Karen Shenaz David (born 15 April 1979) is a Canadian and British actress, singer, and songwriter, best known for portraying Princess Isabella Maria Lucia Elizabetta of Valencia in ABC's fairytale-themed musical-comedy television series Galavant, as well as the Head of Spanish, Cesca Montoya, in the BBC One school-based drama series Waterloo Road, and Layla in the American action film The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior. She starred as Angela in the ITV television series Cold Feet, and played Princess Jasmine/Shirin in the sixth season of Once Upon a Time.
She had a recurring role on The CW's Legacies as Emma, a guidance counselor and witch, and played regular character Grace Mukherjee in Fear the Walking Dead.
She has had a recurring role as former MI6 agent Rose Dinshaw on NBC's The Irrational.
Early life David was born in Shillong, Meghalaya, India, to a family of "Khasi and a sliver of Jewish heritage". Her mother is of Khasi-Indian descent, while her father is Indian-Jewish. She was raised in Canada and then at age 17, David moved to Britain to study at the Guildford School of Acting. She then moved back to Canada for a time in the late 1990s, studying radio and television arts at Ryerson University in Toronto.
Career Acting Upon finishing drama school, David joined 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 Black in the development of the material for the Bollywood-themed musical Bombay Dreams. She performed songs on the show's US and Canada tour, and continued collaborating with Rahman at his Panchathan Record Inn and AM Studios in Chennai, India.
She appeared in the music clip "Higher & Higher" (2000) and 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.
In September 2010, David played the Spanish teacher, Francesca "Cesca" Montoya, in series six of BBC One's drama, Waterloo Road. While Waterloo Road was still airing, David landed the role of legend hunter Alexia Alderton in Pixelface, a CBBC children's comedy series about six video game characters and what they do when they are not inside their games. The second series aired on 3 January 2012.
David appeared on American television with a guest role on the Fox series Touch in 2012, playing Kayla Graham. On the episode she performed the song "Three Little Birds", which was then released as a soundtrack single with Wendy & Lisa by 20th Century Fox TV Records on 28 February 2012.
In February 2013, David appeared in the two-part episode "Target" of the ABC TV series Castle, in the USA. David played Sara El-Masri, daughter of Egyptian tycoon, Anwar El-Masri. Whilst filming these episodes, David and a stuntman were injured when the door to the moving van they were in failed to close properly. David was placed in a neck brace, while the stuntman sustained serious head injuries.
David has reappeared on US televisions, as "Princess Isabella Maria Lucia Elizabetta of Valencia", in the ABC television series Galavant, which premiered on 4 January 2015, for a four-week extravaganza.
In 2019, David joined the cast of Fear the Walking Dead as Grace Mukherjee and stayed with the series until the start of the final season.
Music
David 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 Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
She collaborated with A. R. Rahman on the main theme song for the film Provoked in 2006. After working alongside Rahman to produce the soundtrack for this movie, she found herself back with him in his Chennai studio, in 2007, to write and record the song, "Alive". The following year she released her first EP, The Live Sessions EP. In 2009 she released her next EP, Magic Carpet Ride.
In May 2010, David released the single "Hypnotize", alongside three mixes and a Hypnotize Desi Mix EP. The following year she released the album The Girl in the Pink Glasses. 20th Century Fox TV Records released "Three Little Birds", as sung by Kayla Graham (David), on Touch, on 28 February 2012.
In 2013, David released her final personal recording to-date, the EP Dust to Stars, on which she collaborated with songwriter-producers Stefan Skarbek, Carl Ryden, Boots Ottestad, Adam Argyle and Martin Brammer. Since then, she has been a member of the 2015 and 2016 cast soundtracks for Galavant.
Charity work David is active in Designers Against Aids and the SOS Children's Villages Foundation.
She produced a T-shirt to raise money for ActionAid's PoverTee Day, which was auctioned off on 18 June 2010. In December 2010, David released a charity Christmas EP, My Christmas List, to raise money for the housing and homelessness charity Shelter.
Alongside others, David painted a self-portrait to help raise funds for Face Britain, a project of The Prince's Trust Foundation.
Personal life In 2013, she married Swedish songwriter and music producer Carl Ryden, at La Venta Inn in Palos Verdes Peninsula, California.
Filmography + Film Year Title Role 2003 Bollywood Queen Neeta 2005 Batman Begins Courthouse Reporter No. 12006 Take 3 Girls Lyla Provoked Asha 2007 Flight of Fury Barnes's Operational Soldier Flanders2008 The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior Layla The Colour of Magic Liessa 2009 Couples Retreat Spa Attendant 2012 Red Lights Dana 2014 Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Penn 2015 Amar, Akbar & Tony Meera 2016 The Tiger Hunter Ruby Iqbal2022 Land of Gold Asha When Christmas Was Young Melody Douglass 2024 Isabel's Garden Maya
+ Television Year Title Role Notes 2003 Holby City Eve Hotton1 episode 2004 Top Buzzer Scarlet 2009 The Legend of Dick and Dom Fairy Frampton 2010–2011 Waterloo Road Francesca "Cesca" Montoya Main cast; 20 episodes (series 6) 2011 Strike Back: Project Dawn Barmaid 2 episodes 2011–2012 Pixelface Alexia Main cast; 26 episodes 2012 Touch Kayla Graham 1 episode 2013 Castle Sara El-Masri 2 episodes 2015–2016 Galavant Princess Isabella Main cast 2016–2017 Once Upon a Time Princess Jasmine Recurring role; 9 episodes2016Cold FeetAngela Zubayr2018Criminal MindsSpecial Agent Mary Meadows2 episodes2018–2022BarrySharon Lucado4 episodes 2018–2021LegaciesEmma TigRecurring role (seasons 1–2) Guest role (seasons 3–4)2018Timeless Young Denise Christopher Episode: "The Day Reagan Was Shot" 2019–2023 Fear the Walking Dead Grace Mukherjee Main cast (seasons 5–8); 29 episodes 2019–2020 The Rookie Detective Rita Calderon 2 episodes 2020–2022 Mira, Royal Detective Shilpa, Ashima and Rubi (voice) Recurring roles2023–2025The IrrationalRose Dinshaw11 episodes2025We Were LiarsMayaEpisode: When Lies Give You Lemons2026TrackerDr. Evie MartellEpisode: Do No Harm
+ TV/Video shorts Year Title Role Notes2002 Dancers: The Trailer Jenny The Paper Round Police Woman +Video gamesYearTitleRoleNotes2016Dead Rising 4Vicky "Vick" ChuVoice roleMirror's Edge CatalystIsabel Kruger2024Call of Duty: Black Ops 6Sevati DumasVoice role and performance capture2025Ghost of YōteiHuci The Shaman + Other Year Title Role Notes 2003 The Making of Bollywood Queen (video documentary) Herself 2005 Eureka (commercial) Police Woman 2008 The Making of The Scorpion King 2: The Rise of a Warrior (video documentary short) Herself
Music videos
Music videos Date Song title 2000 2003 It's Me (You're Talking To) Jun 2007 Alive Jun 2009 Apr 2010 Jun 2011 July 2013 Aug 2013
Remixes/radio edits Year Song title Jul 2009 Jul 2009 Sep 2010 Sep 2010
References
External links