Karleen Roy

By Jeannine Amber

How do you create a visionary? By surrounding her with art, ambition and excellence. Just ask Karleen Roy, founder of the Vanity Group.

Karleen, a Memphis native, was raised on cotillion balls, dance squads and plenty of Southern charm. Her father ran a booming business, with hundreds of employees. One of Karleen’s earliest memories is sitting in the family’s home office, watching her father paying his bills while Earth Wind and Fire played on the stereo. “I knew how to write a check by the time I was eight,” she says.

Karleen’s father taught his daughter business savvy. Her mother blessed their child with flair due to her love for creative and performing arts. Karleen spent her childhood dancing and even charged her family a dollar to enjoy her special performances. “My parents gave me the freedom and encouragement to explore my talents” she says. The Roys also gave their girl courage.

In 2013, after spending years as Senior Executive Assistant to Sean “Diddy” Combs, Karleen, a Howard University alum, struck out on her own. She founded The Vanity Group, which quickly become the go-to agency of Hollywood’s elite for spectacular events. Then in 2017, Karleen was rocked to her core. First, she lost her beloved father to Alzheimer’s. A few years later, another blow: Karleen was diagnosed with MS.

Karleen received the call from her doctor while she was in L.A for awards season, coordinating three separate star-studded events. She sat on her hotel bed in shock. Then came a revelation: This was a wake-up call. “I had to let go of my ‘can’t stop won’t stop’ credo and learn to take care of myself,” she says. She took a step back and, to her amazement, her creativity soared.

The years since Karleen’s diagnosis have been the most fruitful of her career. With her stellar team, Karleen produced some of the decade’s most memorable events, including Cardi B’s baby shower and Carol’s Daughter 25th Anniversary fete, held at the National Museum of African American History & Culture, a Smithsonian Institution. She also brought to life a collection of Vanity Group signature events, including Grit Before the Gram, devoted to honoring Black women working behind the scenes in the music industry and her speakers’ series, Owning the Block, which sold out in hours. A consummate mentor, in 2020, Karleen launched The Event Academy, a premier online education destination for event professionals.

“My diagnosis turned out to be a blessing in disguise,” reflects Karleen. “I feel stronger, more creative, and flyer than ever before.”  That’s the magic that makes a visionary.