Karen David

Karen David (born Shillong, India) is a Canadian-British actress, singer and songwriter, who is best known for portraying Francesca "Cesca" Montoya in the BBC television series Waterloo Road, and Layla in the American action film The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior. David also starred in Pixelface, a CBBC children's television series, where she plays Alexia, the glamorous legend hunter. --- David was born in Shillong, Meghalaya, India, of what she calls a "Chinese, Indian and a sliver of Jewish heritage". However, she was raised in Canada and then at age 17, David moved to London to study at the Guildford School of Acting. At age 20, upon finishing drama school, David join the original cast of the West End musical Mamma Mia!. She made her professional acting debut as part of the ensemble and as understudy of Ali and Lisa. A. R. Rahman, who had been invited to see the show by the director Shekhar Kapur, asked David to assist him and Don Blackin the development of the material for the Bollywood-themed musical Bombay Dreams. She performed songs on the show's U.S. and Canada tour, and continued collaborating with Rahman at his Panchathan Record Inn and AM Studios in Chennai, India. She appeared in two short television videos, Dancers: The Trailer (2002), playing the role of Jenny, and The Paper Round (2002), playing the role of a policewoman. She then landed a role in the musical Bollywood Queen (2003), as a member of the R&B band at the story's center. Through 2004 and 2005, she played Scarlet in MTV's Top Buzzer. David played Lyla, a main character in the London-based film Take 3 Girls (2006). Other work during this time includes Steven Seagal's Flight of Fury (2007) as Barnes' Operational Soldier Flanders, The Colour of Magic (2008) as Liessa the Dragonlady, and The Legend of Dick and Dom (2009) as Fairy Frampton. David appeared as the female lead, Layla, in The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior (2008), filmed in Cape Town, South Africa. --- David was the lead vocalist in Dutch dance musician/producer DJ Jurgen's single "Higher and Higher", which she recorded at the start of her music career in 2000. She released her first single "It's Me (You're Talking To)" in 2003, when she was signed to BMG Music. This single was a top 10 airplay hit in three different countries - Germany, Austria and Switzerland. David has recently launched her new Dust to Stars EP, on which she collaborated with the likes of songwriter-producers, Stefan Skarbek, Greg Wells, Carl Ryden, Boots Ottestad, Adam Argyle and Martin Brammer. This EP consists of five song; the title track Dust to Stars, Kaleidoscope, Heartstrings, Connected and Daydreamer.