Who is Karen Laine?
Karen Laine is a reality TV star, best known to the world as one half of the mother-daughter duo in the TV show “Good Bones”, which shows Karen and her daughter Mina buying houses, renovating them, and then selling them for profit.
Karen Laine Wiki: Age, Childhood, and Education
Born as Karen Elaine Thompson on 8 October 1962, in Richmond, Indiana, USA, she hasn’t shared much information about her childhood – there is no information about her parents and any siblings.
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After high school, she pursued a law degree from the Indiana University School of Law, and in 1992 graduated with a Juris Doctor degree from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.
Law Career
Before she became famous for flipping houses, Karen had an established law career, which began in 1990 when she was hired as an associate attorney at Cohen & Malad. She held the position until 1995, when she was hired as the Deputy Prosecutor for the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
Karen stayed in that role for over 10 years, until in 2005 when she was hired as an attorney at Jensen Law firm, a position in which she served until 2009. Her position as a deputy prosecutor was extended in 2009 and she remained in position until May 2013, returning to Jensen Law in March 2013 and serving in the position until March 2014. She was actively pursuing new law clients until 2017, when she became more focused on her career in reality TV. Since then, she’s kept her law career alive but is much less active.
Two Chicks and a Hammer, Reality TV Success
Tired of her everyday battles in court, together with her daughter Mina, started the renovation company Two Chicks and a Hammer in 2007.
Mina bought a house that needed to be redone almost from the ground up; the two joined their forces and realized their mutual love for home renovation. At first, they would work on two to three houses a year juggling between their respective careers and their passion for renovating residences. However, as their interest increased, they started working more and more on renovation, and in 2014, they were found by a High Noon Entertainment agent, and a pilot episode was sent for HGTV, which was aired in May 2015 under the name “Two Chicks and a Hammer”. After rework, the title was changed to “Good Bones”, and the first episode was aired on 22 March 2016.
Focused at first on the Fountain Square neighborhood of Indianapolis, they have expanded since to other neighborhoods, including Bates-Hendricks and Old Southside as well. Since the first episode, other family members have featured in the show, including Tad Starsiak, Mina’s step-brother. As the show progressed, Karen’s popularity increased, and the mother-daughter duo used the popularity to start other businesses, such as the home furnishing store Two Chicks District Co.
Retirement
Unfortunately, Karen’s husband Roger was diagnosed with cancer, which forced Karen to rethink her career moves, and she retired from the show to spend more time with her husband and help him through the disease. Mina, on the other hand, has continued with “Good Bones”, and recently a spin-off from the show was announced, called “Good Bones: Risky Business”.
Net Worth
As of early 2022, Karen Laine’s net worth has been estimated to be around $1.5 million, earned through her successful careers as a reality TV star and her law career.
Personal Life, Marriage, Husband, Children
When it comes to her personal life, Karen was married to Mina’s father for a long time, and in addition to Mina, they had William and CR before their divorce. Unfortunately, there isn’t much information about her husband and their marriage, just that his name is Casey and that he’s an orthopedic surgeon. With her second husband Roger, Karen has a daughter named Kelsy, but there’s no further information about her marriage.
Karen Laine’s Daughter, Mina Starsiak Short Biography
Mina Starsiak was born on 26 November 1987, in Indianapolis, Indiana USA, the daughter of Karen and Casey Starsiak – her parents divorced when she was still a child, and she now has several half-siblings from both of her parents, as they both remarried.
After high school, Mina enrolled at the University of Indiana, from which she obtained a degree in business and sociology. Upon finishing her studies, Mina worked as a part-time waitress, as she didn’t know what career to pursue. However, after buying a home on her own and working on it with her mother, she realized her true calling. Since then, Mina has become a reality TV star, and in addition to her work on “Good Bones”, has appeared in such shows as “Building Brady”, “Rock the Block”, and “Battle on the Beach”, among several other shows.
According to sources, Mina Starsiak’s net worth has been estimated to be around $2 million, as of early 2022, earned through her successful career as a reality TV star and home renovator. To speak of her personal life, Mina is very open in sharing personal details. Since 11th June 2016, she’s been married to Stephen Hawk, with whom she has two children, a son named Jack, and a daughter named Charlotte. Moreover, Mina was a foster mother to her niece Julie, a two-year-old daughter of Mina’s sister who had a tough time during Julie’s upbringing, which inspired Mina to start her own family.
