Karla DeVito was born in 1953 in Mokena, Illinois, then a small farming town southwest of Chicago, At Loyola University, she majored in theater. She joined the comedy troupe The Second City Company, and her co-stars included Bill Murray.

In 1973, she was in the cast of the popular play Hair. She subsequently became a backup singer for such groups as The E Street Band (fronted by Bruce Springsteen), Meat Loaf, and the Blue Oyster Cult.

Later she became a lead solo performer/ singer in her own right, and opened for such prominent artists as Hall & Oates and Rick Springfield. In 1981, she replaced Linda Ronstadt in The Pirates of Penzance.

Actor Robby Benson was cast to play her love interest. They eventually married in 1982 and have a son Zephyr and a daughter Lyric.Karla has had few film and TV roles but some of her songs were featured in soundtracks for motion pictures, including The Breakfast Club (1985) and Cool World (1992).

Today she does mostly voice work for animated productions.