Kelsy Karter (born 1 August) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and front-woman of British/Australian rock n' roll band Kelsy Karter & The Heroines.^[1] She is best known for her viral publicity stunt in which she supposedly tattooed a picture of Harry Styles on her face to promote her 2019 single "Harry". Time Magazine compared her to the likes of Ozzy Osbourne for this outlandish stunt.^[2][3]

Kelsy Karter moved to Australia when she was young, and grew up between the Gold Coast and Los Angeles. She was "born into a family of jazz musicians"^[4] and began songwriting at age 16. In 2012, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a singing, dancing and acting career.^[5][6] She now lives with her dog Lennon, named after John Lennon.^[7] In her downtime, she enjoys playing poker and cooking.^[8]

Karter's background is in musical theatre, Motown and jazz; however, her genre is rock and roll and punk.^[6] Her musical inspirations include David Bowie, Amy Winehouse, James Brown, Sam Cooke, Mick Jagger and Freddie Mercury.

Karter's debut single "Children Of My Hometown" was released in 2015. Her cover of the song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds was featured in the 12 Monkeys fourth season episode "Demons". After her infamous fake tattoo, she rose to international fame with her single, "Harry". In 2019, her song "Blast Off" was featured on season 4, episode 11 of the comedy drama television series The Bold Type.

On 2 October 2020, her debut album Missing Person was released.^[9] Produced by Zakk Cervini and Chris Greatti, Karter wrote the album after the death of a loved one and a breakup, stating "I was so depressed and broke, and probably at the lowest point in my whole life. For a while I sort of lost myself, which is why the album's called Missing Person..."^[4] Her single "God Knows I've Tried" from the album was featured in Rolling Stone as a 'Song You Need to Know'.^[10]

Karter has directed many of her music videos and has toured the US and UK several times fronting her band "Kelsy Karter & The Heroines", consisting of British musicians Sebastian Boyse on drums, Matthew Peach on Guitar and Tommy Gent on bass.

Karter sings about her anxieties, relationships, identity, and rebellion against conformity.^[9] Her music is imbued with themes of staying true to yourself and embracing your individuality and uniqueness.^[9] She describes her relationship with her fans as a "partnership".^[7] She says, "I want them to feel strong in their individuality, and to stop caring about what other people think. I hope it helps them to feel both totally vulnerable and completely invincible at the very same time."^[4]

In 2019 she opened for The Struts, and has since toured with The Glorious Sons and The Hunna.^{[citation needed]} In 2023 she opened for Billy Idol.