Karla DeVito

Karla DeVito grew up in Mokena, Illinois, about 35 miles southwest of Chicago, which at the time was a small farming town. From her earliest years, she showed an artistic bent, and a love of music and performing. After graduating from high school, she enrolled at Loyola University in Chicago with a major in theater. It didn't take long for her to get noticed among the theatrical community in other productions. Karla did Children's Theatre with Bill Murray at "Second City" and was in national companies of the popular musicals "Hair" and "Godspell". She branched out and became a backup singer for Bruce Springsteen, Meat Loaf and 'Blue Oyster Cult'. She became a lead singer in her own right, and opened for Hall & Oates and Rick Springfield. Karla's first solo album "Is This a Cool World or What?" was released by CBS/Epic in 1981. In 1981, she also got the female lead in "The Pirates of Penzance" on Broadway, replacing Linda Ronstadt. A short time later, Robby Benson was cast to play her love interest, and they immediately hit it off. They became a couple in real life, married in 1982 and their daughter Lyric was born in 1983. Their son Zephyr followed in 1992. She collaborated with Robby on the song "We Are Not Alone" that appeared in the soundtrack for the motion picture The Breakfast Club (1985). Robby and Karla also wrote songs for her second album "Wake 'Em Up in Tokyo" released by A&M in 1986. In 1990, Karla and Robby co-starred in the film Modern Love (1990) which also marked the screen debut of their daughter Lyric. Though her career slowed down when she became a mother, Karla continued to be active in the entertainment business, appearing in guest roles in TV series and an acclaimed stage musical called "Open Heart" authored by, and co-starring husband Robby. In 2012, after he produced, composed, and engineered Lyric's debut album "Lyric's Love Light Revolution" Robby Benson announced that his next musical project was a new album featuring Karla Devito. Shortly after, Karla confirmed they had already begun producing new material for the album. Karla has remained one of the most idealistic and multifaceted talents in the entertainment industry, achieving success in music, stage, writing, and motion pictures. Her YouTube page has received thousands of hits from fans who still admire her today and encourage her to continue with further creative projects.