‘Video Vixen’ a tell-all tale that contains a message
“Confessions of a Video Vixen” isn’t the first story about a starry-eyed babe who gets caught up and turned out by the glamorized world of entertainment.
In fact, Karrine Steffans has penned an all-too-familiar tale: Pretty girl with low self-esteem uses her body to find fame, fortune and love in all the wrong places with all the wrong guys.
Underneath the graphic din of sex, drugs and hip-hop is the story of a young woman struggling to survive the trappings of stardom. The streets of Hollywood, New York and South Beach are littered with women who have perfect figures and broken dreams. “Confessions” doesn’t break any new ground in that regard.
Though the book is billed as a “tell-all memoir,” Steffans admits that she isn’t telling everything. Still, she shares intimate details of trysts with well-known rap artists, athletes and entertainers.
The story begins at Steffans’ darkest moment in the bathroom of a Beverly Hills hotspot. It’s not a very pretty scene for a supposedly well-paid and well-connected video vixen, but it’s the starting point of a long road to redemption.
From there, she takes us back to her childhood in the Virgin Islands. A mother Steffans simply hated moved her to Florida and eventually forced her to relocate to Arizona to live with a father who had abandoned them years earlier.
There was an abusive marriage to a struggling rap star in Arizona, which produced a child but ultimately ended in divorce. Steffans moves to Los Angeles to make a better life for herself and her son, and the story goes downhill from there.
Unfortunately, Steffans didn’t know it. She discovered the power of a beautiful body and a desire to please influential men. She was meeting some of the biggest names in entertainment and was on her way to becoming a star in her field, appearing in music videos with some of the hottest rappers around.
But her lifestyle came at a price. She often found favor with men in exchange for her sexual favors. Her antics provided her with money to pay both her bills and her more lavish indulgences, but at times she was nothing more than a sultry party favor.
Steffans, of course, can’t keep pace as the alcohol, drugs and sex take their toll. Her celebrity friends and lovers abandon her, and after hitting rock bottom, she begins the long road back to a more fulfilling life that no longer depends on how well an influential man regards her. Suffice it to say, there’s a happy ending.
“Confessions” is an easy, entertaining read, almost like getting lost in the pages of The National Enquirer while waiting in a crowded checkout line. (The book works better on audiotape; Steffans does the narration herself, and the authenticity of telling her life’s story comes through.)
More important, though, it is a cautionary tale that contains a timeless message to a new generation of women who believe shaking their rumps on a rap video can lead to a better life: It’s not that easy.