Karen Brazell (April 25, 1938 – January 18, 2012) was an American professor and translator of Japanese literature. Her English language edition of The Confessions of Lady Nijō won a U.S. National Book Award in category Translation.
Karen Brazell held a PhD from Columbia University, and was, until her death, Goldwin Smith Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature and Theatre at Cornell University. She died in 2012 at the age of 73.