Gospel Performance forWait on the Lord which she was featured withDonnie McClurkin. On April 6, 2010, Clark-Sheard released her fifth album (and first on her newly founded own record label – Karew Records) titledAll in One, which features additional vocals from her daughter Kierra Sheard, son J. Drew Sheard II, sisterDorinda Clark Cole, niece Angel Chisholm and cousinJ. Moss. Her first all-studio-recorded album since her 2002 release2nd Chance,All in One debuted and peaked at No. 98 on the U.S.Billboard 200 (her second highest charting on that chart to date) and No. 3 on the U.S.Billboard Gospel Albums chart, while the album's lead single – "Prayed Up" – peaked at No. 9 and stayed over 22 weeks on theU.S.Billboard Hot Gospel Songs chart. Clark-Sheard released her latest single "Sunday A.M" in 2014, which was nominated for theBest Gospel Song in the57th Annual Grammy Awards.

In 2015, Clark-Sheard released her sixth album,Destined to Win. The album would become Clark-Sheard's highest charting and fastest selling album in her solo career, as well as her first live album sinceIt's Not Over in 2006.

In 2019, Clark-Sheard was in talks to play Kitty Parham, a member of the Famous Ward Singers inAretha Franklin's biopicRespect.^[10]

Karen was portrayed by her daughter,Kierra Sheard in theLifetime TV biopicThe Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel, released April 11, 2020.^[11]

Clark-Sheard married Bishop J. Drew Sheard, a Detroit-based minister, on June 16, 1984. Clark-Sheard serves as the First Lady of Greater Emmanuel InstitutionalChurch of God in Christ inDetroit, where her husband is senior pastor. In March 2021, Bishop Sheard was elected to serve as the Presiding Bishop of the COGIC denomination, thus making her the First Lady of the COGIC denomination at-large as well. Together they have two children:Kierra "Kiki" Sheard-Kelly (1987) and John Drew "J. Drew" Sheard II (1989). Another pregnancy ended in a stillbirth.^[12]

In 2001, Clark-Sheard was faced with a life-threatening crisis when ablood vessel burst during a scheduledbariatric surgery. Her doctors gave her only a 2% chance of survival. After theblood clot was surgically removed, Clark-Sheard fell into acoma. The coma lasted around 3 1/2 weeks^[13] but Clark-Sheard says she made a miraculous^[14][15] recovery.Kierra Sheard explains this situation in her song "You Don't Know" from her debut albumI Owe You.

• The Clark Sisters: Bringing It Back Home (1989)
• Finally Karen (1997)
• The Clark Sisters: Live One Last Time Tour (2007–2008)
• Festival of Praise (2016–2017)
• McDonald's Celebration of Gospel (2016–2017)
• The Clark Sisters Virtual Experience (2020)
• The Reunion Tour (2023)
• The Reunion Tour 2024 (2024)

• 1983Gospel (documentary)
• 2010Blessed & Cursed (movie)
• 2011–2012Church Girl (stage play)
• 2012For Richer or Poorer (stage play)
• 2013 "The Sheards"
• 2013 "BET Celebration of Gospel"
• 2014 "The BET Honors"
• 2017 "Xscape: Still Kickin It" (Xscape Rocks the Stage, Episode 4)
• 2020The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel (movie)
• 2021Miracles Across 125th Street
• 2021Song and Story: Amazing Grace

• Finally Karen (1997)
• 2nd Chance (2002)
• The Heavens Are Telling (2003)
• It's Not Over (2006)
• All in One (2010)
• Destined to Win (2015)
• Still Karen (2024)

TheBET Awards are awarded annually by theBlack Entertainment Television network. Karen Clark Sheard has received 3 nominations.

TheDove Awards are awarded annually by theGospel Music Association. Clark Sheard has won 4 awards from 13 nominations.^[16][17]

TheGrammy Awards are awarded annually by theNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Karen Clark Sheard has won 5 awards from 13 nominations, including a Lifetime Achievement award.^[18][19][20]

TheNAACP Image Awards are awarded annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Clark Sheard has won 2 awards from 8 nominations.^[21]

TheSoul Train Music Awards are awarded annually. Karen Clark Sheard has won 1 award from 5 nominations.

TheStellar Awards are awarded annually by SAGMA. Karen Clark Sheard has received 12 awards and 2 honorary awards.^{[23][24][25][26]}

• Official website of the Clark Sisters

• 1960 births
• Living people
• Grammy Award winners
• Singers from Detroit
• 21st-century American singers
• 20th-century American singers
• American gospel singers
• African-American women singers
• Members of the Church of God in Christ
• American Pentecostals
• African-American Christians
• 20th-century American women singers
• 21st-century American women singers
• The Clark Sisters members
• Moss–Clark–Sheard family

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